Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 06-22-2010 Regular — reading text

estimated savings from reducing adult athletics, and combining programs under one staff person would be $ 50K; and the mills required to sustain $ 50K for current programs is 0.0462, mills. During discussion it was explained that the City would try to provide the most popular sports first; and that the City' s costs are similar in comparison to the surrounding Cities. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Pat Thornber, 342 Holmes Blvd., commented other cities charge more for their services and seem to have plenty of people participate. As no one else wished to speak public comment was closed. Mr. Reeves moved to reduce the adult athletic programs. Mr. Nabors seconded motion. Council Meeting, June 22, 2010  Special Council meeting 6 -1 - 10 Quality of Life —Athletics cont. Discussion included comments that the City offers a lot of free athletic activities; that non -City residents should pay for the cost of the programs; and that the option of a different fee schedule should be explored first. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion and it failed by a vote of 3 to 4 with Reeves, Nabors, and Minich in favor and Holmes, gossom, Patterson, and Rynearson opposed. Quality of Life —Museum Hours Policy Decision: Should the City reduce museum operating hours and discontinue outreach programs. The presentation included information that the Heritage Park and Cultural Center is open 29 hrs a week Monday through Friday 12 — 4: 30 and Saturday 10 — 4: 30; that 68% of the museum beneficiaries are off -site through the educational outreach program for which the City receives no revenue; that the City can no longer afford to fund off -site education programs for the benefit of schools and other community groups; that reducing hours of operation to 15 hrs a week Friday through Sunday 12 — 5: 00 would permit the museums to stay open at times when City residents are most likely to visit; reducing hours of operation to 15 hours a week would decrease staffing to the Manager and one part-time assistant with a personnel savings of 98, 260; that reducing the hours of operation during the weekdays is estimated to decrease admission fees and merchandise sales of about 40% or $ 24K; the net saving would be $ 74,260; and the mills required to sustain $ 74K for the current museum operations is 0.0685 mills. Discussion was held on the proposed hours of operation and the outreach programs. Gail Meyer, Museum Manager, explained it averages 54 man hours of one person' s time for the 15 specific events that take place over the course of a year, to present what the museum has to offer to the residents and tourists. Discussion included the desires expressed that the proposal from the museum be a little more aggressive on the proposed hours of operation. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Anna Peele, 640 Pinecone Court, Mary Esther, retired Museum Director and Chairman of the Friends of the Museum, asked Council to consider the cultural atmosphere downtown and to help them preserve what they have in this town, that the Friday through Sunday hours be reconsidered, and to reconsider eliminating the outreach programs. It was clarified that the proposal was not to set specific hours but more of a policy decision on whether to reduce the hours to 15 hours per week. Doug Reed, 842 Santa Rosa Court, Chairman of Musical Echoes, commented they need to bring the museum to the point that it is the gem of the community and there is an opportunity to fund part of the museum through CRA funds. The City Attorney confirmed the statute does not allow CRA funds to fund a museum. Bill Lucas, Choctaw Beach, member of the Friends of the Museum, commented there is 1, 000 years of family albums in the museum and suggested the County or the State be approached for additional funding. Jean Lucas, Choctaw Beach, member of the Friends of the Museum commented when people visit the museum they spend their money in the shops and restaurants downtown. John Jansen, 357 Eglin Parkway, comment the museum has tried hard to do what they can to improve and asked they be given an chance because they are on the verge of being something better than what they were. Council Meeting, June 22, 2010  Special Council meeting 6 -1 - 10 Quality of Life —Museum Hours cont. As no one else wished to speak public comment was closed. Mr. Holmes moved to allow the museum staff to formulate a plan. Mr. Nabors seconded motion The desire was expressed that the museum work with the downtown merchants on the hours of operation; and that the TDC be asked to help fund the museum. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, gossom, Reeves, Minich, Nabors, Patterson, and Rynearson in favor. Quality of Life —Library Hours Policy Decision: Should the City reduce library operating hours; discontinue adult/child programs, and passports. The presentation included information that the library is open 50 hours a week Monday 10 -8, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9 -6, Friday 10 -5, and Saturday 10 -4; that revenues from the Cooperative are anticipated to decrease by 46% or $ 68, 889; that staff proposes using the Harvey Trust to fund $ 35K for books and publications; that reducing the hours of operation to 38 -40 hours a week and staggering hours with other libraries would yield operating savings while maximizing the available library hours for residents; reducing hours of operation and eliminating the adult services librarian and another librarian would decrease staffing by two for a personnel savings of $80K and a $ 2, 200 operating savings; passport acceptance would no longer be possible with $ l0K revenue lost; similar services are provided by Destin, Mary Esther, and Niceville libraries; and the mills required to sustain $ 72K for the current library operations is 0.0668 mills. Trisha Gould, Library Director, mentioned that each employee does many things during the day from the backroom operations to assisting customers. She explained the passport acceptance was cut back as staffing was cut, the book budget has been cut, they went to part -time janitorial, and grounds maintenance is done by city staff. She noted if the City opts out of the Library Co -Op that there would still be customers coming through the door and they would have to charge the County residents. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Pat Thornber, 342 Holmes Blvd., commented as the economy goes down she buys less books and increase her library usage, and the library staff is necessary. As no one else wished to speak public comment was closed. Mr. Reeves moved to reduce library operating hours and discontinue adult programs and passport acceptance. Mr. Rynearson seconded motion. Discussion included an exchange of thoughts on the need to address opting out of the co -op; whether nine employees are too many for the library; whether the library can work with the senior programs; and whether there are other ways to off-set the budget. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion and it failed by a vote of 0 to 7 with no one in favor and Holmes, gossom, Reeves, Minich, Nabors, Patterson, and Rynearson opposed. Duality of Life —Recreation Programs Policy Decision: Should the City close Hedrick Center, reduce Docie Bass and Chester Pruitt. The presentation included information that the Hedrick Center needs to be closed at least temporarily for structural and environmental assessment; that self -supporting recreation programs and a scaled back self - supporting summer care program could possibly be offered at the Senior Center or Chester Pruitt based on space availability. 10 Council Meeting, June 22, 2010  Special Council meeting 6 -1 - 10 Ouality of Life —Recreation Programs cont. The presentation continued with information that Docie Bass after school care program would be eliminated thereby closing the facility during the day; voluntary pre -k program could not be offered if Docie Bass were closed during the day; that Chester Pruitt programs do not generate any revenues and staffing could be reduced; engineering assessment for Hedrick is due in early August and a decision will be made at that time whether to permanently close, maintain, or renovate the facility; similar services are provided by the YMCA, churches, and other organizations; and the mills required to sustain $ 220K for current recreation programs is 0. 2030 mills. Discussion was held on which direction to take regarding continued operation of programs when the status of the Hedrick Center is unknown at this time. Mr. Nabors moved to close Hedrick Center temporarily, thereby reducing recreation program and summer care, to close Docie Bass during the day, thereby eliminating after school care and voluntary pre- kindergarten programs; to reduce staffing at Chester Pruitt, thereby reducing the hours of operation; with positions to be eliminated to be determined. Motion failed for lack of a second. Alternative for Consideration —Station 7 Manning Policy Decision: Should the City convert Station 7 to minimum manning. The presentation included information that the staffing per shift for Station 7 on Lewis Turner Blvd. is 1 Captain, 1 Driver Engineer, and 2 firefighters; that the current collective bargaining agreement requires minimum manning of three fire suppression personnel per first -in engine or ladder truck; that reducing manning at Station 7 from 4 personnel per shift to a minimum level of 3 may impact public safety and response times due to the 2in /2out rule if Ocean City -Wright is responding to another call at the same time; that much of the City' s ISO rating is based on the automatic aid agreement, residents may pay higher insurance rates if manning were reduced at Station 7; eliminating three firefighters would save $ 149K; decreasing manning in this fashion would enable the City to keep Station 7 open as a non -full service station; a fire assessment fee could be established to fund a portion of fire suppression services and is being evaluated for next year' s budget cycle; and the mills required to sustain $ 149K for three firefighters is 0. 1375 mills. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Chief Lord, Ocean City -Wright Fire District, suggested a couple of part -time fire fighters could be employed. Shannon Stone, Battalion Chief, commented the biggest issue is it will significantly increase response times and that staffing is important for the safety of the fire fighters. He expressed the hope they have an opportunity to forward some solutions. Larry DiAmco, 6612 Redfield Street, Navarre, President of Fort Walton Beach Professional Firefighters, commented they have to have some measures to allow for vacation and sick leave and a three man level does not meet the NFPA standards. He said it is their responsibility as an association to help and they want that opportunity. As no one further wished to speak public comment was closed. There was no motion made by Council. The City Manager noted there is a tentative Special Council meeting scheduled for June 29`h if Council wished to delay