HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-05-2012-13 (2)S `P`r m CL+ ion =4- err)
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To: Frank W. Clifton, County Manager
From: David Stancil, DEAPR Director
Date: May 10, 2012
Subject: Efland Cheeks Community Center Access and Usage Follow -up
At the May 1 Board of Commissioners meeting, staff was asked to respond to
questions about the access to and usage of the Efland- Cheeks Community
Center, which is located at Efland- Cheeks Park. This issue also appears to be, in
part, related to a matter that arose in summer 2011 regarding usage of an office
in the Center by a community group.
The Efland- Cheeks Community Center is maintained, scheduled and operated
through DEAPR. Cleaning equipment and other maintenance supplies are
provided by the Asset Management Services Department. It is available for rental
consistent with the County's adopted Facility Use Policy. The facility may be
rented online, by visiting the Central Recreation Center offices, or by sending the
reservation form through the mail.
Because the facility is infrequently rented, there is no fulltime staff at the facility.
When the facility is rented, staff from the Recreation Division (usually seasonal
employees, some of which live in the community) open the facility, close it upon
the completion of the usage, and clean the facility.
Staff is not aware of any occasions where users have been told they could not
use the facility, or were asked to clean the facility. However, changes were made
earlier this year to staff that provide care and maintenance at the facility, and
Recreation Division staff has heard some speculation that prior seasonal staff
may have provided inaccurate information about cleaning. In previous years,
For small groups of 20 or less, there is no rental fee. The community civic group referenced later in this memo uses the
facility under this arrangement for their monthly meetings at no charge. For other uses, the fee is $25 /hour for Orange
County non - profit groups ($35 for resident for - profit groups, $37.50 for non - resident non - profit, and $52.50 for non - Orange
County for - profit groups or users).
Orange County Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks & Recreation
PO Box 8181
Hillsborough, NC 27278
Phone: (919) 245 -2510
Fax: (919) 644 -3351
there was a staff presence at the facility, whether the Center was in use or not.
Initially, recreation programming for seniors was housed in the former Recreation
and Parks Department, and at that time, the center was open frequently and had
staff or senior volunteer presence. Coordination of senior recreation functions
was transferred to the Department on Aging in 2007, along with the associated
staff. From 2007 -2010, R &P seasonal staff was present at the facility during
certain open hours. While this provided a physical presence at the site, this was
not a financially- efficient use of time and resources, and now the facility is only
staffed when in use. As such, any questions about cleaning and usage
responsibilities for the facility should be addressed by the staffing changes made
early in 2012.
Regarding last summer's questions on the facility office, during the last decade
two different Health Department grants were administered in the Efland- Cheeks
community. The Health Department worked closely with a community group in
administering the grants. It is my understanding that, as such, use of the office
within the Center was informally approved for this purpose several years ago.
Staff has confirmed with the Health Department that the grants have expired.
The community group involved in the health grants still has files and office
materials in the office, and indicated they have no place to store their materials.
Staff has secured the office, and it is available for access by appointment
whenever needed by the group. One of the other longstanding issues with this
facility is that there appear to have been a number of keys made and distributed
to unknown persons, and security of the facility requires re- keying of the Center.
It is my understanding that the community group has informally expressed an
interest in having this office dedicated for their own future use, at no cost, for
other community activities that they pursue. I have seen correspondence that
seems to indicate that at least some members of the group may not have
understood that the informal office usage arrangement from several years ago
was only for the duration of the Health Department grants.
However, there are no provisions in the Facility Use Policy for long -term use of
an office in a County facility. One solution might be to pursue a lease or usage
agreement for the office, although it should be noted that this could preclude
other uses of the office if needed (such as during the CHC YMCA joint summer
camp), and may set a precedent for other such requested arrangements. Staff is
not aware of any other office arrangement in a County facility of this nature.
hope this information has been helpful. Since I have not been involved in the
history leading up to the office and usage issues, I do plan to meet with
representatives from the community group to try and better understand the
issues and their interests, and will report back on my discussions.
Copies: Michael Talbert, Assistant County Manager
Orange County Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks & Recreation
PO Box 8181
Hillsborough, NC 27278
Phone: (919) 245 -2510
Fax: (919) 644 -3351