May 11, 2008 09:01 pm
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From staff reports
news@joplinglobe.com
A plan for operating the new Joplin Athletic Complex will be the subject of a Joplin City Council work session today.
The $6 million complex is under construction at First Street and Tri-State Road, north of Schifferdecker Park. Construction is expected to be completed in June.
The project includes a baseball field, a half-dozen soccer fields for youth and adult play, and a dozen tennis courts suitable for league or tournament play. The baseball field is the size for collegiate play.
Council members last month were given an overview of a plan proposed by City Manager Mark Rohr and the parks and recreation director, Jerry Calvin.
They told the council they believe they could staff the complex and maintain it by adding one full-time employee, three part-time workers and an increased level of supervisory authority for one position in the parks department. The staffing additions would cost an estimated $62,000 in annual payroll to start.
Rohr and Calvin said they arrived at their staffing recommendation by reviewing all operations of the parks department, putting together a time study of how long it takes to perform all the department’s tasks, and looking at current staffing and duties.
Rohr said the table of organization within the department would be changed to have two working supervisors instead of one. One of the supervisors would be in charge of parks. The other, a position added to the table, would be in charge of operations within the parks, such as the sports complex, Joe Becker Stadium and Schifferdecker Municipal Golf Course.
A table of rates for use of the new fields and courts has been proposed.
The table sets rates for tennis play at $10 per hour, with annual passes available to youths for $50, adults for $100 and families for $200, which would include after-hours access to the courts.
Soccer rates would be $10 per player for youth leagues and $15 for adults, with additional fees for league and tournament play.
Baseball field use would be $175 per game and $50 for a practice.
Estimates place a year’s revenue at $162,525, with expenditures — including salaries of the new workers — at $202,200. That would give the complex a loss of about $40,000. Most of the city’s parks and recreation activities, including operations of the pools and parks, are not self-supporting by fees alone and are subsidized from the city’s general revenues.
Questions have been raised about the orientation of the baseball field and about the soccer fields being built on slopes to allow drainage.
Council members told the city manager at the earlier meeting that they wanted time to study the proposed operating plan and fee schedule before deciding the final details of the operation.
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