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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-004-22Staff Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. Report To: General Government Committee Date of Meeting: February 28, 2022 Report Number: CSD-004-22 Submitted By: George Acorn, Director of Community Services Reviewed By: Mary-Anne Dempster, CAO File Number: By-law Number: Report Subject: Outdoor Permit Rates and Fees 2022 Recommendations: 1.That Report CSD-004-22 and any related communication items be received; 2.That the proposed rates for January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, in Attachment 1 to Report CSD-004-22, be approved; 3.That subsequent Outdoor Permit Rates and Fees be incorporated into Community Services rates and fees moving forward; 4.That the current 10% non-resident surcharge for Community Services be applied to outdoor permit rates and fees; and 5.That all interested parties listed in Report CSD-004-22 and any delegations be advised of Council’s decision. Municipality of Clarington Page 2 Report CSD-004-22 Report Overview Community Services began the transition with the Public Works Department in August 2020 to take over the responsibility for outdoor permitting. Part of this transition was to begin working with Community Groups to understand how the permitting process could be improved. Staff began updating and doing the required clean-up of the ACTIVE Net database, which led to a detailed review of the fees and how they were being administered. Staff identified several challenges, both from the user and administration perspective, that the current fee structure posed. With a goal of improving the overall process, staff began to benchmark the fee structure and administration of various municipalities. With that knowledge, staff developed the new proposed fee structure. The proposed structure was created with three key elements in mind. First, to ensure no significant negative financial impact to user groups. Second, the fee changes did not negatively impact the Public Works budgeted revenue lines, and lastly, the fee structure changes provided improvement for the administration of the permitting process. The staff recommendations for improvements to the rate structure, process and application fees are contained in this report. 1.Background 1.1 The responsibility for permitting outdoor facilities was transferred to the Community Services Department, Client Services Division, in August 2020. This responsibility included the administration, allocation and permitting of outdoor sports fields, parks, and gazebos. The first full year of permitting with Client Services began in 2021. 1.2 As part of this transition, meetings were held with staff from Public Works to understand the past practices behind current processes. Staff also conducted various user group meetings to gain feedback on the process from our major user groups. Information gathered from these meetings assisted in forming the recommendations contained in this report. 1.3 Through the transition, it was identified that there was one outstanding resolution from the April 8, 2019, Council Meeting related to Addendum to Report OPD-003-19. The resolutions passed the current pricing approach and referred the issue of non-resident fees to staff for a report in the Fall of 2019. 1.4 This report aims to address any outstanding resolutions from 2019. Important to note, that with the currently approved process, user groups would see a 4.7% increase to permit fees for 2022, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as confirmed by Financial Services. Municipality of Clarington Page 3 Report CSD-004-22 2. Recommended Changes to Fee Structure Fee Structure Changes and Methodology 2.1 Through the user group meetings and meetings with Public Works staff, there were themes that evolved to be addressed. The main challenges were the user groups’ need to work with staff to deal with cancelled games due to the way practices and games were scheduled, lighting fees were difficult to understand and hard to predict for user groups, there was a difference in quality between different fields in Claringto n and it was important for user groups to be able to predict the increase in costs in advance of needing to establish next season’s registration fees. 2.2 To address the first challenge of user groups working with staff to reschedule games, staff are proposing that the new rate structure charge for all games and practices. Traditionally, only games had a fee attached. Whenever a game was cancelled due to weather, staff would work with all groups to adjust the free practice permits to accommodate the rescheduled games. This change would now allow user groups to reschedule their field use internally and would free up facility booking staff resources. This would also align with the current process for indoor ice and soccer rentals and creates efficiencies for both the user group and staff. 2.3 The next two issues addressed through the proposed structure are the pricing and administration of lighting fees and field categorization. Clarington takes a novel approach to applying lighting fees to outdoor permits. As such, benchmarking did not provide much direction on industry best practices. Staff held meetings with user groups to understand the challenges behind our current approach. User groups identified the biggest challenge with the lighting fees is that it was hard to calculate and predict user fees. While practice permits were free, lighting fees were still applied to these permits. Staff has recommended creating price points for lit and unlit permits to reduce confusion and simplify the administration of lighting fees. Lastly, this creates alignment between the process and staff being able to leverage the capabilities of ACTIVE Net. 2.4 User groups also identified differences between fields throughout the Municipality. Based on that feedback, staff has proposed to introduce three categories of fields. Major (which will accommodate lit and unlit permit fees), Minor fields (where there are no lights or irrigation and are generally more suited to practice), and Artificial Turf (which is an existing category). The shift in categorizing fees helps to address discrepancies in fields when permitting the activities that occur on them while making the price point reflective of these differences. 2.5 While the proposed changes are significant, the result if approved, is a stre amlined, simplified system for both users and staff. To ensure the proposed structure did not negatively impact customers or revenues, staff carried out testing in the ACTIVE Net Municipality of Clarington Page 4 Report CSD-004-22 Trainer system. Real-life permits upcoming for 2022 were compared to mirror test permits created under the new structure. These results were shared with user groups and Public Works staff to ensure the methodology maintained the original goals. Testing verified that the proposed structure was neutral regarding both user costs a nd municipal revenue. 2.6 An added benefit to the proposed structure in Attachment 1 is that it aligns with the current structure of other Community Services user fees. Part of the recommendations is to align the outdoor permit fees with the rest of the Community Services user fees, and in the future, bring all fees in one consolidated report. If approved, the first consolidated report for user fees would come to Council in the fall of 2022. 2.7 Previous recommendations surrounding non-residents saw significant rate increases based on non-residency. Community Services applies a standard 10% rate increase on all permit and program fees when booked by a non-resident. It is recommended that outdoor permits move to this standard 10% increase which will provide a consistent approach across fees managed by Community Services for the users. If approved, this recommendation would resolve Resolution C146-19. 2.8 Moving toward this proposed rate structure, and by including it as part of the overall Community Services Rates and Fees, provides flexibility for staff to address user trends and mitigate future high CPI increases, minimizing the impact to users. Future Considerations 2.9 As the Rate and Fees chart demonstrates, we currently offer to permit some of our parks, green spaces, and gazebos. The purposes for these permits range from wedding photos, concerts, to family gatherings and special events. Many municipalities do charge a nominal fee to reduce no-shows and create an additional revenue stream. Staff recommends additional work in this area with any recommendations to be included and highlighted in a future Rates and Fees report. 2.10 Currently, the special events process is being reviewed. As part of that review, staff will be investigating the fee associated with applications. This review will ensure that the cost of a special event permit is reflective of the service that is being provided. Both items will be reviewed and any changes to the fees will be brought back in a subsequent report. 3. Concurrence 3.1 This report has been reviewed by the Director of Public Works who concurs with the recommendations. Municipality of Clarington Page 5 Report CSD-004-22 4. Conclusion 4.1 Since taking on the responsibility of permitting all outdoor spaces, Community Services staff have worked to identify challenges within the process, consulted with user groups on where they see improvements being required, and completed research on industry best practices. Based on this information, staff have developed the recommendations in this report to address issues surrounding the current structure and administration of outdoor permit fees. As such, staff recommend that Council approve the change in structure to fees as outlined in this report. 4.2 We are confident the recommendations in this report, in addition to future improvements being made to the processes for field allocation and permitting, will be a benefit to our community sport organizations at the same time as creating a more effective use of municipal staff resources. Staff Contact: Lee-Ann Reck, Manager, Client Services, 905-623-3379 ext. 2508 or lreck@clarington.net. Attachments: Attachment 1 – Outdoor Permits Rates and Fees January 1 to December 31, 2022 Interested Parties: List of Interested Parties available from Department. Attachment 1 to CSD-004-22 Program or Service Category HST Y/N Unit of Measure 2021 Fee 2022 Fee with CPI 4.7% 2022 Proposed Fee with Structural Change Comments Sports Fields - Game (RENAME Major Field - Lit) Youth No per hour $9.19 $9.62 $32.02 adds lighting fee to the permit cost, fee is higher because of lighting fee attached Sports Fields - Practice (RENAME Major Field - Unlit) Youth No per hour $0.00 $0.00 $4.70 addition of practice charge (took half of fee to create cost for charging for all permits) Sports Fields (RENAME Major Field Rental - Lit)Adult Yes per hour $25.53 $26.73 $54.00 no change, adding lighting fees to permit type for prime time Sports Fields Major Field Rental - Unlit Adult Yes per hour $0.00 $27.00 add this for adult permits without lights Tournaments Adult Yes per hour*$204.20 $213.80 eliminate and move to a 20% discount on permit fees if people book over 22 hours for a tournament in the same weekend, otherwise apply standard fees Tournaments Youth No per hour*$0.00 $0.00 would need to keep zero fee, otherwise cost to user groups would increase as currently free Lighting Fees (applied to all permits)Resident Yes per hour $38.80 $40.62 $0.00 eliminate and include in per permit fee Lighting Fees (if over 2.5 hours, daily max)Resident Yes per night $81.68 $85.52 $0.00 eliminate and include in per permit fee Sports Fields - Game (RENAME Minor Field Rental)Youth No per hour $9.19 $9.62 $3.80 lower fee for fields in minor category, no lights, would apply to both games and practices Sports Fields (RENAME Minor Field Rental) NEW Adult Yes per hour $25.53 $26.73 $15.00 reflect categorization of fees, would rarely be used as most adult field use is on lit diamonds Minor Fields (include all non-lit and/or non-irrigated fields) Sports Fields Community Services Department - Outdoor Permits - Schedule of Rates and Fees January 1 to December 31, 2022 Attachment 1 to CSD-004-22 Tournaments Adult Yes per day $204.20 $213.80 eliminate from this section and apply the 20% discount philosophy Private Rentals/Special Events Resident Yes per hour $35.74 $37.42 $0.00 eliminate from this section Batting Cages Youth No per hour Free $0.00 continue to permit at no charge Turf Rental - Lit Youth No per hour $61.26 $64.14 $80.00 include lighting charge to permit Turf Rental - Unlit Youth No per hour $61.26 $64.14 $62.79 only 2.5% increase, lower than CPI to encourage use Turf Rental - Lit Adult Yes per hour $81.68 $85.52 $95.00 add lighting fee to the permit Turf Rental - Unlit Adult Yes per hour $81.68 $85.52 $83.72 only 2.5% increase, lower than CPI to encourage use Lighting Fees Resident Yes per hour $38.80 $40.62 $0.00 eliminate fee Lighting Fees (if over 2.5 hours, daily max)Resident Yes per night $81.68 $85.52 $0.00 eliminate fee Gazebo Resident Yes per hour $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 consider entertaining fee in the future - potential revenue (i.e. wedding photography) Picnic Areas - Picnic Resident Yes per hour $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 consider entertaining fee in the future - potential revenue (i.e. family events, picnics, etc) Special Event Resident Yes per hour $35.74 $37.42 $36.45 no change, pending Special Event Process review, changes would impact 2023 budget if any Non-Resident/Commercial (change to commercial)Commercial Yes per hour $168.47 $176.39 make just commercial, NR use standard increase, decrease commercial fee (make 50% higher than resident fee) Stage Rental Fee - (minimum 3 hours)All Yes Saturday $146.00 $152.86 no change on fee other than to convert to a per hour, minimum 3 hour rental Stage Rental Fee - (minimum 3 hours)All Yes Su/Stat $195.50 $204.69 no change on fee other than to convert to a per hour, minimum 3 hour rental Non-Resident Surcharge NEW All Yes per rental various 10% move to CSD approach, 10% surcharge to any non-resident booking space at applicable rate Park Permits Artificial Turf Field