All posts in the topic State of the City - Rec Centers (Short link)
Summary
- There are 3 posts — by 2 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Mary Turck at Mar 28 01:11 UTC
I attended my second "state of the city" town hall meeting this
evening. I thought it went very well. I counted over 80 people
(including city staff), with lots of interesting questions and
discussion. Once again, St. Paul E-Democracy got some good exposure -
with an announcement at the end of the event, suggesting that people
continue the discussion in the St. Paul Issues Forum.
One of the interesting topics that came up in both last nights meeting
and again tonight, was some of what the city is doing in regards to
programming in Rec Centers.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed in SPIF before, but apparently
in an effort to keep 7-8 Rec Centers open that might otherwise have
been forced to close, while dealing with budget shortfalls - the city
has actually turned to community partners to provide programming in
some rec centers.
If I understand correctly, the city will maintain ownership of the
centers and maintain the grounds, while community partners will
provide staff and programming for youth in the centers.
Apparently, one example is that the Black Hawks Soccer Club will be
using one center for its programming.
I did not get details at the town hall meeting. Does anyone know where
I might find more information on this initiative?
Thanks,
Tim Erickson
St. Paul E-Democracy
On Mar 26, 2008, at 11:39 PM, Tim Erickson wrote: > I did not get details at the town hall meeting. Does anyone know where > I might find more information on this initiative? I got a couple of private responses last night to my request for more info. Most notably, I was referred to this article in the StarTribune. "St. Paul looks to nonprofits to manage recreation" http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/16882666.html "When Kirk Wythers heard about St. Paul's plans to shutter some recreation centers because of budget constraints, he grew a bit concerned. Then the president of the St. Paul Blackhawks Soccer Club got excited about the prospect of taking over one of the centers with the goal of creating a European-style soccer training facility for youths. As of last week, it did." Here is info from a sidebar that explains where these partnerships are currently at: Orchard: Deal approved with the Blackhawks. Eastview: Finalizing a deal with Merrick Community Services. St. Clair: Memo of understanding with West 7th Community Center. Highwood Hills, Homecroft and Frost Lake: Agreements are being worked out for St. Paul public schools to take over. All three centers are connected to school buildings. Dunning: Several groups have expressed interest in managing the site. Desnoyer: City is seeking interested groups. Best wishes, Tim Erickson St. Paul E-Democracy
The Twin Cities Daily Planet covered this issue earlier and in depth at http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/10068 Privatizing St. Paul Rec Centers By Deb Pleasants , TC Daily Planet March 16, 2008 At first glance, Orchard Recreation Center looks like any other rec center in Saint Paul. However, when you approach the front doors you quickly notice the difference. Taped to the door, is a letter from the City of Saint Paul Division of Parks and Recreation that reads: Dear Resident: As of January 1, 2008, Orchard Recreation Center will be leased to the St. Paul Blackhawks Soccer…Some recreation programs will be running through Orchard but most programming has been move[d] to recreation centers close by such as North Dale. If you have any further questions, please call 651-266-6400. Thank you, Recreation Staff. Any person greeted by this letter would no doubt wonder…why. Why has Saint Paul decided to turnover one of its rec centers to a separate agency? In actuality, Saint Paul is transferring management of eight of its recreation centers to community organizations. In an effort to keep the lights on at all of its recreation centers, Saint Paul devised a creative solution—partnerships. For the rest of the article, go to the TC Daily Planet.
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