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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/04/2000 BAKERSFIELD ~/~/ ~ Jacquie Sullivan, Chair Alan Tandy, City Manager Patricia J. DeMond Staff: Alan Christensen Randy Rowles AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT SPECIAL MEETING COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 4, 2000 7:00 p.m. City Hall- Council Chamber 1. ROLL CALL Call to Order at 7:01 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Jacquie Sullivan, Chair; and Patricia J. DeMond Absent: Councilmember Randy Rowles 2. ADOPT MARCH 7, 2000 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. ICE SKATING FACILITY 1. Staff background information on efforts made to attract an ice rink to date City Manager Alan Tandy stated that with the closing of the only ice rink in Bakersfield, patrons who had been developing ice skating activities approached the City Council to solicit their assistance in bdnging another ice facility to Bakersfield. The City Council referred the issue to the Community Services Committee who directed staff to research the possibilities. As a temporary solution, the Centennial Garden is being utilized for ice skating whenever their busy calendar allows. The Council allocated $30,000 to underwrite some of the costs of using Centennial Garden for public skating on a one-year basis. However, the Garden is very busy and is often not available for this activity. Due to the amount of interest and ice use, there is a need for a permanent facility. City staff has made many contacts with ice skating businesses and operators. Since the Bakersfield market is developmental in nature without a long history of ice skating, the development of a profitable ice skating facility will take many years. The conclusion is that a purely private sector business venture in Bakersfield at this time would not be profitable. ,ooo. FILE COPY AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT - COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 4, 2000 Page -2- The City of Bakersfield has a very tight budget and bearing the full cost of a skating facility is unlikely to be affordable in the foreseeable future. The cost of new construction of a single-sheet facility including furniture, fixtures and equipment without land is estimated to be $3.4 million. A minimum of 2 acres is needed and ideally there should be room for expansion and parking, which would require four acres. The issue of a land site is very much open and any creative suggestions would be beneficial. The land needs to be commercially zoned. The single most important cdteda that ice skating operators indicate as being absolutely essential to their business is that it must be a place parents would believe to be safe and where they would be comfortable in dropping off their children. Second, it needs to be a faidy visible location where passing traffic or nearby activities draw attention to the facility. Third, the location should be reasonably central to serve people from all parts of metropolitan Bakersfield and should have access from some major arterials. Staff has identified three potentially available sites. One is County property located on North Chester near the Kern County Museum by Sam Lynn Ballpark. Kern County staff indicated that an ice skating facility was not included in the Master Plan, but youth baseball and family related activities were, so the Plan may be flexible enough to consider land use for an ice skating facility. If this use is found to be appropriate and promising, theoretically, the land could be made available without cost. It is not certain that this site is available, only that it is potentially available if a submittal is made dudng the Request for Proposal process. However, this would be a competitive process, probably with review by County staff. Ultimately, it would require approval from the Board of Supervisors. The second prospective site is between "N" and "M" Streets, it fronts California, and is posted "for sale." This parcel is large enough to accommodate the building, but not parking, so additional land would be needed. The third is a site located off 16th Street and is posted "for sale." This is a larger parcel than needed and it is not known if the owner would be willing to divide it. The drawback is that the site is not visible from any arterial or collector street. There is a significant economic gap between $3.4 million with free land and what a pro forma on making an ice facility a viable business shows. It will require considerable economic assistance from the community. Areas identified where help from the community would be beneficial to getting something done included: 1) donations of free land; 2) cash donations; 3) in-kind donations of labor or material for such things as removing old buildings; and 4) any kind of favorable business loan. Also, the City is affiliated with a 501C3 organization, the Bakersfield Foundation, and any donations made through that organization would be tax deductible. Types of funding and their constraints were explained such as non-recourse bonds, federal block grant funds, job creation grants, property tax rebates available in redevelopment areas, state credits available in enterprise zones, and the use of capital outlay funds available only by Council approval. It was emphasized that it is highly unlikely that any of these would be enough to make a project happen. The City cannot do this alone. More assistance from the private sector or creative ideas that reduce the costs of acquisition and construction will be required. At the request of the Committee, staff has studied the use of temporary outdoor ice facilities, such as the one in Los Angeles used for nine weeks in the winter each year. This outdoor facility costs $25,000 per week to lease without electricity costs. This proved to be non-economical for our area and would not be very functional in our climate. AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 4, 2000 Page -3- 2. Public comments and suggestions on need for ice facilities and how to accomplish the project Committee Chair Sullivan presented a letter of support for an ice facility from Cecilia Anzalone, Treasurer of the Condor Booster Club, which included signatures on a petition for an ice rink. Stephan DeBranch, president of the Kern County Hockey Club (the Bakersfield Dragons), representing youth hockey, spoke about the need for an ice facility for youth team activities. John Genter, the incoming-president of the Kern County Hockey Club, spoke about the need for an ice facility for their youth teams. Tanya Andrews, Bakersfield Blades Figure Skaters, spoke in support of an ice rink and the need for such a facility for developing potential Olympians. She provided information about CalWorks and how hiring from that program provides eligibility for funds not otherwise available. Ron LaValley spoke in support of an ice facility and the County location by Sam Lynn Ballpark. He stated he is willing to donate time and his engineering/construction skills. Howard Chasin, Kern County Hockey Club, asked if it were possible to obtain urban redevelopment money to build a baseball stadium and ice rink at the Sam Lynn Ballpark location? The City Manager responded that sporting facilities are exempt and not eligible for most federal and state funding.sources and grants. Federal law prohibits block grants from going into arenas or stadiums or associated facilities such as parking that serve them. A skating facility depending upon location and circumstance might be eligible for some monies for clearing blighted properties or job creation if it has a reasonable relationship between the number of jobs created and the grant money involved. Jim Murkland, Bakersfield Dragons, spoke regarding the need for an ice facility and the benefits of having youth ice skating sports. Scott Grundhofer spoke in support of an ice rink and suggested contacting the City of Boise and see how they built their ice facility, the feasibility of using corporate sponsorships and checking on the empty Payless location at Valley Plaza as a possible building. Pete Yackley, Bakersfield Blades Figure Skaters, spoke in support of a ice facility and suggested utilizing the supporters in a team effort to raise money, finding one or two large corporations for support and perhaps using their name on the facility, and getting support by putting a radio station disc jockey at the facility. Matt Riley, General Manager of the Bakersfield Condors, spoke regarding the need for an ice facility for hockey practice, being able to retain and recruit better players, and necessary in order to maintain the Condors' long-term success in Bakersfield. He stated that the Condors are prepared to provide the following: 1) rent and pay for 80 to 90 hours a year practice time; 2) transfer to the facility the right to operate the Junior Condors program, which generates gross revenue in excess of $45,000; 3) donate 300 pairs of rental skates, which were purchased in 1999 for $15,000 for public skating; 4) hold a summer hockey school generating a minimum of 20 rental AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT ' COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 4, 2000 Page -4- hours; 5) offer to operate or manage the facility or at the least offer marketing assistance or a partnership to acquire sponsorships to ensure the success of the facility; and 6) provide players to serve as coaches and teachers as desired. Lou Snowden, Bakersfield Blades Ice Club, spoke regarding the need for an ice facility and how good and necessary it is for children's special education programs through the schools such as the one they had when the Ice Palace was here, "Special Kids Skate." Jack Oliver spoke regarding donation of land and funding for an ice skating facility. Barbara Grimes, President, Bakersfield Blades Figure Skating, spoke regarding the need for an ice facility in Bakersfield, so skaters do not have to travel to the Los Angeles area. Andre Radandt, Wm. Bolthouse Farms, spoke about the amazing growth of ice skating and hockey in Bakersfield, which created a viable atmosphere for successful youth hockey programs. With the community's interest so high, he felt it would be feasible to build an ice facility if the City would make a commitment, to build a municipal ice rink, plus support from the private sector through fund-raising. He stated that Wm. Bolthouse Farms is willing to provide up to $250,000 of matching funds, dollar for dollar for donations from the private sector.. Rob Harrison, Owner/Operator of Las Vegas Ice Gardens, Nevada, a twin ice rink facility, spoke regarding their interest in working with the City on building a facility and coming up with plans and operations of how that can be done. He stated he was here with his consultant to see the interest level of the different groups and how events and activities can be line up to measure the future possible financial success of putting an ice facility here. 3. Committee direction to staff on action items Committee Chair Sullivan recognized Mayor-Elect Harvey Hall, County Museum Director Carola Rupert-Enriquez, and County Parks & Recreation Director Bob Addison who were seated in the audience and thanked all those attending for their help and commitment. The Committee directed staff to research all suggestions, comments, and offers of donations Staff was directed to set up another meeting for the purpose of bringing in research and follow-up information. 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Staff attending: City Manager Alan Tandy; Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen; City Attorney Bart Thiltgen; and Assistant City Clerk Rhonda Barnhard cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:~.C\CSCommittee\cs00apr04summary. Wpd