The Bayfield Parks & Recreation Department provides activities for community members from little kids to senior citizens, director Scott Key told town trustees on June 3.
"We serve anyone from age 3 to 90-plus," he said.
Sports offerings include kids' soccer, football, and T-ball, youth baseball, volleyball, and basketball, adult softball, volleyball and indoor soccer.
Scheduling indoor practice and game times at the old gym on South Street is an ongoing issue during much of the year, Key said, because the school district also uses the gym for practice and has first priority. The town leases the space from the district, currently for $6,000 per year.
"The old gym is full all the time except for summer," Key said. "Now the Family Center is using it. The big demand is when the weather goes south."
The town is supposed to be able to use the gym after 6 p.m. during the school year, Key said, but school district C team basketball practices sometimes run past 6 p.m.
"There are challenges scheduling kids' basketball practice so they aren't up too late in the evening," he said.
"Basketball is our largest sport. It got so large that we had to cap registration or do two seasons. We split the seasons, but that was competing with (activities for) older kids in Ignacio and Durango, so our participation in that age group went down. We'll avoid that this fall."
Outside spaces also get a lot of use. "During the summer, the (Eagle) park pavilion is rented every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A couple weekends ago, we had nine rentals during that time," Key said.
He speculated that Joe Stephenson Park across the street from the town hall was probably packed right then. On some evenings, a combination of kids' and adult sports plus rodeo arena activities put a real crunch on parking, he said.
Spring kids' soccer had more than 400 participants this year, including kids bussed from Ignacio. Youth programs in general have had increased participation.
Joe Stephenson Park and the old gym also provide venues for special events. "Special events are unique for Bayfield," Key said. "They draw big crowds, and they are growing." He cited the Easter 5k run that drew participants from Ignacio, Durango, Pagosa, and Farmington.
He noted that many of the program users live outside town limits. "Parks & Rec doesn't serve the town of Bayfield. We serve the greater area, even teams from Durango," he said. "Our service area is much bigger than just the town."
He wanted direction from trustees on whether out-of-town participants should pay higher fees. That could cause some families to stop participating, he said. He also noted that out-of-town residents pay sales tax in town.
Trustees didn't give feedback on that, although trustee Ed Morlan noted citizen proposals every few years to try to create a parks and recreation district coinciding with the library or fire district area and funded by property taxes.
"It's an answer to the question" of out-of-town users, Morlan said. "To me personally, the town has to be involved."
He asked about a master plan for Joe Stephenson Park.
There is one, Key said, but it's outdated and doesn't include some things that have been achieved, such as the senior center or the second ball field.
"We need to apply for a GoCo grant (from state lottery funds) to do a new master plan," he said. "Most recently we've been trying to get dollars for the land buy," 23 acres owned by the school district between the old middle school and the river.
The town has been turned down twice for grant funding for that, Key said. The town did get funding to help build a new park shop, and work has started on that just west of the senior center.
Key said the choice now is whether to re-apply for funding for the land purchase or for a new master plan. "Is land acquisition or the master plan more important?" Key asked. "The idea was to pursue the money for the land, and if we get it, then money for the master plan because it could include the new land."
He said a lot of GoCo money has been shifted to rehab Front Range areas devastated by floods last fall.
"Before we get crazy about expansion, we need to take care of what we have," Key said. The town put around $10,000 worth of sand on the Joe Stephenson ball fields last year to fill surface irregularities. The dirt is mostly gone off the infield of the north ball field, and the outfield fence needs to be replaced. The price of fertilizer "has gone through the roof," he said.
The Parks & Rec budget also includes the Gosney and Mesa neighborhood parks, the Highway 160 roadside park and Little Pine Park. The four Parks & Rec employees, including Key, also are in charge of upkeep at the town hall and the senior center, Key said.
Morlan asked about program subsidies.
Key said the main place where the town subsidizes operations is the senior center, the cost of operating and maintaining the building. He cited a 2010 review that compared the number of people served and the fees they paid versus costs to the town.
Then-Town Manager Justin Clifton told trustees in December 2010, "We spend around $46 for the average recreation participant and about $800 for the average senior participant." Senior center site committee members had disputed that.
Key told trustees last week that vandalism has been a big problem, with damage to equipment, sign tagging, skateboard ramps, and the Joe Stephenson Park bathroom. Someone has been smearing poop on the bathroom walls and toilet seats, he said.
One reason for the park shop is to get equipment out of a storage container that's been a target because of its secluded location. Vandals broke in and damaged two lawn mowers, he said.
"There were kids charged, and they had to pay restitution, a couple thousand dollars," Marshal Joe McIntyre said.
Aside from protecting equipment, the park shop will mean "no more changing oil in the rocks and sand. It will be great for morale," Key said.
