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REPORT TO General
Committee-Community Services & Environment |
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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Steve Andrews, Director, Asset Management |
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PREPARED BY: |
Bob Nicholson, Manager, Business and Technical Services |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
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SUBJECT: |
Satellite Recreation Centres Policies Agreement |
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RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report entitled “Satellite Recreation Centres Policies Agreement” be received;
AND THAT the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute the “Satellite Recreation Centres Policies Agreement” and related “Memorandum of Acknowledgement” with the Satellite Community Centre Boards;
AND FURTHER THAT the applicable Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada fees for the satellite community centres in the estimated amount of $4,160.00 be expensed to the 2006 Asset Management operating budget accounts specified in the report.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this
report is to obtain Council approval to execute the Satellite Recreation
Centres Policies Agreement and the Memorandum of Acknowledgement (MOA) with the
various Council appointed Satellite Community Centre Boards (Box Grove
Community Centre, Cedar Grove Community Centre, German Mills Community Centre,
Victoria Square Community Centre, Markham Train Station and the Heintzman House).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Satellite Recreation Centres Policies Agreement and the MOA have
been prepared with the objective of confirming the mutually beneficial working
relationship that exists between the Town of
Five of the six Boards are prepared to execute the MOA while the Box Grove Community Centre has a minor concern regarding the impact of the additional administrative burden of standardized rental contracts and potential lost revenue resulting from reduced rental activity. From Town Staff’s perspective, the policy requirements are essential and serve to ensure that adequate measures are in place to protect the Town, Board members and the Licensees renting the various facilities.
Recognizing that the majority of Boards involved endorse the Policy document and the MOA in its present form, staff recommend that Council approve this report with the understanding that staff will continue to work to resolve the outstanding issues with the Board of the Box Grove Community Centre.
BACKGROUND:
The Town’s population has grown considerably since the majority of the Boards were established under the Community Recreation Centres Act in the 1960’s (save for the Markham Train Station Board which was established in 2003). Many of the Boards initially operated in a rural or suburban environment that over time has evolved into an urban model operating in an increasingly complex business and regulatory environment.
The Asset Management Department, with the assistance of Council members, the Legal and Financial Services Departments have prepared the Policies Agreement / MOA. The objective from the outset was to implement a consistent set of operating guidelines that can be uniformly applied to all sites. Additionally, in this increasing complex operating environment, various Boards expressed concern regarding liability coverage for Board members.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
The Policies document addresses four main requirements:
- Rental Guidelines
- Facility Maintenance
- Alcohol Policy
- Liability and Insurance
Attachment ‘A’ provides an overview of each requirement, any remaining issues and the Boards agreement in principle to each.
1) Rental Guidelines
The goal of this portion of the Agreement is to achieve rental guidelines common to all other Town-owned Community Centres while still providing some flexibility for the Boards.
2) Facility Maintenance
Facility maintenance and capital replacement projects were initially undertaken by the volunteer Boards with little financial assistance from the Town. However, with aging facilities, heritage considerations and more direct Town involvement, there has been a cooperative approach to facility maintenance and capital replacement projects as part of the annual budget approval process.
The agreement assigns
responsibility for maintenance issues to both the Town and the Boards. Generally, the Town is responsible for all exterior
components of the building and major capital replacement, while the individual
Boards are responsible for the interior of the facility including operating costs
such as utilities. Capital project cost
sharing guidelines are include
3) Alcohol Policy
The Town’s Alcohol Policy
was recently amended by a report to Council dated
4) Liability Insurance
The Town’s liability insurance policy provides general liability
coverage for all Committees of Council including the Satellite Recreation
Centres Board members, while acting within the scope of their duties. The Town
policy does not provide general liability coverage for persons renting Town
facilities (Licensee) in situations where the Town is not negligent.
On February 14, 2006, Council approved the report entitled “Facility
User Group Insurance”, to amend the Facility Rental Agreements for all Town
Operated Facilities requiring Licensees to have at least $2,000,000 in general
liability insurance coverage with full participant coverage and naming the Town
as an additional insured. In addition, the Town will implement a Facility User
Group Insurance program allowing facility Licensees the option to purchase the
required insurance through B.F. Lorenzetti & Associates (BFL). This
insurance provides coverage for the Licensee of the facility, all persons
participating in the facility rental and names the Town as an additional
insured.
In the fall of 2005, a Pilot Facility User Insurance Program was implemented
with two Satellite Facilities, Markham Village Train Station and Heintzman
House. Town staff will review the pilot
insurance program with the Satellite Facilities in March 2006 to determine the
success of the pilot. When the Pilot is deemed successful a report will
presented to Council recommending that all remaining Satellite facilities adopt
the same insurance standard approved by Council for Town Operated Facilities.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Society of Composers,
Authors and Music Publishers of
SOCAN is a copyright collective, authorized to grant a licence under the federal Copyright Act, where the performance of copyrighted music is played at functions such as weddings and dances. SOCAN fees have been collected at our Recreation facilities for some time, but not for satellite community centre functions. The recommended rental agreement contract includes this requirement.
SOCAN Fees
The SOCAN fees for
facilities with annual rental income of less than $15,400 can be absorbed by
the Town for less than $200 per year per year.
The Heintzman House has approximately 60 rentals per year requiring a
SOCAN licence as revenues are in excess of the annual limit set by SOCAN. As such, the current SOCAN rate per rental is
$56.00 which translates into an annual cost to the Town of approximately
$3,400. The German Mills Community
Centre is not affected by this requirement at this point in time.
To ease the requirement of SOCAN administration, staff recommend that the Town incur the cost of meeting SOCAN requirements
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Facility |
Rentals Requiring SOCAN |
Rate per Rental |
Total SOCAN Cost |
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Box Grove C. C. |
Annual Rentals less
than $15,400 |
Annual Fee |
$200 |
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Cedar Grove C. C. |
Annual Rentals less
than $15,400 |
Annual Fee |
$200 |
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German Mills C. C. |
No Rentals Involving
Music |
Nil |
Nil |
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Heintzman House |
60 |
$56.00 |
$3,360 |
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Annual Rentals less
than $15,400 |
Annual Fee |
$200 |
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Annual Rentals less
than $15,400 |
Annual Fee |
$200 |
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Total Cost Absorbed by Town |
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$4,160.00 |
Operating Budget Impact:
Operating Budget accounts
exist for each of the Satellite Community Centres. The accounts have been established to provide
the funding necessary to address the Town’s maintenance responsibilities in any
given year. The following table
identifies the 2006 approved budget for each community centre an
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Facility |
Account Code |
2006 Budget |
2005 Actual |
Variance |
SOCAN Fee |
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Box Grove C.C. |
750-750-5483 |
14,937.00 |
9,793.24 |
5,143.76 |
200.00 |
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Cedar Grove C.C. |
750-750-5484 |
17,437.00 |
4,717.07 |
12,719.93 |
200.00 |
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German Mills C.C. |
750-750-5486 |
971.00 |
3,616.31 |
-2,645.31 |
0.00 |
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Heintzman House |
750-750-5474 |
1,456.00 |
3,592.57 |
-2,136.57 |
3,360.00 |
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750-750-5470 |
12,502.00 |
14,786.93 |
-2,284.93 |
200.00 |
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750-750-5485 |
14,937.00 |
11,877.23 |
3,059.77 |
200.00 |
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Totals |
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62,240.00 |
48,383.35 |
13,856.65 |
4,160.00 |
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
None
ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:
None
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND
AFFECTED:
The preparation of this Agreement has included advice and input from the Finance Department, the Recreation and Culture Department and the Legal Department. Outside agencies such as Frank Cowan Insurance (the Town’s insurance provider), SOCAN, B. F. Lorenzetti & Associates and the AGCO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario) were also consulted and provided valuable information in reviewing the agreement.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment ‘A’ - Satellite
Recreation Centres Policies Agreement Overview
Attachment ‘B’ - Memorandum of Acknowledgement
Attachment ‘C’ - Satellite
Recreation Centres Policies Agreement
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Steve Andrews, P.Eng. Director, Asset Management |
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Jim Sales,
Commissioner, Community and Fire Services |
Q:\Commission Share\Operations
and Asset Management\Reports\2006\Asset Management\Asset Management\Satellite
Policies Agreement.doc