MEMORANDUM


TO: City Council

FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT: Budget Worksession Follow-up #2

DATE: April 21, 2008

This report provides responses to some of the items that Councilmembers mentioned in the first Budget Worksession.

1. Traffic Calming Schedule. See attached memorandum.

2. County Roads. The FY08 Budget contains an objective to have the City study the potential for assuming maintenance responsibility for and ownership of County roads within the City. The attached memorandum addresses the objective, and it is timely since you will be reviewing the Public Works operating budget this Thursday.

3. Increase Nonresidential Rates for Gymnasium per CRC Recommendation. The CRC did not recommend any changes in the fee structure at the City of Bowie Gymnasium for Fiscal Year 2009.

4. Charge for bus transportation just outside City. Provide information on what we do now. Do we currently pick up people outside the City limits, and should we?
The City does not pick up persons who live outside the City limits. Our focus is on providing transportation to residents. There are many additional transportation alternatives that we publicize at the Center. They include:

Metro Access 301-562-5360 Eligibility required.
Fish of Bowie 301-262-8479 Emergency transportation for errands.
Partners in Care 1-800-227-5500 (Same as Fish)
Bowie Cab 301-390-8808
Silver Cab 301-577-2000, or 301-270-6000
Metrobus Information 202-637-7000

For residents outside the City limits, they can use the County service known as Call A Bus, 301-499-8603, for door-to-door transportation; 14 days advance registration is preferred; medical appointments are given priority.

Call A Cab which is run by the County Department of Transportation, 301-883-5656 allows seniors (55+) and disabled to purchase up to 12 $20.00 coupon books in a six-month period at $10.00 per book.

Staff believes that there are ample opportunities for residents to use a variety of services above and that there is no need for the City of Bowie to expand its transportation system. Attention is directed to the performance indicators on page 92 of the Proposed Budget to better gauge the existing program.

5. Allocation of resident versus nonresident use of Bowie Gymnasium. How are priorities established? Look at difference between resident and nonresident rates.

The City of Bowie Gymnasium prioritizes use of the facility in the same manner as the allocation of City-owned fields. Use is prioritized as follows:

Resident, youth, nonprofit
Resident, adult, nonprofit
Nonresident youth, nonprofit
Nonresident adult, nonprofit
Resident youth, for profit
Resident adult, for profit
Nonresident youth, for profit
Nonresident adult, for profit

The sliding fee schedule currently in place reflects significant differences in rates paid by user groups. Groups using the facility meet the residency requirement approximately 90% of the time. Time during the weekdays from mid-morning to mid-afternoon makes up the majority of nonresident use. This is traditionally the least busy time of the day; and we have made an effort to utilize the space in a productive manner, offering time to schools, businesses, etc., that do not necessarily meet the 60% requirement.

The great majority of BBGC/SBBGC users are Bowie residents, somewhere in the 90% range. Our user groups as a whole all meet the 60% residency requirement. If the percentage rate went up to 75%, a few of the AAU teams would be affected. They use space from April to August that is not traditionally used by the clubs. The only groups that don’t meet the residency requirements would be the few schools that use the Gym in the morning or early afternoon hours weekdays during the school year.

6. Camps per field/day charges of $75 are the same for residents and nonresidents.
Staff recommends that the current language be amended to remove camp fees for nonresident use. The CRC concurs that additional use of our City-owned fields by outside groups should be discontinued.

7. Provide location in area of other synthetic turf fields for Council to visit if they desire. The closest example of a synthetic turf field can be found at Navy Stadium just off Rowe Boulevard, home to the Midshipmen. Also three new fields were just installed at the Gaithersburg Sports Complex operated by Montgomery County.

8. Look at Jericho Park and provide costs for dugout covers, and other fields where they could be provided. Dugout covers are on four fields owned by the City of Bowie, two at Allen Pond Park, and two at Blacksox Park. These can be installed on all remaining baseball fields at Jericho Park (four), Whitemarsh Park (one), and Blacksox Park (three). The cost per field constructed in house is $6,000 per field, which consists of two dugouts.

9. Murtagh Field versus Whitemarsh. In regard to the selection of Murtagh I for synthetic turf, this field was selected because we allow both soccer and lacrosse play on it. This is the area most in need for more field time. It is also a smaller field than a football field, and allows us to initiate this process of using a synthetic field and determine how this type of field may fit into the City’s future.

Whitemarsh Park football field was not chosen since it has irrigation. The price to convert a football field would be significantly greater than the Murtagh I field and would require a budget amendment. State funds will be used in the amount of $457,000 toward the Murtagh project via the Program Open Space program.

10. Internet Connections in Council Chambers. The Council Chambers is internet compatible now.

11. Paperless Agenda. The package could be scanned and either placed on the web for Council access, or a CD could be burned and delivered to Council. Council would need to address the question of laptops. Some Members own laptops, some do not. In the past, there has never been a Council majority supporting City purchase of laptops for Council. Laptops for full Council would cost approximately $7,700.

DJD/asf

Attachments