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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 (2) eccTo: All Parents of children at the Enfield Elementary From: The Enfield Community Council (ECC) Date: March 1, 1999 Re: Status of Afterschool Program Effective at the end of this school year, June, 1999, The Enfield Community Council can no longer continue to sponsor the afterschool daycare program at the Enfield EIementary School. The Afterschool Day Care Program requires professional expertise to run, has new state regulations, and is too complex for the ECC to continue to its sponsorship. The After School Parent's Committee (ASPC), which currently runs the afterschool - dayeare program under the sponsorship of the ECC, needs to make a choice by April 1, 1999. (1) Either continue under their own direction as an independent corporation as almost all afterschool programs in the Ithaca City School District are doing. The ECC will provide financial support to make this transition. (2) Have the afterschool daycare program subcontracted, to a professional day care provider in Tompkins County, to operate an afterschool daycare program at the Enfield Elementary School. The ECC will continue to apply for United Way Scholarships on behalf of the children in the afterschool daycare program at the Enfield School. Please contact the ASPC that is currently making decisions for your program to let them know which option you would prefer. If you do not know their names and telephone numbers, you can get them from Linda Hubbell, the afterschool daycare program director. The ECC will continue to operate its enrichment program (the bustrips and special afterschool activities for children), teen program, summer camp and counselor -in -training (CIT) program, newsletter, and annual Harvest Festival. Sincerely, The ECC Executive Committee Joe Scherer, President Dave Owens, Vice President Alicia Febo, Secretary Jane Murphy, Treasurer To: The Enfield Town Board From: The ECC Date: March 8, 1999 Re: Status of Afterschool Program Effective at the end of this school year, June 1999, the ECC will no longer sponsor the After School Parents' Committee (ASPC) to run the afterschool program at the Enfield Elementary School. The ECC does not have the expertise to operate a daycare program in today's climate. The Afterschool Day Care Program requires professional expertise to run, has new state regulations, and is too complex for the ECC to continue to its sponsorship. The ECC is willing to help with a smooth transition for the children of Enfield by assisting the current ASPC in achieving independence, or by subcontracting with an independent professional day care provider to run the afterschool daycare program The ECC began sponsorship of the afterschool program at a time when afterschool programs were not common place. Afterschool programs now exist in every elementary school in the county. These programs are self-supporting financially and have the technical support of a professional organization, the Day Care Council of Tompkins County (DCC), that assists with new government mandates, provides free training and consultation, and organizes meetings for the afterschool program managers. Indeed, the ECC is the sole community council in the Ithaca City School District to be sponsoring an afterschool program at the present time. For these reasons, the ECC is no longer able to sponsor the ASPC in its provision of the afterschool daycare program at the EnfieldElementary School. The ECC wants to support the children of Enfield to make a smooth transition in the management of the afterschool daycare program at the Enfield Elementary School. It is in the children's' best interests, and for the overall good of the program, that the afterschool daycare program be outside the jurisdiction of the ECC, and in closer coordination with other afterschool programs and in closer coordination with the expertise offered by the DCC and other appropriate daycare professionals. The ECC will continue to apply for scholarships through the United Way for the afterschool daycare program at the Enfield School regardless of the separate corporate status of the afterschool daycare program or the subcontracting of the afterschool daycare program to another independent professional daycare provider. to them 7 job sites to explore career`s iow to be teen program assista ning will hopefully include two of the training we will involve i adiust to thehigh school by ha eld Teen _ _ - -, - - __ - �_ a To: The Enfield Town Board From: Jane Murphy Date: March 8, 1999 Re: Recreation Partnership I have requested that the Recreation Partnership (RP) be placed as a separate agenda item from the Enfield Community Council (ECC) because it will be up to the Town of Enfield whether to contract to continue to be a part of the RP -- the ECC cannot sign the contract. There are many changes that are being discussed for the RP now that the old contract will be expiring in 12/99 and a new multi-year contract is to be created. Overview of trends for Enfield youth participating in RP programming The RP is an important component of youth recreation services for Town of Enfield. The Town of Enfield's participation in the RP allows children from Enfield to enroll in RP programs sponsored by the Ithaca Youth Bureau (IYB) at reduced rates than those rates charged to children from towns that do not participate in the RP. Also, many RP scholarships are awarded to Enfield youth. ` Youth participation in RP programs has increased ever since the Town of Enfield began participating in the RP. RP program offerings have been expanded to appeal to an even broader range of youth recreation interests. Hopefully, the TCAT bus service to Enfield that is planned will -allow even more Enfield youth to participate in the RP should the Town of Enfield elect to continue its participation in the RP. Changes to the RP and the new contract The process that is occurring now is in two parts. First, there is a volunteer advisory board -- the RP Board -- that meets monthly. The RP Board will be reviewing Iprograms to determine which programs it will recommend be continued (or started) as RP offerings. Second, there is a governmental working group composed of town board members from each currently contracting municipality, or a citizen appointed by his or her town board, that meets twice a month. The agenda and mission of that group for the next year is attached (2 pages). I am serving as Enfield's representative to both of these committees. This stage in the process has been about identifying questions. The next parts of the process will be about finding answers. The following seem to be the main areas of concern for Enfield: I: What value is Enfield getting for its participation fee? 1) What RP programs will be offered? What programs, if any, duplicate programs offered by the ECC (such as summer camp with before and after care)? Which programs are Enfield Youth utilizing the most? Which programs are not utilized by Enfield Youth? 2) What are the actual costs of the RP programs participated in by Enfield Youth? Are these programs more or less subsidized by tax dollars than the average of RP programs? 3) How are scholarships awarded and how will they be awarded in the future? 4) How will program fees to participating youths be set? II: What will new costs be under the new RP contract S) From comments made at the governmental working group thus far, it seems that the City of Ithaca (Mayor Cohen) is -looking to get more of its overhead for the IYB -- for the portions of the IYB building, administrative expenses, personnel, maintenance, and/or capital improvements used by the RP- recouped through the RP than it is receiving at the present time. What is Mayor Cohen looking for (no hard numbers yet)? He talks about "fair market value." What is "fair market value", and who determines this? 6) Are there any RP programs that exclusively serve City of Ithaca. Youth? Should and will these programs be taken off the RP books? 7) The Town of Ithaca has taken the position that it will not participate in the RP unless the money for it is taken out of the City of Ithaca books and flows through a Joint Activities Fund. As one of the two largest participants (along with the City of Ithaca) in the RP, will the Town of Ithaca be able to force a Joint. Activities Fund? What exactly will a Joint Activities Fund involve? So far, it seems that a Joint Activities Fund basically means that the RP will be a self-funded program that neither subsidizes nor receives subsidies from the City of Ithaca accounts. A Joint Activities Fund also means that if there are any revenue shortfalls, 'the participating municipalities will have to make up that loss. Can the Town of Enfield take on that exposure? Are there any advantages to this (why does the Town of Ithaca want this?) 8) How will participation fees for towns be set? MA � �f fi ;( 9) What will the role of the County be (how much will the County pay)? The issues are whether Enfield should choose to continue to participate in the RP, whether Enfield can have any meaningful. input, into the contract offered for participation in the RP, and what the Enfield Town Board would like to see included in the RP agreement. Decisions and steps involved in getting to a mutually acceptable partnership agreement for providing shared recreation xervicem- RoW.4od ,?/4/'4'1 ReGnew the current l)a[tnership agroontont which includes spoeifice ori All of tlto key oloinuits below laid idontify. any areas that need to be re -negotiated. SERVICES Verify the set of shared services that all partners want to have available for their constituents • Briefly review current program offerings - detailed reviews will be done by Partnership Board • Get input from the Recreation Partnership Board on future directions. • Which populations should be served by the partnership? • Will non-members be permitted to receive services? Under what conditions? • How will decisions about providers be handled in the new partnership? • Get agreement on the set or categories of servicesthat should be continued in 2000 and beyond and how selection of provider(s) would be handled. COSTS: Understand how the current budget is constructed to costs to be shared. • Review the expenses and revenues of the Recreation. Partnership including how time IYB staff is allocated. • Review the expenses and revenues of programs and clusters of service. • Review cost projections for 2000. • Come to agreement on the net cost of the set of shared programs to be offered through the Partnership. FACILITIES • Review the current arrangements regarding how facility costs are included and shared and what future facility costs are estimated to be. • Review access to ICSD facilities and possible access to other facilities. • Consider whether and how the current arrangement would be affected by the creation of a joint activity account. • Agree on a way of securing facilities needed to plan and operate the desired set of services. • Will the City continue to own the facilities? • Will they be owned by the partnership? • Will they be leased from the City (and others if needed? • How will maintenance costs be paid for? How will capital improvements be handled? • What will the costs be for 2000 and beyond? 4 4 If there is agreement on these 3 items, the. partnership will know what the net costs are to be shared COST SHARING Review current basis for cost-sharing to determine if the current system seems fair.. . • If the current system seems reasonably fair, discuss how cost of .living increases, new offerings, capital improvements, and any shortfalls or surpluses would be handled. • If the currant system needs to change, consider a variety of factors on which costs could be based (e.g. participation, population, households, assessed value etc.) County Youth Bureau can do scenarios. • Consider whether there is a need or desire for a continuing County role. If so, what? • If there is a revised cost-sharing plan, consider how cost of living increases, capital improvements and any shortfalls or surpluses would be handled. �a f•�`R `RNANCE What kind of governance structure makes sense given the decisions made to date? How many seats on the governing board, how will they be allocated and filled? How would adding or withdrawal of partners be handled? What would be the roles and responsibilities of elected officials? • Who would oversee services and what is their relationship to the governing. structure? • If the Ithaca Youth Bureau is the sole or primary provider, what relationship will IYB staff have to the City and the Partnership? • What would a new partnership agreement need to include? • Is the new partnership envisioned to be a permanent one (until members initiate a change) or is it time limited - if so, what is a practical length? How would amendments be made? IMPLEMENTATION • If there is agreement to change the shares significantly, would there be a transitional period? • Decide whether to project out municipal contributions into the next few years: • Review/develop the mechanics of how a joint activity fund would work. • Would a joint activity fund affect the City roles as: member, current facility owner, and service provider? SUGGESTED TIME TABLE FOR PLANNING AND CRITICAL DECISIONS: Bi -weekly meetings February - March Focus on Services, Costs, and Facilities April Informational report sent to all parties Focus on cost-sharing and governance and implementation May If agreements can be reached on key elements, develop a proposal to circulate for feedback from elected boards, youth commission, County and City committees as needed. If not, a plan to renew for 2000 while planning continues should be considered June Modify proposal as needed to respond to feedback July County and City departments must prepare their budgets August Supervisors begin town budgeting September All municipalities on January 1 budget cycle review budget proposal October Towns finalize budgets and County &, City Budget Comm. propose drafts November City and County adopt their budgets December Transition to Joint Activity Fund January Start up of new Partnership