ATTACHMENT 4
MEMORANDUM
TO: Cal Horton, Town Manager
FROM: Kathryn Spatz, Parks & Recreation Director
RE: Potential Parks and Recreation Use of Old Library
DATE: March 1, 2006
This is in response to our conversation regarding the Parks and Recreation Department’s potential use of the old Library building on E. Franklin Street. In short, we would relish the opportunity to move our administrative offices to the higher profile building and open up programming and meeting space at both the old Library and in the building behind the Community Center.
Typically, the backbone of a strong public Parks and Recreation Department is its wide array of cultural, art, nature, and hobby classes. Our Department’s single greatest limitation in offering such opportunities has been lack of multi-purpose programming space. The Community Center on Estes Drive has one small room suitable for courses but it is used extensively for meetings and private rentals, such as birthday parties, as well as drop-in play such as table tennis and foosball. The Hargraves Center has more programming space but we continue to face the dilemma of either limiting drop-in use for neighborhood youth or turning away community groups wishing to meet when we offer organized classes. We believe our current space is programmed to capacity.
Another programming issue to consider is the probable impending loss of the pottery studio space at the Lincoln Center. The Town has had use of this space for almost 30 years through a Joint Use Agreement with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System. This agreement will expire December 31, 2007. In my initial conversations with Steve Scroggs, I believe the school system intends to take back this space to provide additional office space for the system’s administration. Our pottery program currently serves approximately 215 patrons and generates almost $21,000 per year to cover all costs associated with the operation of the studio. Unless we can identify suitable space, the pottery program will probably be forced to close next year.
Moving our administrative offices to E. Franklin Street would open significant public space for activities and community meetings at the Plant Road building. As you know, the Parks and Recreation Department was placed temporarily in the old Transportation Department offices/garage in the mid-1970s. We have been here ever since. The structure on Plant Road currently contains offices for 13 staff. Three of those offices are in areas not originally heated/air conditioned. Proper ventilation has been added in a piecemeal fashion and is less than ideal. We have no vacant offices. The Special Olympics specialist shares her office three days a week with two program participants who help administer the program. We currently have a 40-hour per week intern using space in the garage area of the building. She has been using space heaters to keep warm. Any interns or seasonal staff housed at the offices on Plant Road must share this less than desirable space. The facility’s one meeting room seats approximately eight comfortably. We must go to one of our community centers to hold larger department staff meetings. Staff from the Public Works Department have been working with our department to prepare a Capital Improvements Program (CIP) project to replace the existing structure on Plant Road. The estimate (in current year dollars) is roughly $3 million.
Relocating our offices to the old Library building would not only solve multiple problems, including providing indoor multi-purpose space suitable for public meetings and leisure programs and securing adequate office space for our department staff, but we believe it would provide additional parking for the heavily used amenities at the Community Center. We work with the Police regularly during peak use of the facilities when parking demand overflows to the post office and University Mall. Parking behind the center offers a safer option.
Finally, I believe perhaps the strongest reason to move our department is the first impression citizens see when they come to our administrative office to register for a program or learn about our parks and facilities. Attached is a photo of the front of the Parks and Recreation Department Administrative Office. We are at the end of a dead end road. I believe that the Parks & Recreation Department offices should be inviting to citizens. While we have made vast improvements to the inside of the administrative offices on Plant Road, I do not believe the current structure can be appealing to anyone who sees it.
I would be pleased to discuss this issue further if you wish. Should you have any questions regarding this issue, please contact me at ext. 2785.
