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MINUTES COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, November 5, 2025 - 4:00 P.M. 155 N. TEGNER STREET WICKENBURG, ARIZONA 85390 A. CALL TO ORDER - Chair Stander called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM B. ROLL CALL Present: Alyssa Stander, Chair Amy Monesmith, Vice Chair April Douthett, Member Terry Eberhardt, Member Barbara Remondini, Member Absent: Emily Morse, Member Patricia Ridge, Member Staff Present: Sarah Brown, Community Services Manager Cory Monesmith, Program Coordinator Amy Brown, Town Clerk Jennifer Jubany, Executive Assistant C. CALL TO THE PUBLIC – None D. ITEMS OF BUSINESS 1. Consideration and Action to Approve the Minutes of the Meeting of September 3, 2025 MOVED BY Member Douthett to approve the minutes of September 3, 2025 SECONDED BY Member Monesmith VOTE: 5 - 0 (Yes – Chair Stander, Vice Chair Monesmith, Members Douthett, Eberhardt, and Remondini) (Absent – Members Morse and Ridge) 2. Discussion and Update on Community Services Programming and Events Sarah Brown, Community Services Manager, provided the following update: • Operation Warm: December 2, 2025 o Town of Wickenburg is partnering with the Elks Lodge to provide coats and free books for anyone 18 and under at the library o Volunteers needed for setup, sorting coats by size, and serving cookies and hot chocolate. Community Programming Committee Minutes of November 5, 2025 Page 2 of 6 • Holiday Music Walk: December 6, 2025 – Manager Brown encouraged participation in the annual event • Library Updates: o Former teen room/book sale room is being remodeled into a quiet space for patrons including homeschooling students, online college students, and a meeting space/conference room. Library patrons will vote on naming the space. Top three choices: Book Nook, the Quiet Cove, and the Alcove. • Park Updates: Manager Brown has been working alongside Cory Monesmith, Program Coordinator and Todd Wallace, Parks and Facilities Manager, to inventory park systems. o Taking tours of parks and facilities (Sunset Park, Coffinger, McGuire, Boetto, rodeo grounds) o Assessing future improvements, budget planning, and programming needs o In the future, board members will be asked to tour a park or parks with their families and provide feedback 3. Discussion and Update on the Community Survey to Gather Feedback on Program Needs, Preferences, and Priorities Sarah Brown, Community Services Manager, provided the following update: the survey has been sent to the town manager for review and feedback. 4. Presentation and Discussion Regarding Summer Programming Recap Manager Brown provided the following update: • 2025 pool schedule was roughly the same as 2024, with a few additions • Added open swim on Tuesdays and evening lap swim classes after Wahoo sessions finished for the season • Open swim attendance increased significantly in 2025 Pool Statistics: • Water aerobics dipped a little bit but stayed pretty much the same • Lap swim increased • Swim lessons increased • Swim team increased by one swimmer • Dive in movies numbers increased • Memorial Day numbers increased • 4th of July numbers went up • Splish-Splash Storytime numbers went down Community Programming Committee Minutes of November 5, 2025 Page 3 of 6 Salem is the new pool manager and was the assistant pool manager the previous year. She came up with Teen Night, which had 34 teens show up for the first one. • It was a glow party teen night • They paid $5.00 entry fee and got two slices of pizza and a soda • The music was catered to them and they had a lot of fun games Staffing: • Staffing numbers remained about the same • There were more swim Instructors this year, but no additional staff were hired. Lifeguards can also be swim instructors. Lifeguards must be a lifeguard for at least one year before they can be a swim instructor. • Added more water aerobics instructors towards the end of the season Recreation Staff: • Open gym went down due to the fire suppression system issue at the round gym. The location was moved to the Square Gym at Hassayampa Elementary School for a little bit and then Vulture Peak Middle School. • Softball teams went from six to four teams • Summer camp enrollment went up because we did four sessions compared to three sessions last season. On average, there is a wait list of about 25 kids. • Yoga and martial arts are still offered • Zumba and chair aerobics instructors are the same instructors used for water aerobics. Library Stats: • Summer reading program participants increased from 118 last year to 126 this year. The year before that, there were 94 or 95 participants. • Reading minutes also went up from 118,000 to 181,000. Member Remondini asked about the heated pool and how it will impact water aerobics and the instructor’s ability to do everything they do. Manager Brown stated that the heater is not in yet, but it will potentially be in before the summer season. One of the big holdups right now is the gas line. The project is expected to start after the new fiscal year, and the plan would be to offer more water aerobics classes, lap swim classes, possibly competitive swim team, and possibly some swim lessons in the colder months. Member Remondini asked about summer camps and if there was another location the town could offer a summer camp that didn’t include swim lessons. Manager Brown stated that in the coming summer, there are plans to do a mini camp session at the library called Camp BYTE, which stands for books, youth, technology, and exploration. In the future, the town would like to possibly start offering camps during the fall break, Christmas break, and spring break. Community Programming Committee Minutes of November 5, 2025 Page 4 of 6 5. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding the Recreation Fee Schedule for Programming and Independent Contractors This is an area where Manager Brown wants feedback and input. She reported that currently the town pool fees are in line with other municipalities. Every year the town staff updates a spreadsheet of aquatic facilities in Arizona and their charges. Pool fees were increased minimally about four years ago to align with other municipalities. Manager Brown stated that she has been approached a few times about a couple’s pass. Many seniors like to go to the pool for aerobics and lap swim, and currently the town does not offer a couples pass. Currently, they each pay $40.00 for a single person pass. A pass for a family of four is $95.00, with additional family members costing $10.00 per person. There was concern about defining “couple” was raised by Member Remondini. A suggestion was made to require the same mailing address. “Two adults, 18 years and over, living in the same household”. Manager Brown stated that they can revisit the issue in the future when they extend the pool season. Member Eberhardt asked whether there is a need to do more for mature adults at the pool. Manager Brown stated that she would like to have an adult night at the pool with a band and food options. She is currently working with Kathleen Crutchfield, Grants and Public Information Administrator, on getting Boga boards for water yoga. Water aerobics has exploded in popularity, with both men and women attended every day. General Activities and Events: Manager Brown suggested adding a general category for activities, events, and concession stand sales to the fee schedule. This would allow the town to set a range for program fees. It would state that if the town is going to do an activity, it’s going to be between $1.00 - $75.00. Concession stand sales would be set between $1.00 - $10.00. Most of the time it is a snow cone for $1.00. Summer Camp: The current rate is $150.00, and costs have increased, especially staffing costs. A session is two weeks long, from 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM, and includes swim lessons, lunch, and a snack. It works out to $15.00 per day per child. Snacks for summer camp are provided by the Elks Lodge. Morristown School District provides lunches, except for the last session. An opioid grant offsets supply costs by $1,000 - $2,000, requiring drug/alcohol prevention education at camp – School resource officers and educational materials are used for this. Community Programming Committee Minutes of November 5, 2025 Page 5 of 6 Summer Camp Costs and Revenue: Expenses: Supplies $1,000.00 food (last session), staffing $29,000.00, total $30,000.00 Revenue: (at $150 per session) $14,000.00 Deficit $16,000.00 Proposed Fee Increases and Comparisons: • Fee increase scenarios: o $200 per session: Revenue $19,000, deficit $11,000 o $250 per session: Revenue $24,000, deficit $6,000 o $320 per session: Break-even • Comparison to other camps: o Camp Imagination: $450 o Surprise: $300 (two-week session) o Peoria: $370 (two-week session) o City of Gilbert: $460 per session Discussion on Affordability and Value: • Camp is currently "ridiculously cheap" at $15/day • Daily childcare would cost four times as much • Current costs don't include utilities, lifeguards, uniforms, or training • Accreditation adds value and cost • Suggested raising prices, possibly incrementally • Scholarship program should be available next summer • Education for parents about the value of the camp may be needed • Consensus of the committee was to increase to $250 Independent Instructors: • Independent instructors offer specialized classes (e.g., martial arts, salsa dancing) • Options for instructors: o Employee: Paid flat rate, town provides everything o Independent contractor: Responsible for curriculum and materials, needs to be a trained instructor and carry their own insurance • Town may waive insurance requirements for low-risk activities • Town provides: o Free space and location o Utilities o Online registration platform o Marketing • Independent Instructor revenue split: Instructor gets 80%, town gets 20% Fee Schedule Evaluation: • A question was raised about municipalities moving to a 70/30 split due to increased costs • The possibility of adding this to the fee schedule was discussed Community Programming Committee Minutes of November 5, 2025 Page 6 of 6 o An idea was presented to start at 70/30 and then move to 80/20 if certain targets are met (e.g., number of sign-ups, revenue). Member Eberhardt mentioned that the town benefits from this arrangement because they get credit for offering programs and it's a way to expand programming without hiring more employees. Instructor Split: • It was suggested that an 80/20 split would be better to encourage instructors to participate • Currently, the town works with three independent instructors: yoga, jiu jitsu, and activity instructor • A past experience was shared where a 5% instructor payment model was used with about 25 instructors The committee was in favor of keeping the instructor split at 80/20 to encourage participation. MOVED BY Member Remondini to approve to increase summer camp fees to $250 per session, approve the general activities and concession stand sales as submitted, and keep all other fee structures the same SECONDED BY Member Eberhardt VOTE: 5 - 0 (Yes – Chair Stander, Vice Chair Monesmith, Members Douthett, Eberhardt, and Remondini) (Absent – Members Morse and Ridge) E. NEXT MEETING DATE – January 7, 2026 F. ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY Vice Chair Monesmith to adjourn at 4:46 PM SECONDED BY Member Douthett VOTE: 5 - 0 (Yes – Chair Stander, Vice Chair Monesmith, Members Douthett, Eberhardt, and Remondini) (Absent – Members Morse and Ridge) Alyssa Stander, Chair Attest: Jennifer Jubany, Executive Assistant