The former Farmersville City Council decides to table the idea of a creating a recreation department to consider impacts to the Boys & Girls Club and existing sport leagues
FARMERSVILLE – After the former city council requested that staff brainstorm a recreation department for the city, staff found a newly formed division could disrupt programs already in place.
At their Jan. 9 city council meeting, Farmersville city manager Jennifer Gomez said that though the former city council had wanted staff to look into a recreation division, there would be a lot of reorganization that would have to take place. According to Gomez, a recreation division could have a direct impact on the Boys & Girls Club, as well as various community sports leagues in the city. Fortunately for the club, the current council quickly scrapped the idea until a strategic plan meeting on Feb. 6.
“This had not been identified as a goal or priority in the council’s strategic plan, so we have only just recently compiled some rough estimates in order to get a general understanding of any anticipated revenues and expenses related to establishing a new division,” Gomez said.
The reason being is the city would need to occupy the Community Center, which currently houses the Boys & Girls Club, for office space and activities. Unless the club relocated, they would not be able to operate without a facility in the case the city were to use their current facility. Additionally, the football, soccer and baseball leagues that use the city’s sports and recreation fields would no longer be able to use them at their leisure, as the city would give their recreation division first priority over these spaces.
“I know that’s already an issue with needing more fields to begin with for existing organizations providing various recreational opportunities. The city would be competing against them directly for registration and other fields,” Gomez said.
In order to start a new recreation division, it would cost the city about $350,000 in the first year, and about $200,000 each year thereafter. Some of the annual expenses are offset by registration fees from those participating in the sport, which could range from $50 to $80 per player. Even with those fees, however, the general fund would still need to support up to 75% of that annual budget.
