Cheshire Town Council Reviews Pool, Parks, and Human Services Budgets for Upcoming Fiscal Year

Town Council · Meeting of March 29, 2018

CT CHESHIRE — Cheshire Town Council deferred a vote on a part-time parks coordinator and reviewed recreation and human services budgets at its March 29 meeting. The council chose not to act on a motion to unfreeze a 19-hour-per-week program coordinator position — estimated at roughly $20,000 annually — after members noted the budget committee chair and vice chair were absent, pushing the vote to the April 3 meeting. Parks and Recreation Director Josh reported the community pool subsidy must rise by $69,588 in the proposed budget, driven by the facility's weakest summer season on record, and presented proposals for an aquatic climbing wall, an inflatable obstacle course, and a new fee structure charging for-profit organizations $25 to $40 per hour to use town athletic fields.

Human Services Director Michelle told the council nine opioid overdoses occurred in Cheshire in 2017 — up from zero two years prior — and presented three decision-package requests totaling roughly $40,000 to expand youth counseling and senior social work hours. The council also informally endorsed a lobby sponsorship plaque, rather than a logo on the blocks themselves, to acknowledge the Sea Dogs swim parent group's $40,000 donation for pool starting blocks and a timing system.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,091 words

Source: the Town Council meeting of March 29, 2018, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

CHESHIRE — March 29, 2018 — The Cheshire Town Council spent Thursday evening reviewing the recreation, community pool, and human services department budgets, hearing requests for new positions and capital investments while deferring a formal vote on a part-time parks coordinator role to a later meeting.

The session, which functioned as a combined council and budget committee review, touched on a pool pass revenue decline, a proposal to charge for-profit groups to use town athletic fields, and a push from the human services department for expanded mental health counseling capacity. No formal votes were recorded on any budget items.

The Full Story

Town Manager Michael opened the meeting by turning the floor over to Parks and Recreation Director Josh, who has been on the job four months, to walk through both the recreation and pool budgets. Michael praised the new director as "a creative, energetic, passionate person who has no shortage of ideas," noting that Josh came with experience as an aquatics director, a recreation director, and a concert organizer.

Josh reported that the overall recreation budget is up 4.74 percent compared to the prior year, but said that increase is driven almost entirely by a $69,588 boost in the annual subsidy to the community pool. Stripped of that factor, he said, the recreation operation would have come in lower than the prior year. He told the council the pool had experienced its weakest summer season on record, attributing the decline in seasonal pass sales to the indoor nature of the facility and a national trend away from traditional pool memberships. A community satisfaction survey launched February 23 had drawn 354 responses as of the meeting, with many respondents citing cost as a barrier to pool membership. The survey was set to close April 6.

To help reverse the pool's attendance slide, Josh proposed two capital investments: an aquatic climbing wall and an inflatable obstacle course, describing both as relatively low-cost amenities that could be added as features for birthday party rentals and help establish the pool as a recreational destination. He also floated longer-term ideas including an outdoor sand volleyball court. On the concert series, Josh said the town had been spending roughly $22,000 per summer season just on stage, audio, and lighting rentals — before any band costs — and that he had already collected just under $5,000 in business sponsorships toward an initial goal of $10,000.

"I understand the fiscal challenges that are facing the state of Connecticut and the impacts on the town of Cheshire in particular." [00:00:00] — Josh, Parks and Recreation Director

Josh also presented a proposal to begin charging for-profit organizations and non-resident groups to use town athletic fields, noting that comparable towns such as Wallingford and Southington already charge between $50 and $75 per field. His recommended rates were $25 per hour for unlighted fields and $40 per hour for lighted fields. He said the policy would exempt Cheshire-based nonprofits, defined as organizations with rosters of at least 80 percent Cheshire residents. Council members expressed broad support for pursuing a formal fee schedule, with the full policy expected to come back before the council in three to four weeks.

The council also discussed a request to unfreeze a part-time program coordinator position — 19 hours per week, no benefits, estimated at roughly $20,000 annually — that had been built into the department reorganization last year but never filled. A motion was drafted and a second offered, but the council chose to defer the vote after members noted that the budget committee chair and vice chair were absent. A council member withdrew the second, and the item was placed on the agenda for the following Tuesday's council meeting.

"We completely reorganized the department last year. And I know that some of you were rather concerned about whether or not we could do it and do it seamlessly. And it went well." [00:00:00] — Town Manager Michael

Human Services Director Michelle followed with a review of her department's 1.49 percent budget increase, the second consecutive lean request after a 1.04 percent rise the prior year. She described mounting pressure from state-level service cuts, a worsening opioid crisis — nine overdose incidents in Cheshire in 2017, compared to zero and three in the two preceding years — and sharply rising demand for youth mental health counseling. She presented three decision-package requests outside the base budget: adding five hours per week to the youth and family counselor position at a net cost of approximately $3,100 after contract savings; increasing a 20-hour-per-week clinical position to 30 hours with full benefits, at a total increase of roughly $24,485; and adding six hours per week to the senior services social worker, at an estimated increase of $12,700.

"We received five referrals this week. And in the past, when we received referrals, we can't manage them. We looked to refer out to private providers. Now the waiting list that a private provider is so extensive that people are waiting months to get an appointment." [00:00:00] — Michelle, Human Services Director

The session also resolved a months-old question about pool starting blocks. The council informally endorsed Option 2 of a proposal from the Cheshire Sea Dogs swim parent group, under which the $40,000 donation for timing blocks and starter blocks would be acknowledged with an 11-by-17 sponsorship plaque displayed in the pool lobby, rather than a logo printed directly on the blocks. No formal vote was required for that consensus direction.

Why It Matters

The pool subsidy increase — from $228,426 appropriated this year to a proposed higher figure that reflects a $69,588 rise — is the single largest cost driver in the recreation budget and reflects a sustained drop in summer pass revenue that town staff acknowledged is part of a national trend. Without new amenities or pricing adjustments, the subsidy is likely to keep climbing. The human services budget requests are modest in dollar terms but carry significant implications: state-level reductions in juvenile court referrals and social service funding are actively shifting caseloads to Cheshire's local programs, and the department's counseling staff is already at capacity. The deferred vote on the parks coordinator position is expected at the council's Tuesday, April 3 meeting.

Key Motions & Votes

• Action: Motion to approve a part-time program coordinator position (19 hours per week) for the Parks and Recreation Department — motion and second withdrawn; deferred to the April 3 Town Council meeting.

No other formal votes were taken at this meeting.

Source

Cheshire's community access TV: Town Council meeting, March 29, 2018