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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-020 #I ~~~ iD· m FIn. Fí/e RESOLUTION NO. 06-020 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A SPORTS POLICY FOR THE PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners for St. Lucie County, Florida, has made the following determinations: . 1. There is a need to establish guidelines for all sport and athletic organizations that utilize facilities and athletic fields owned, operated and maintained by St. Lucie County through its Parks & Recreation Department. 2. Having a policy in place will establish standard operating procedures for administering approved sports programs. Additionally, it will establish criteria necessary to add continuity to all programs and combine these programs into one comprehensive overall sports program that will best suit the needs of County residents. 3. The policy will establish the proper procedures each group should take in communicating with the Parks and Recreation Department in order to organize new programs and continue previously established ones. 4. The policy will govern all parks and properties owned, operated, leased, or maintained by St. Lucie County that are used for recreation and/or competitive athletic purposes. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida: 1. This Board does hereby adopt Resolution No. 06-020 by as indicated in the Sports Policy attached and incorporated herein and made a part hereof. 2. This resolution shall take effect on January 10, 2006. After motion and second the vote on this resolution was as follows: Chairman Doug Coward AYE Vice Chairman Chris Craft AYE Commissioner Paula A. Lewis AYE Commissioner Frannie Hutchinson AYE Commissioner Joseph Smith AYE PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 10th day of January, 2006. DEPUTY CLERK OMMISSIONERS IDA ATTEST: BY: APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM AND CORRECTNESS: ~ðr;:V Â-a1\. COUN ATTORNEY · . St. Lucie County Parks & Recreation Department Sports Policy Adopted 2006 ST. LUCIE COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT SPORTS POLICY I. PURPOSE AND INTRODUCTION The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for all sport and athletic organizations that utilize facilities and athletic fields owned, operated and maintained by St. Lucie County through its Parks and Recreation Department. The policy will establish standard operating procedures for administering approved sports programs. Additionally, it will establish criteria necessary to add continuity to all programs and combine these programs into one comprehensive overall sports program that will best suit the needs of County residents. The policy will establish the proper procedures each group should take in communicating with the Parks and Recreation Department in order to organize new programs and continue previously established ones. The policy is intended to clarify information on County procedures. Any organization must read and agree to comply with all Articles stated herein before authorization will be granted to use St. Lucie County facilities. The St. Lucie County Parks and Recreation Department will administer and enforce all Articles contained in this document. This policy will govern all parks and parcels owned, operated, leased, or maintained by St. Lucie County that are used for recreation and/or competitive athletic purposes. (Any inquiries pertaining to the Sports Policy or clarification of any point contained herein, will be interpreted by the St. Lucie County Parks and Recreation Department Director.) This policy does not apply to programs directly administered by the Parks & Recreation Department or the St. Lucie County School District. II. RECOGNIZED SPORTS GROUPS St. Lucie County strives to recognize one and only one organized sports group, for each sport, and deliver these program services to County residents. The County recognizes that there may be multiple charters present within St. Lucie County due to boundary restrictions. For example, the County recognizes Little League Baseball for its baseball program, but because of boundary restrictions, there are multiple Little League charters within the County. In addition, the County acknowledges that certain sports groups offer programs created for age specific groups, i.e., Babe Ruth Baseball is a program for children 13 to 15 years of age. The County has a 90/1 0 rule, which means no league can have more than 10% non-residents, then the league must rent or lease facilities from the County. The following groups and sports are currently recognized as the sole agents to deliver that sport: 1. SPORT Baseball RECOGNIZED GROUP A. Ft. Pierce American Little League B. Ft. Pierce National Little League C. Northside Little League D. Ft. Pierce Babe Ruth E. American Legion Baseball F. Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Programs G. Senior League 2. Basketball 3. Football A. Pop Warner League Football B. FedEx Orange Bowl Football 4. Soccer (See Note) 5. Softball A. St. Lucie County Senior Men's Softball 12/28/2005 2 (Ages5-12) (Ages 5 - 12) (Ages 5 - 12) (Ages 13 - 18) (Ages 16 - 18) (Ages 13 - 18) (Ages 13 - 15) (Ages 5 -15) (Ages 5 -15) (Ages 50 +) NOTE: All future youth soccer programs will be affiliated with the National Youth Soccer Association. Any new sport that presently is not recognized by the County shall first receive approval by the Director of Parks and Recreation before organizing and becoming recognized by the County. All requests for establishing a new sport must be submitted to the Director of the Parks & Recreation Department, typewritten, one hundred eighty (180) days prior to the planned starting date. This will provide the Parks and Recreation Department time to review the request to determine if facilities are available and to ensure that it is not a duplication of an already recognized program. St. Lucie County reserves the right to withhold or withdraw recognition of any established sports group if: 1) The Department determines that residents of the County are not being properly served by this group. 2) Available athletic fields cannot accommodate additional use, given necessary maintenance requirements and potential overuse. 3) The group is not adhering to this policy. 4) Adequate funding and staffing are not available. The County Administrator will make the decision to withdraw recognition of a sports group. The Parks and Recreation Department will review the list of recognized sports groups annually. Criteria will include seniority, adherence to policies, duplication of sports, available resources, and department requirements. Any private group wishing to use a public facility may do so if the facility is available. However, any use by a private group will be accomplished through the use of a lease or rental agreement. The Board of County Commissioners can, at any time, change the fee schedule for rental or lease of any facility. III. ORGANIZATION OF SPORTS GROUPS Each recognized sports group must operate in an organized manner. The group shall establish regular meeting dates so that it can properly organize the respective sport and address problems. 12/28/2005 3 It is the responsibility of each group to establish a governing board of directors comprised of elected officers. St. Lucie County, through its Parks and Recreation Director or designee, must be noticed of and permitted to attend all board meetings, as a non-voting member-at-Iarge. Each sports group must establish By-laws to govern the operation of their program. The By-laws must state what officers will be on the Board, how they will be elected, length of term, and describe how the President of the organization is elected. The organization shall provide the County with a copy of the approved By-laws, and any amendments. The group must designate a spokesperson for all communications with the County. Each recognized sport group shall operate on a non-profit basis and must be incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. Failure to maintain non-profit status and/or incorporation is grounds for withdrawing recognition as an established sports group. All meetings of the group shall be noticed, open to the public, and a record of minutes will be taken for each meeting. It is the responsibility of each group to supply the Director of Parks and Recreation or designee with a copy of the minutes of each meeting within 15 days of the meeting. Each group shall identify an officer to handle the administration of funds arising from dues, registration fees, insurance fees, donations, and any other monies taken in by the sports group. Each group must establish sound accounting practices and balance sheets of incoming and outgoing monies. These documents shall be a matter of public record and must be, upon request, submitted to the Department of Parks and Recreation for review. All items pertaining to accountability of money must be strictly recorded and administered. Any misappropriation of funds, whether by accident or intentional, will not be tolerated or accepted by the County. Any misappropriation of funds may be subject to legal action by the appropriate legal authority. 12/28/2005 4 The groups will be responsible for establishing registration dates for their respective programs. The dates must be advertised a minimum of two weeks in advance to give public notice of the registration. Registration must take place in a public facility, not a private residence or business. Plans for registration should be made in advance with the Department of Parks and Recreation so that space will be available on the desired dates. The groups will be responsible for establishing registration fees for participation in the sport. Each group, upon request, must be able to explain how the registration fees will be used to implement the program. The sports group shall establish guidelines and criteria for selection of coaches and officials for athletic teams. These guidelines should be available to any person wishing to apply for a coaching or officials position. These guidelines are meant to assure that the most qualified people are put in positions of importance and that no discrimination of any nature will be tolerated. The County and/or league shall attempt to conduct clinics and seminars to train coaches and certify them in each respective sport. Each coach must have a National Youth Sports Coach Association (NYSCA) certification and a copy the card must be sent to the Parks & Recreation Department. It is MANDATORY that all leagues perform criminal background checks on all coaches, assistant coaches and board members against the FDLE Sexual Predators List. This will be done by all leagues. Each league will also state on all registration ads that "all potential coaches, assistant coaches and board members are subject to criminal background checks". IV. FACILITIES Leagues are required to submit a written schedule of games and practices to the Parks & Recreation Department a minimum of 30 days prior to their season opening. The County will 12/28/2005 5 assign the facilities for play/practice to the sports groups. The County reserves the right to assign a sports group to a facility that is deemed fit for that particular sport. In addition, the County will give games priority over practices. The County has the absolute authority at anytime to change the site for a sport if it is deemed necessary. The County will maintain fields for games and practices. It will be the responsibility of the County to do all striping, dragging, raking, mowing and all other field and turf maintenance tasks. If a sports group plans any special event that coincides with its program, written permission must be obtained from the Parks and Recreation Department Director at least 30 days before the event. The County, at any time may cancel, postpone or delay any athletic contest or practice due to inclement weather or any other factor that might impair the safety of the athletic participants. If possible, the County will contact respective sports groups if any facility is being canceled for games or practice. This will allow time for the sports group to contact the parties that would have used the facility. Each sports group will send a deposit of $100.00 to the Parks & Recreation Department annually. In the event that a group cancels a game or practice without 24 hours advance notice, $15.00 will be deducted from the deposit. Each sports group will be allowed one (1) tournament per year at no cost. Additional tournaments will be charged the hourly field or court rental or a partnership between the County and the sports group will be negotiated. The striping of fields will only be done for games, not for practices. Striping will only take place if both teams are in uniform and there are sanctioned officials taking part in the competition including inter-squad, or if requested, for an applicable fee. Fields will be laid out once per season for each recognized sports group. If a sport group requests a reconfiguration of the fields, the County has the right to charge that sports group a layout fee for setting up the 12/28/2005 6 fields. Users may paint a logo on a field but must first receive approval of the paint to be used from the Grounds Maintenance Supervisor. No structures will be placed at County facilities without written permission of the Parks & Recreation Director. The facility user will provide the County with a key to all structures. The facility user will also provide the County with all security system codes. Any damages to County property resulting from recognized user groups or individual user negligence must be reimbursed to the County. Recognized user groups or individual user must notify the County in writing by 5 PM the next business day after any accidents/incidents that require medical attention or when public safety personnel were called to assist with the situation. V. FACILITY PERMIT PROCEDURE County facilities will be available only to those who apply for and receive a permit. A permit is a document issued by the Parks and Recreation Department granting the right to use and reserve a particular facility. All groups or individuals, whether public or private, shall secure a permit prior to use if they wish to be allowed the use of said facility. Organized games with officials always require a permit and a copy of insurance on file with the County. Any group, which has a permit for a facility, can, upon arrival at the facility, ask any group which does not have a permit to vacate the area. The permitted user has priority to use the facility. If there is a conflict, the Parks and Recreation Department will be contacted and has authority to resolve any conflict. Any organized team, civic organization, recognized sports organization or any other recognized group must obtain a permit from the Parks and Recreation Department in order to use a facility for a game or league play. There are two types of permits that an organization may apply for: 12/28/2005 7 · . 1) Long Term Permits: This type of permit is granted to an organization that desires to use a facility three (3) or more times for games or practice within a month. Long Term Permits are issued for County recognized sports groups only. One permit will be issued for an entire season. Prior to the issuance of a Long Term Permit, the sports group must supply the Parks and Recreation Department with a copy of their practice and/or games schedule. In addition, rosters with residency verification of all team participants including coaches, managers and players should be submitted to the Parks & Recreation Department before the start of the first regular season game. A Long Term Permit will not be issued earlier than thirty (30) days prior to the starting date for the sport or activity. Any cancellation of a Long Term Permit by the sports group must be made at least one week prior to the effective date. The Parks and Recreation Department reserves the right to alter or revoke any Long Term Permit if the sports group is not using the facility as stated on the permit, does not serve the needs of the public or fails to meet all the requirements for issuance of such permit. 2) Short Term Permits: In order to secure a Short Term Permit, the organization, team, or groups of individuals (maximum 22 people), must be 90% St. Lucie County residents, with verification of residency. Any request for short-term permits must be made at least seven (7) days prior to use of the facility. An adult coach, manager or team leader will be recognized by the County as the contact person for this permit. This person will sign the permit and be the person responsible for the facility. Cancellation of a Short Term Permit must be made at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the scheduled time for use. At any time, Short Term Permits may be canceled or altered by the Parks and Recreation Department to suit the needs of the public, as a result of misuse of facilities and/or for violation of permit terms. An organization, team, or individual may only have two Short Term Permits a month. 12/28/2005 8 · . VI. FACILITY LIGHTING Athletic fields will not be lit unless a County permit has been issued for the use of the facility. County staff will turn lights on and off. VII. SEASON PLAYING AND PRACTICE DATES The Leagues and the County will work together to determine the playing season(s). Currently the County's recognized sport seasons are: Spring Summer Baseball, Softball and Basketball, Soccer Baseball, Softball, Flag Football, Soccer Baseball, Football, Softball, Basketball, Soccer Soccer, Baseball, Softball Fall Winter The County recognizes other sports and does everything possible to provide adequate facilities, but the identified sports have priority for using the facilities. The Parks and Recreation Department reserves the right to alter the playing season to better serve the needs of the community. Any post-season play involving St. Lucie County facilities must receive prior approval from the Parks and Recreation Department Director or hislher agent prior to the event. The Parks and Recreation Department will levy a maintenance fee to cover expenses of tournaments or other special season events that exceed the one post-season tournament per year. All other tournaments require the rental of facilities or a lease agreement between the County and the sports group. VIII. INSURANCE Prior to receiving a field permit, each sports group shall submit to the County, a certificate of insurance describing the policy and providing liability insurance coverage. A 12/28/2005 9 minimum of one (1) million dollars general liability insurance is required. The County reserves the right to increase this amount. The sports groups shall also provide proper insurance for the operation of any concession stands, provided that concession rights for a specific facility are not contractually obligated between St. Lucie County and a private concessionaire, prior to any concession stand permits being issued. St. Lucie County Parks and Recreation Department shall be identified as an additional insured party on the policy certificate and will notify the County thirty (30) days prior to expiration. No field permit will be issued to any group unless these documents are on file with the County. IX. LAW ENFORCEMENT IN COUNTY PARKS All persons entering a County Park or properties shall comply with Chapter 1-15, St. Lucie County Code of Ordinances and Compiled Laws. Parks and Recreation Department employees are the agents who enforce the Park ordinance. They can, within their rights, ask any person to cease any action, which may damage park property or cause personal injury to other persons. If a person is in violation of the Park Ordinance and refuses to cease such violation, a uniformed law officer of St. Lucie County will be contacted. X. SCOREBOARD POLICY The County will supply scoreboards at various facilities. Once a scoreboard is in place it becomes the responsibility of the using sports group to operate and maintain the scoreboard. All repairs must be performed by a licensed and insured repair person. If a scoreboard becomes inoperable during a sports groups season, it is their responsibility to have it repaired prior to the 12/28/2005 10 end of that season. The league must receive approval prior to putting up a sign for content, color, and size from the Parks and Recreation Department. All signs must meet the County's and/or City's Sign Ordinances, Building Code, and be maintained to County standard. The league is responsible for any damage to a sign and any necessary repairs. The County reserves the right to remove a sign that is not being maintained or has not been approved. XI. CONCESSION STANDS The County will allow recognized sports groups exclusive use of existing concession stands at selected park sites, with the exception of any concession stand(s) that is contractually obligated through agreement to private concessionaire. Usage of stands will be determined by the Parks and Recreation Director or designee. The County will provide utilities (water, electricity, sewer) to all stands. The user group is responsible for all licenses and equipment, including the rental of an ice machine. The user group is responsible for meeting all Health Department requirements. Copies of all licenses and permits must be on file prior to the beginning of each season. Failure to comply will result in the immediate closure of the stand and could result in the loss of all concession stand permits until the corrections are made. The user groups are allowed to hire a third party to run the concession stand, but final \\Titten approval of the vendor must be obtained from the Parks and Recreation Department. The league must provide the County with the details of their agreement with the third party vendor. The County reserves the right to reject any third party vendor if it is in the best interest of the County. The Agreement between the user group and the third party vendor must provide for a without cause termination clause of no longer than fifteen (15) days. 12/28/2005 11 XII. BATTING CAGES The County has several batting cages throughout its parks system. 1) Recognized leagues have first priority for use of the cages during their seasons. Batting cages will be opened when there is a game, team practice, or scheduled event. Teams may be expected to share use of the cages. 2) Use of the cages requires advance notification to the Parks and Recreation Department, Sports & Athletics office. Leagues must provide proof of insurance coverage, including a minimum of $1 Million Dollars general liability. 3) A $15.00 deduction shall be made from the cancellation deposit unless prior notice of cancellation is provided 24 hours in advance. 4) Profit oriented groups, businesses, or individuals must pay $10.00 per hour rental fee for use of the cage. A reservation must be made in advance. A deposit of$15.00 will be collected and applied toward the rental fee. 5) Renters other than recognized leagues must either show proof of insurance coverage as described in #2 or sign a batting cage waiver form. 6) Renters other than recognized leagues who fail to cancel their reservation at least 24 hours in advance will forfeit their deposit. 7) Batting cages are scheduled in two (2) hour intervals or less and will be closed when not reserved. 8) All batting cage users must wear a helmet and the pitcher must stand behind the protective screening. 9) Only two (2) people are allowed In the cage at one time and must have adult supervIsIOn. 10) Absolutely no metal spikes or cleats are allowed in any batting cage. 12/28/2005 12 11) At the request of a responsible adult (user), Recreation Staff will make the pitching machines operational: (a) An adult must operate or be present during the entire time that the pitching machine is in use. (b) The pitching machine will be turned off at the conclusion of the user's sessIOn. 12/28/2005 13