Parks need $10 million in repairs
The Greenville News - Greenville, S.C.
Author: Ashley Fletcher
Date: Jun 20, 2005
Start Page: A.15
Section: Front
Text Word Count: 1493
Document Text
79 percent of district's money is put into fields, but council says this is a bad year to raise property taxes
By Ashley Fletcher
STAFF_WRITER
afletcher@greenvillenews.com
With youth sports teams scrambling for practice space on public ball fields, Greenville recreation officials say the County Council's rejection of their proposed tax increase could force the removal of dangerous field lights, cutting out nighttime playing slots.
Light poles that threaten electrical shocks are examples of $10 million in rundown equipment and facilities the county Recreation District says it doesn't have money to repair.
The district says it is running public parks, ballfields and sports programs on a lean budget -- using prisoners for maintenance work, for example -- and had cut any fat before asking for a tax increase.
An examination of the district's 2004 operating budget by The Greenville News shows 79 cents of every dollar spent is put back into fields and sports programs. That is close to the percentage at comparable recreation districts in the state contacted by the newspaper.
As the district sought more tax money, it moved this spring into a new $1 million headquarters next to the Eastside's Pavilion. That came after the school district, which rented space to the district for 18 years, asked for it back.
Recreation officials had already bought eight acres on East North Street for $565,000 to add two soccer fields at the Pavilion complex, said Dan Rodgerson, executive director.
When forced to vacate its office, the district considered renting again, he said. But after determining both soccer fields and an office could fit on the land, Rodgerson said building there made the most sense.
County Council members interviewed about the recreation district's budget said they didn't know specifics but felt sure the district was spending wisely. Council Chairman Butch Kirven said the county needs new parks and park repairs, but higher property taxes aren't the way to pay for them.
Brenda Mathis of Taylors, whose granddaughter swims at Westside pool, said she'd pay higher taxes to give children a safer, nicer place to play. A consultant's report shows that pool needs $1.5 million in repairs, according to the Recreation District. Mathis said the bathroom at the pool wasn't very nice or clean.
Mandy Craig of Berea, whose children swim at the facility, pointed out cracks in the swimming pool and said she'd also pay higher taxes to fix it.
But Eugene Teague of Greenville, who doesn't use county parks, represents a perspective shared among some who wouldn't see direct benefits from a tax increase for recreation. Teague would rather the district raise fees for the people who use parks, fields and pools.
"Taxes are high enough," he said.
Kirven said an additional 1 percent sales tax for parks, a measure voters rejected in 2002, is a better solution than property taxes. If residents think parks are worth paying for, they would vote for the sales tax if it is put before them again, he said.
"The Recreation District needs to live within its means, scale down their operations to what they can support," he said. "If the public wants more than that, they're going to have to let us know."
Councilman Joe Dill also suggested the sales tax or higher user fees at parks. "The community, I hear, is not ready for a countywide tax increase."
Kirven and Dill didn't vote on the tax increase, which was effectively killed by three members of the five-person Finance Committee last week. At that meeting, Councilman Jim Burns moved to send the proposal to the full council without a recommendation. Council members Scott Case and Judy Gilstrap voted against his motion.
Committee members Bob Taylor and Xanthene Norris were absent.
Gilstrap, who chairs the Finance Committee, said she tried to help find more money for parks but can't support a tax increase this year. A countywide property reassessment could raise taxes for some, and the school district's budget increase could mean higher taxes, too.
"I don't know where (the money) is going to come from," Gilstrap said. "We just cannot keep adding to the tax bill, unless there is absolutely no other way."
The proposed tax increase would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $8 more a year and generated about $2.4 million a year for the district.
The Recreation District charges taxes to county residents outside city limits. Set up in 1968 as a special purpose district, the only tax increase it has received was 0.2 mill mandated by state law for disabilities.
The district spent about 79 percent of its $6 million operating budget in 2004 providing county residents with places and activities for recreation.
About 21 percent, or $1.3 million, went toward administrative expenses. That includes about $545,000 for salaries, insurance and benefits for 10 employees and the rest for utility bills, computers and other equipment, supplies, vehicle operation, legal expenses and other costs.
In the Columbia area, Richland County's recreation commission spends about 83 percent on parks, sports and activities, and Lexington County's commission spent about 82 percent. Those figures include salaries for groundskeepers who maintain parks and salaries for lifeguards and other employees who run sports programs.
But what the Greenville numbers don't reflect are cost-saving measures the district has put in place, Rodgerson said.
Money to repave tennis courts is targeted for parks with multiple courts so the district can charge for tournaments there, for example. The district plans to sell ads in its community informational booklets and on signs at ballfields to earn more money.
Officials stopped cutting grass at an equestrian center when they realized they could fence it in and let the horses eat it.
"When I got here two years ago, I didn't feel like we should have been asking for money at that time because we weren't running as efficiently as we could have," Rodgerson said.
One significant saving came with the conversion of a pool at Southside Park near Simpsonville into the Discovery Island water park, Rodgerson said. The pool was losing about $50,000 a year, while the water park, which opened last month, brought in nearly $15,000 in entry fees during its first 19 days.
Those dollars will be used to pay back loans to build the water park, but Rodgerson said the general fund is up $50,000 simply because the district isn't losing money on the pool anymore. The district is considering converting another money-draining pool at Northside Park into a water park.
The $1 million the district spent on its new office building was offset by $375,000 the school district gave the Recreation District when it left, said Chanell Moore, the district's finance officer. The new office, at 6,825 square feet, is slightly larger than the 6,400-square-foot leased office.
Public restrooms were built in the office's basement to serve the surrounding fields, Rodgerson said, and the office parking lot also serves the soccer fields.
About 16 employees work at the new headquarters, constructed partly of stone with huge windows opening to views of surrounding tennis courts and athletic fields. It's a stark contrast to the district's old office, which officials say had flooding problems and crowded employees into closets with electrical wiring exposed in work space.
Design standards for the headquarters are the same the district would use for any new park facility, officials said, and a nice office sets a positive image with the public.
The use of stone was made possible by scaling back other features, such as painted concrete floors, cubicles instead of offices and reused furniture, Moore said.
Rodgerson said the district has no plans now to raise user fees or close facilities, though it will monitor parks for hazards and close them as necessary.
The County Council gave the district $4 million about six months ago, earmarking the money mostly for new park construction. Rodgerson said that money was needed -- a 2002 study showed the county was $100 million short on park space -- but new facilities coming online will further burden an already tight maintenance budget.
CALL THE REC DISTRICT
+ For information about parks and fields, you can call the Greenville County Recreation District at 288-6470 or visit its Web site at www.gcrd.org.
Mugs and quotes:
"Instead of doing a repair (at the Westside pool), I'd rather them do a Discovery Island on this side."
-- Mandy Craig, Berea
"I'm a child advocate. I think we need to pay higher taxes for kids."
-- Brenda Mathis, Taylors
"They should maintain the areas they have first before they go building more."
-- Tammy Rochester, Powdersville
Cutline: KEN OSBURN / Staff
Costs and benefits: Children enjoy the playground at the Westside Aquatic Center. The Recreation District's request for a tax increase to maintain parks was rejected by a County Council committee.
Cutline: KEN OSBURN / Staff
Work needed: Jake Mantooth, 19, works as a life guard at the Westside Aquatic Center. The Recreation District says the center needs $1.5 million in repairs.
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