HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-19-016 - Review of Facility Booking Guidelines for Non-Profit Groups and the Neighbourhood Association Affiliation PolicyREPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:June 17, 2019
SUBMITTED BY: Steve Roth, Manager Community Centres,519-741-2200 ext. 7077
PREPARED BY: Angie Fritz-Walters, Project Manager,519-741-2200 ext. 7088
WARD (S) INVOLVED:All Ward(s)
DATE OF REPORT:May 29, 2019
REPORT NO.: CSD-19-016
SUBJECT: Review of Facility Booking Guidelines for non-profit groupsand the
Neighbourhood Association Affiliation Policy
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RECOMMENDATION:
That staff continue to review the City’s Facility Booking Guidelines for Non-Profit Groups
(MUN-FAC-415) and Neighbourhood Affiliation Policy (MUN-FAC-324), focusing on the
preliminary findings outlined in CSD-19-016.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Facility Booking Guidelines Policy (MUN-FAC-415) and the Neighbourhood Association
Affiliation Policy (MUN-FAC-324)significantly determine how community centres are booked
and the type of programs and services that are offered to members of our community. Since the
development of these policies(over17years ago), Neighbourhood Associations have developed
and evolved uniquely. Some are smaller groups that focus on issues within their
neighbourhoods and have a board of three individuals or less and some have developed into
large complex incorporated groups that hire and manage staff, and offer a significant number of
leisure and recreation programs and events out of the City’s community centres.
In their current form, these two policies make it very difficult to support the unique needs of the
various Neighbourhood Associations, neighbourhood groups and other stakeholders that
operate, or would like to operate, out of a community centre.These two policies also do not
effectively address, and in some instances hinder, community access to our community centres.
As a result, despite the great work of Neighbourhood Associations and city staff to animate these
spaces, our community centres are currently under-utilized.In addition, the supportthe city
currently providesto Neighbourhood Associations is not meeting their unique needs. Further,
opportunities tocollaborateandprovide additionaland morediverse programming at ourcentres
is being missed.
BACKGROUND:
As part of the Council approved business plan for 2019 (ID# NB58), staff was directed to review
the use of space at the 13 community centres across the city, and the City’s Neighbourhood
Association Affiliation Policy. The use of space review was first brought forward during the 2016
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Community Centre comprehensive service review, and was also included as an action item in
the 2017 Neighbourhood Strategy.
The facility booking guidelines for non-profit groups (MUN-FAC-415), which were approved by
City Council in 1994, outlines priority considerations when space is being booked at community
centres. Theseguidelines also outline the process for booking space at community centres,
designated times that are reserved for private rentals, as well as the criteria that is considered
when staff receive requests from other community non-profit organizations.
The Neighbourhood Association Affiliation Policy (MUN-FAC-324), which was approved by City
Council in2002, broadly outlines the support the City will provide to affiliated neighbourhood
groups that initiate and maintain a range of community based activities in our communities.It
identifies eligibility criteria of neighbourhood groups for formal affiliation, the benefits of affiliation
(including access to community centre space), as well as the process for groups to apply for,
and renew affiliation annually.
Together, these two policies significantly determine how community centres are booked and the
type of programs and services offered to the public. Affiliated Neighbourhood Associations,
considered first priority for facility space access from Monday to Friday, solely take responsibility
for the majority of the programming that occurs at community centres during the week. On
weekends, there is limited to no public accessto community centres because the current facility
booking guidelines has this time reserved for private rentals. Minor revisions to these policies
have been made over the years, however a comprehensive reviewwhich engages
Neighbourhood Associations, other community partners, City Council and City staff,has not
been done.
Since the development of thesetwopolicies(over 17years ago), Neighbourhood Associations
have developed and evolved uniquely. Some are smaller groups of neighbours providing a
limited number of programs and events to their neighbourhoods. There are also Neighbourhood
Associations that do not program or use community centre space but rather concentrate on
events or issues in their neighbourhoods.There are also Neighbourhood Associations that have
evolvedinto large complex incorporated groups that hire and manage staff, and offer a significant
number of leisure and recreation programs and events out of the City’scommunity
centres. There are also emerging groupsof neighbourhood citizens that do not want to organize
into a formal Neighbourhood Association, but arestilllooking for access to community centre
space and staff support. There are also other stakeholder organizations interested in accessing
community centre space with the goal of meeting the needs of local neighbourhoods.
In their current form, the facility booking guidelines and the Neighbourhood Association affiliation
policy make it very difficult to support the unique needs of the various Neighbourhood
Associations, neighbourhood groupsand other stakeholdersthat have evolved significantly
since the policies were first created.These policies also do not effectively address, and in some
instances hinder, residents’ access to our community centres.As a result, our community
centres are currently under-utilized.Further, opportunities to collaborate and provide additional
and more diverse programming at our centres is being missed.
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Policy Review Objectives
In February of this year, City staff launched a preliminary review of MUN-FAC-415 (Facility
booking guidelines for non-profit groups) and MUN-FAC-324 (Affiliation – Neighbourhood
Associations), with the objectives of:
1. Increasing public use of community centres,
2.Providing more effective support of the uniqueand changingneeds of individual
Neighbourhood Associations,
3.Collaborating with a variety of community partners to meet the diverse needs of
community.
REPORT:
To begin the review of these two policies, staffcompleted a detailed analysis of theprogramming
schedulesand usage data at each of the City’s 13 community centres. In addition, staff engaged
in one-on-one meetings with representatives from 24 ofthe28 affiliated neighbourhood
associations, all members of City Council, and relevant staff within the Neighbourhood Programs
and Services Division.
1.Community Centre space use statistics
Staff reviewed the program schedules of each of the City’s 13 community centres for the
Fall 2018 programmingseason. The results reflected in this report shows overall use of
space at all 13facilities, considering all program rooms, multi-purpose rooms and
gymnasium spaces. It also considers all scheduled multi-week programs (registered and
drop in) run by Neighbourhood Associations, partners and city staff, and all recurring
rentals (e.g. faithgroups). The use statistics do notinclude any one-off programs, set up
and tear down for regular programs, or rentals that may be scheduled from time to time
at the community centres as opportunities arise. Although the statistics reviewedreflect
space use for Fall 2018 programs, there is not a significant difference in space use when
analysing Spring and Winter programming.
2.Preliminary engagement with Neighbourhood Associations
As a part of the initial stages of this policy review, staff met with each Neighbourhood
Association separately. Theassociation executive memberspresent were asked a series
of questions thatsought their insights on the work they do, their challengesas an
Association, and generally the gaps they seefrom a service and support perspective.
They were also provided with the community centre use statistics to the centre they are
associated with, and asked for their thoughts regarding opportunitiesand challenges they
see within the centre. At the end of the meeting the Neighbourhood Association
representatives were left with some questions to share with their board and volunteers
and then provide to staff as a part of this review. Generally, thosequestions askedtheir
opinion about roles and responsibilities, including areas they felt arethe responsibility of
the Neighbourhood Association, areas that they thought the City isresponsible for, and
areas they thought there wasconfusion.
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3.Preliminary engagement with Members of City Council
Staff also met individuallywith the Mayor and all City Councillors to seek their input and
insights intothe operations of our community centres, and therelationship with
Neighbourhood Associations. Questionsdiscussed during those meetingslooked at what
is working well with the current model of operations as well as where there is room for
improvement.
4.Preliminary engagement with City Staff
Finally, City staff were also surveyed for their opinion on the current community centre
model of operations, which is largely determined bythe affiliation and facility booking
policies, including what is working well, what could be improved upon and what, if any,
gaps in service to the community that they saw.
Preliminary Findings
The following information summarizes the very preliminary findings of this policy review.Staff
will be meeting with Neighbourhood Associations at the end of June to review these findings,
continue the discussions and work collaboratively on next steps.
1. Public use of community centres
Figure 1 (below) reflects the average use of space across all of the City’s 13community centres.
The weekday usage average of 32% considers operating hours from9am to 9pm, Monday to
Friday. Generally speaking, gymnasium and large multi-purpose rooms are used the most, while
smaller meeting room spaces, or spaces that had permanent set-ups (e.g. preschool type
rooms) are used the least. Average weekend usage of 14% considers operating hours from
9am to 9pm, Saturdays and Sundays.
There is a significant increase in weekday space use during summer programming, when the
City of Kitchener’s Neighbourhood Camps, and Youth Drop In programs move into the
Community Centres to operate. As well, community centres that have a dedicated staff
programmer working with Neighbourhood Associations have much higher usage.
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Figure 1.
COMMUNITY CENTRE COMMUNITY CENTRE
WEEKDAY USE -FALL 2018WEEKEND USE -FALL 2018
Total Hours UsedTotal Hours Available
Total Hours UsedTotal Hours Available
307.6
14%
1739.75
32%
3720.25
68%
1876.4
86%
These statistics show there is significant opportunity to increasethe public’s use of our
community centres throughout the entire week. Focusing on weekend use, the lack of
community use is largely dueto the specific limitations imposed bythe current facility booking
guidelines, which are a part of this review. Those guidelines prescribedesignated paid rental
times, reservedfrom Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening, which canremain empty unless
there is a private rental. In some instances, Neighbourhood Associationsrun programs on
Saturday mornings, and any use on Sunday morningsreflect ongoing rentals from faith groups.
Consideration of increasing operating hours to include weekends was a common themestaff
heard during the preliminary engagement of this review,and wasconsistent with Neighbourhood
Associations, Members of City Council, and city staff.
The usage statistics also show there is space capacity during weekday hours at allof the centres.
Although more work and dialoguewith our partnersneeds to occur to analyse the reasons, one
can turn to the facility booking guidelines again for clues.Within the policy, first priority for space
is designated toNeighbourhood Associations who are currently responsible for the majority of
programming. Although in some instances, there are partners and City-led programs that
contribute programming at Community Centre facilities, if the space is not filled with
Neighbourhood Association programs, then it goes unused.During initial consultations,
concerns were expressed from a number of Neighbourhood Associations and members of City
Council around the amount of work involved with running a full menu of programs at the centre
and the pressure this causes the Neighbourhood Association volunteers. There was also
significant concern raisedfrom Neighbourhood Associationswith their ability to continue to
recruit and maintain volunteers.
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2.Supporting the unique needs of each neighbourhood association
The City of Kitchener currently has 28 affiliated Neighbourhood Associations that provide a
variety of programs, services and events in their neighbourhoods. Some Neighbourhood
Associations are relatively young, mostly located in newly developed neighbourhoods. Many
have been around for over 25 years and have developed over time based on their individual
mandates, location and boundaries they serve,capacity, access to community space and
community demographics. Some Neighbourhood Associations are small with under three
executive members, while others are complex incorporated groups with 10+ members on the
board.
During initial consultations, almost all groups interviewed recognized the uniqueness of each
Neighbourhood Association and the unique needs that each of them have. Volunteer recruitment
was an ongoing concern for many Neighbourhood Associations.Communicating with residents
was a common challenge, particularly with Neighbourhood Associationswho had large
boundaries and who had neighbourhood residents who lived in multi-residential buildings.Some
of thelarger Neighbourhood Associations, who provide many recreation programs out of
Community Centre spaces, indicated that existing staff support was highly valued and in some
instances the Associations wanted more support than was currently provided by staff dueto the
amount of work required to deliver programming. In addition, smaller Neighbourhood
Associations that do not provide recreation programming, or Neighbourhood Associations who
service a large population on a fixed income, felt theirlimitedaccess to funding, staff support
and other resources hindered what they could provide to their neighbourhoods.
The current affiliation policy is broad and does noteffectively support the unique needs of the
28 affiliated Neighbourhood Associations. Initial conversations identifiedan expressedwantby
Neighbourhood Associations, members of City Council and staff for clarification – of roles and
responsibilities, expectationsof staff and volunteers, supports available to Neighbourhood
Associations, andthebenefitsof becoming an affiliated Association.Changes are needed to
the affiliation policy that are flexible to the needs,capacitiesand uniquenessof the
NeighbourhoodAssociation as well as the neighbourhoodswe all serve.A revised affiliation
policy also needs to reflectmore fully a shared understanding that Neighbourhood Associations
are not solely responsible for animating community centresbut ratherit is a shared responsibility.
3.Collaboratingwith other community partners to meet the diverse needs of community
During initial consultations of this review, many expressed a desire to see more community
groups able to use spacesin centres, to animate spaces, bring more diversity and ensure there
is something for everyone in each centre.
Currently, the vast majority of the programming offered in community centres is delivered by
Neighbourhood Associations. Most programs focus on recreationand leisure programs (sport,
crafts, fitness etc.), are registered with a fee, and are offered over a number of consecutive
weeks.All groups engaged identified a gap in participation among diverse populations, and a
desire to explore ways to include programming that was of interest and accessible to everyone
in the community. Staff recognize that this is a shared responsibility, and thatvolunteer
Neighbourhood Associations alone cannot be expected to meet the recreational and social
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needs of residents across theentire city.City staff and other community partners can contribute
and share their expertise tobetterserve the diverse community through community centres.
Neighbourhood Associations do a significant amount of outstanding workand dedicatemany
hours of timetocreate opportunities for residents to participate in programs, events and activities
that bring people together. However, staff heard from neighbourhood associations that it is
becoming increasinglydifficult to attract and retainnew volunteers as active members ontheir
boards. Research has shown that this trend will continue, with the current direction of
volunteerismbecoming that of short episodic opportunitiesthat individuals are looking for, rather
than long-term opportunities, like being on an executive board. However, there are other diverse
groups and stakeholders interested in providing programs and services to meet the needs of a
diverse community.Unfortunately, current policies do not provide the means to allow for
collaborative planninganddelivery ofprograms and services involving multiple stakeholders in
each centre.
Exploring ways to engage with and involve more groups (formal and informal) in the daily life of
our centres is a priority through this review.There is space within centres to support this work,
and a desire in the community to participate, as identified in the Love MyHood strategy.
Next Steps
The purpose of this report is to inform Council of the preliminary findings of this review and seek
direction to focus the future work of the review on those preliminary findings. Once staff have
received direction from Council, the following steps will occur:
Further research, review and analyseexisting policies, usage statistics, etc.
Engage Neighbourhood Associations and other stakeholders in a series of workshops
(June and September) to discussthe preliminary findings as well as the challengesand
opportunitiesfor moving forward,
Staff will draft revised policies guiding the use of space at our community centres,
focusing on the desire to increase public use ofthe centres, better support the unique
needs of Neighbourhood Associations, collaborate with other partners, stakeholders and
community groups to meet the diverse needs of the community,
Engage Neighbourhood Associations and other stakeholders to review and improve the
revised policies before bringing them to City Council for its considerationand potential
approval.
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ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Strategic Priority:Review of Community Centre Use of Space and the Neighbourhood
Association Affiliation Policy
Strategic Action: #NB58Thisaction comes from the Community Centre Audit and as an action
of the Love My Hoodstrategy. There is a desire in the community to review and consider
expanding the existing policy on community use of space at our community centres. Also
connected to this is the Neighbourhood Association Affiliation Policy.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None at this time.
The City of Kitchener has put significant investment into Community Centres. Operating budgets
for the 13 community centres include $4.8 million annually for administration and an average of
$1.6 M annually for operations and maintenance.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
CONSULT – Initial consultations wereheld individually with 24 of 28 Neighbourhood
Associations,staff across the Neighbourhood Programs and Services teamwith additional input
from relevant staff in other divisionsas well as one-on-one meetings with members of council
and the Mayor.FourteenNeighbourhood Associations also provided written responses to
questions regarding the current affiliation with the City of Kitchener.
Furtherworkshops will be held with Neighbourhood Associations and other stakeholders as this
review moves forward.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, DCAO, Community Services
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