municipality of chatham-kent community...

MUNICIPALITY OF CHATHAM-KENT

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

COMMUNITY SERVICES – PARKS, CEMETERIES AND HORTICULTURE TO: Mayor and Members of Council FROM: Deborah Veccia, Supervisor, Chatham Parks DATE: November 27, 2012 SUBJECT: Ten-Year Lease Agreement governing the facilities at Fergie

Jenkins Field, Rotary Park, Community of Chatham RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that: 1. The existing lease agreement for the Office/Education Centre building located at

Fergie Jenkins Field, Rotary Park in the community of Chatham be terminated.

2. The Mayor and Clerk be authorized to enter into a ten-year lease agreement with Chatham Minor Baseball Association for the construction and use of an Indoor Baseball Training Facility and to govern the use of the Office/Education Centre, Storage Shed and Scoreboard located at Fergie Jenkins Field, Rotary Park in the Community of Chatham.

BACKGROUND In the 1950's and 1960's, Rotary Park was considered a prize jewel among baseball diamonds across Ontario. However, by the 1970's, Rotary Park became somewhat tarnished due to a deteriorating field and crumbling grandstand, however, many improvements have been made since that time, and in 1999, the ball diamond within Rotary Park was dedicated as Fergie Jenkins Field in honour of the Chatham-born “Hall of Famer.” Due to the commitment of the Friends of Rotary Park volunteer group, the Rotary Club of Chatham, Chatham Minor Baseball Association (CMBA), the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and the Provincial and Federal Governments, Fergie Jenkins Field and Rotary Park have been rejuvenated. Extensive renovations over the past twenty years have transformed the Park into one of the premier baseball facilities in the Province.

Ten Year Lease Agreement governing the facilities at Fergie Jenkins Field, Rotary Park, Community of Chatham

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Renovations have included the following:

• Renovations to the playing field • Addition of a 300 seat covered grandstand • Installation of a professional grade scoreboard • Sunken player dugouts • Lighting improvements • Fencing realignment • Construction of the CMBA Office and Learning Centre • Renovation of the canteen facilities • Landscaping to the outlying areas

CMBA and its donors are interested in building an Indoor Baseball Training Facility at the Rotary Park location. This facility would provide an additional venue for its over 500 players to hone their skills year round. A site drawing of the facility location can be found in Attachment A. In order to move forward with the new building, a new lease agreement is required. CMBA has requested that the current lease on the Office/Education Centre be inclusive of the proposed Indoor Baseball Training Facility, as they would have similar usage terms. COMMENTS Currently there are several buildings and amenities located at Rotary Park as shown in Attachment B and include the following:

• Building #1- Canteen/Washrooms • Building #2 – Storage Shed (jointly used by the Municipality and CMBA for the

storage of equipment and supplies) • Building #3 – CMBA Office/Education Centre • Scoreboard

There are currently two separate lease agreements to govern the terms of use of the Canteen/Washrooms (Building #1) and CMBA Office/Education Centre (Building #3) as follows:

1. A five year lease agreement for the Canteen/Washroom Building (Building #1) that was entered into in March of 2006 with an additional five year renewal, for the purposes of Trillium Grant funding for a renovation to the washrooms and canteen area.

2. A ten-year lease agreement for the development of the CMBA Office/Education Centre (Building #3), which was approved by Council in 2008 and in effect until December 31, 2018.


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Given there was a need to enter into another lease agreement for the Indoor Baseball Training Facility and a need to clarify the terms of operation of the Storage Shed (Building #2) and the Scoreboard, it was decided to develop a new lease agreement to be all inclusive. The existing Canteen/Washrooms lease agreement is not affected by this new lease agreement. The new lease includes the following key items: • CMBA would be responsible for the following:

Paying all utilities and insurance on the Office/Education Centre and the new

Indoor Baseball Training Facility Insuring any of their assets contained within the facilities located at Rotary Park

such as equipment Maintaining the Office/Education Centre and the indoor practice facility in a

reasonable state of repair

• The Municipality would be responsible for the following:

Paying all utilities and insurance on the Canteen/Washroom Building, the Storage Shed and the Scoreboard

At the end of the ten-year term, it would be deemed to be renewed for an additional year should no one party oppose. Proposed New Baseball Training Facility The new Indoor Baseball Training Facility would include the following:

• Approximately 6,000 square feet of open space with baseball-related training equipment

• Washroom facilities • Viewing room for parents to watch workouts • Storage for equipment

The indoor facility would allow coaches, players and umpires the ability to have indoor practice twelve months of the year in an area that is protected from rain in the spring and snow throughout the winter months. The interior of the indoor facility would have netting hung to provide up to four separate hitting tunnels to permit various players the opportunity to practice simultaneously. The construction of this facility adjacent to the Office/Education Centre would permit CMBA and its instructors the opportunity to teach theory based objectives in the classroom of the Office/Education Centre and then apply the theory by way of practice in the new indoor facility.


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Administration has reviewed and approved the construction plans for the new facility. CMBA has secured all the necessary funds to build the facility from fundraising and donations of in-kind labour and materials. The construction is anticipated to begin in winter of 2012-2013 and take approximately eight weeks to complete. CMBA will also be responsible for annual maintenance, payment of utilities and insurance costs. Therefore, it is recommended that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to enter into a ten-year lease agreement with Chatham Minor Baseball Association for the construction and use of an Indoor Baseball Training Facility and to govern the use of the Office/Education Centre, Storage Shed and Scoreboard located at Fergie Jenkins Field, Rotary Park in the Community of Chatham. COUNCIL STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS The recommendations in this report support the following Council Directions:

Healthy, Active Citizens Growth Through Variety of Post-Secondary Institutions High Quality Environment Through Innovation Destination Chatham-Kent! Magnet for Sustainable Growth Prosperous and Thriving Community

Has the potential to support all Council Directions Neutral issues (does not support negatively or positively)

CONSULTATION Legal Services has assisted in the development of the lease. The Accessibility Committee has reviewed the design plans and made recommendations for consideration. CMBA has consulted with adjacent residents regarding any concerns related to the proposed development and no concerns were raised. The Rotary Club of Chatham has always played a prominent role in the transformation of and enhancements made to Rotary Park. The Rotary Club has been consulted with respect to this project and are supportive of the initiative of Chatham Minor Baseball going forward. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS All development and maintenance costs for the new Indoor Baseball Training Facility would be the responsibility of CMBA.


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There are no other costs identified as a result of entering into the new lease agreement as existing costs for insurance on the buildings and the utilities of items identified in the lease agreement are covered through the existing parks operational budget. Prepared by: Reviewed by: ___________________________ Deborah Veccia D.P.A. CMMIII, CPSI Tom Beaton, D.H.T., CMMI Supervisor, Chatham Parks Manager Parks, Cemeteries and Horticulture Parks, Cemeteries and Horticulture Reviewed by: Reviewed by: ________________________________ Evelyn Bish, Director Bob Crawford, General Manager Community Services Community Development Attachments: A - Site Drawing of Rotary Park B - Building Location Map C: John Norton, Director, Legal Services

Jason Chickowski, President CMBA Ed Robbins, Rotary Representative

P:\RTC\Community Services\2012\Reports\ParksCemHort\Rotary Park Lease Renewal Dec 2012.docx

Attachm

ent "A"

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