Report to: General Committee Report Date: February 21, 2007

SUBJECT: Permitted Fields Agreement Report

PREPARED BY: Mark Ingwersen, District Manager, Operations ext. 3000

Allan Seabrooke, Director, Strategic Services ext. 7522

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the staff report dated February 21, 2007, entitled “Permitted Fields Agreement Report” be received;

AND THAT the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute the “Permitted Fields Agreement” between the Town and York Region District School Board included as Attachment A, in a form satisfactory to the Town Solicitor and the Commissioner, Community & Fire Services;

AND THAT the Town no longer permit and maintain York Region District School Board (Y.R.D.S.B.) Elementary School athletic fields;

AND THAT the Town’s Sports Field Coordinator notify any permitted users of Y.R.D.S.B. Elementary fields in writing that they are required to contact the York Region District School Board to secure permits on these fields;

AND THAT the Director of Strategic Services be authorized to approve the list of playing fields the Town wishes to use on an annual basis and to execute any amendments to the Permitted Fields Agreement required to give effect thereto;

AND THAT Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units) 6. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

To recommend the adoption of the Permitted Fields Agreement (Attachment A).

BACKGROUND:

In previous years the Town of Markham and the YRDSB have had an informal agreement with respect to the permitting and maintenance of YRDSB fields. The YRDSB now however requires all municipalities in York Region to have a formal Permitted Fields Agreement, if the municipality chooses to permit out Y.R.D.S.B. fields. The Town has historically permitted these secondary school fields and staff is recommending that this practice continue. There is no middle or junior high schools in Markham. The Town of Markham is already performing all work outlined in the Agreement for the Secondary (High School) fields; therefore, there are no financial implications for continuing current practices as outlined in the Secondary Athletic Field Maintenance Plan (Attachment A, Appendix A1).

In past years, there has only been approximately 1,600 hours of permit time issued for 13 Y.R.D.S.B. Elementary fields per year. This represents about 4.5% of the permitted field time used in the Town. In comparison, Y.R.D.S.B. Secondary fields represent 19% of permitted time, while Town fields represent 70%. The remaining time is used by permit holders on York Region Catholic District School Board fields.

The Y.R.D.S.B. use of Elementary School fields far exceeds that of permit users. These fields are often in poor condition, due to heavy use by the schools through recesses, lunches and Phys-Ed programs that allow the areas to be accessed when field conditions are inappropriate for use. Currently, Town participation in the maintenance of these fields is limited to filling and seeding repairs of unsafe conditions.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

In order to provide continued use of Y.R.D.S.B. Secondary School fields by permit users, the attached Permitted Fields Agreement (Attachment A) is recommended for signature. The Secondary Athletic Field Maintenance Plan within this agreement (Attachment A, Appendix A1) is consistent with work that is being currently performed on these fields by the Town. Specifically, the Town is already delivering the required level of maintenance service on all Town and Y.R.D.S.B. Secondary School fields. Sustaining this level of service can be done without additional funding, and will substantially meet the needs of permit users within existing permit procedures. Any increased service level applied to Town fields as a result of the Turf Standards Review will also be applied to Secondary School fields permitted by the Town.

The Y.R.D.S.B. is requesting that the Town’s maintenance of Elementary School fields be increased to a level similar to that provided to Secondary School fields. The estimated cost associated with increasing the service level to include grass cutting, aerating, fertilizing, over-seeding and topdressing, will be $19,000.00 in additional operating costs for the 2007 season for all 13 fields.

Staff believes that due to overuse by the schools, an increased level of maintenance by the Town will not result in improvements in Elementary School field conditions that will be significant enough to justify the increased cost to the Town, especially given the low number of permit users for these fields.

To enable permitted field users to continue to use the Elementary School fields, it is recommended that groups contact the Y.R.D.S.B. to secure permits. The Y.R.D.S.B. has agreed to provide permits for Elementary School field use when they receive applications directly from interested groups. The Town’s Sports Field Coordinator will notify any permitted users of Public Elementary School fields in writing that they are required to contact the York Region District School Board to secure permits on these fields.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

● Legal Services Department

● Strategic Services Department

RECOMMENDED BY:

________________________ ________________________

Paul Ingham, Peter Loukes, P. Eng.

General Manager, Operations Director, Operations

________________________

Allan Seabrooke, Jim Sales, Commissioner,

Director, Strategic Services Community & Fire Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment A “Permitted Fields Agreement”

Q:\Strategic Services\Members\Allan Seabrooke\Report YRDSB Agreement.doc