The Town of Markham recognizes the many benefits of an aquatic environment – whether it be educational, skill, character or leadership development, physical, social or emotional – and will strive to ensure all Markham residents have opportunity to experience these benefits in a manner that is meaningful for each individual.

 

Guiding Principles:

o   Pools are built by, and funded for Markham residents.

o   All members of the community should have opportunity to access pools regardless of physical, financial, social or environmental barriers.

o   Pools serve as a fabric of the community creating opportunities for individuals to connect to one another and the community.

o   There are five pillars that exist in the operations of an aquatic environment (skill development, recreation, fitness, sport training, rehabilitation).  Success is directly correlated to the success of each pillar.

o   Pools serve as an excellent forum to develop character, and to educate and enrich the lives of Markham youth, whether through participation or development into a young staff member.

o   Pools provide an excellent environment to promote, encourage and facilitate lifelong active living.

 

Policy Principles:

o   Allocations will be handled in an open and transparent environment.

o   An Allocation Policy will ensure the distribution of pool time in a fair and equitable manner, respecting issues of accessibility.

o   In the event of a scheduling dispute, the Facility Allocations Coordinator will facilitate an open and transparent session with affected User Groups to resolve the dispute, considering historical usage as a factor in dispute resolution.  Unresolved disputes will then be elevated as follows:

§  Director of Recreation Services / Commissioner of Community & Fire Services

§  Allocations Advisory Committee of Council

§  Council

o   Allocations will be reviewed on an annual basis.

o   Groups meeting Markham residency requirements will receive priority.

o   Where facility demand exceeds supply, the Town may have to limit the emergence of new user groups or may have to cap registrations of existing user groups.

o   Youth (defined as individuals 17 years of age or younger) should receive preference of hours when allocating time.

 

 

1.0                      POOL  ALLOCATION

1.1           Staff will endeavour to complete the pool allocation process each year with final confirmation to be done by April 1st, each year for the following season defined as September 1st through August 31st.

 

1.2           Allocated pool time for recognized Community Service Groups will be booked under individual contracts at the appropriate rates.

 

1.3           Allocated pool times must be used solely by the user group identified on the contract and by the designated category of participation, i.e.; Minor, Adult, etc.  Time must not be allocated as minor and used otherwise.

 

1.4           Users with outstanding balances will not be issued permits.

 

1.5           Transfer or Sublet Prohibited                                                                                                                         No person, organization, association or community service group shall transfer, sublet or permit to be transferred or sublet, any pool allocation, or part thereof, for value or otherwise.  If any person, organization association or community services group transfers or sublets any pool allocation or any part thereof, or permits such transfer or sublet, their facility rental contract shall be terminated without notice and the Town shall refund the permit fee on a prorated basis.

 

1.6           The facility rental contract is not effective unless and until the permit fee has been paid in full or post-dated cheques have been received.  

 

1.7           Pool Allocation Time Periods                                                                                                                     The allocation process for the Town of Markham covers the fair and equitable distribution of hours in the following blocks:

                               

                                Weekdays             Open to 7:30 am

                                                                7:30 am to 4:00 pm

                                                                4:00 pm to 8:00 pm

                                                                8:00 pm to Close

                               

                                Weekends             Open to 9:00 am

                                & Holidays           9:00 am to Noon

                                                                Noon to 4:00 pm

                                                                4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

                                                                7:00 pm to Close

 

1.8           After entitlements have been met any additional pool time may be purchased where available.

 

1.9           Pool allocation meetings will be held annually following Feb 28th, the deadline for application submission. 

 

2.0          CLUB SIZE AND EMERGENCE OF NEW CLUBS

 

2.1           Until new pools are added to the inventory, for the purposes of allocation the Town of Markham will utilize the 2009-2010 season rosters as of January 31, 2010 to determine the maximum number of participants for consideration in the allocation formula. 

 

2.2           Any new groups requesting allocated pool time must be approved by Council prior to permitting of any time.

 

3.0                      GROUPS DEFINED IN ORDER OF PRIORITY:

 

3.1           Youth Aquatic Groups

§  Those groups recognized by a provincial sporting organization within a six month period of allocation process and mainly operated by volunteers for organized activities for youth  aged 6 through 17 years of age   

§  Recognized as a Community Service Group as defined by the Town of Markham Community Service Group definition, as per policy PO 02.01.

§  While groups may have non Markham residents, only Markham residents will be considered for the purposes of allocation

 

3.2           Adult Aquatic Groups

§  Those persons who pay property taxes to the Corporation of the Town of Markham

§  Participants 18 years of age and older

§  Recognized as a Community Service Group as defined by the Town of Markham Community Service Group definition, as per policy PO 02.01.

§  While groups may have non Markham residents, only Markham residents will be considered for the purposes of allocation

 

 

4.0                      ALLOCATION  PROCESS                                                                                                                                   The following allocation formula is used to calculate entitlement:

i)                     Determine total number of participants for each User Group

ii)                   Determine % of total participants for each User Group

iii)                  Distribute corresponding % of each block of  hours to all established user groups – each block will be considered in isolation (ie. if Group A has 20 % of Markham Resident Participants they will receive 20% of the available time in each individual block of time)

 

4.1           Application packages will be mailed out by January 31 of the current season. Applications will be due back by February 28.  User groups will be required to submit a completed application form including the following information.

 

4.1.1           Previous year’s rosters with postal codes and ages of participants.  All rosters will be audited through a variety of techniques – User Groups will be invited to submit auditing techniques in addition to Town  auditing techniques to be used for verification purposes.

 

4.1.2           Primary and Secondary contact person

 

4.1.3           Current Executive/Board list including position, telephone,  and e-mail address of the executive for that year

 

4.1.4           Copy of Annual General Meeting minutes and financial statements

 

4.1.5           Copy of current General Liability Insurance in the amount of two million dollars naming the Corporation of the Town of Markham as an additional insured covering all participants making use of allocated time.

 

4.1.6           Signed statement by organization president attesting to the accuracy and validity of information provided.

 

4.2           If this information is not received, a pool permit may be suspended and future requests for permits may not be issued. The permit time will be reallocated.

 

5.0                      SEASON

 

5.1           Staff will determine pool allocations on an annual basis. The pool season will be as follows:

 

                                                September 1 through August 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.0                      POLICY ENFORCEMENT:                                                                                                              The following forms of policy enforcements will be in effect:

 

6.1           Pool audits will be conducted on a random basis.  A three-step process will be used in the event that there are permitted pools not being used during these audits. 

Step One

§  The permitted group will be contacted and informed the pool was unused and asked to explain why.  This will be documented and tracked. 

 

Step Two

§  If the same group is found to have permitted a pool and it has not been used, the group will receive a written letter identifying that if a third audit reveals an unused booking, the permit for the pool will be removed.

 

Step Three

§  If the pool is unused, remove permit.  User group will be informed that the permit has been removed.  Future permit requests will be subject to discretion of staff.

 

6.2           Teams using pools outside of their permitted period may have their permit suspended for a two‑week period.

 

6.3           Misuse of pools may result in suspension of permit.

 

6.4           Town will periodically randomly audit pool usage utilizing an open and transparent audit tool to ensure appropriate usage.

 

6.5           During permitted events, all cars must remain within designated parking areas unless given prior written permission.

 

 

7.0                      MEET ALLOCATIONS:

 

7.1           Multiple meets by the same organization will be considered one at a time in a rotational basis. Each club will be able to host one meet date before granting multiple dates to the same user.

 

7.2           Separate application form is required for each meet request.

 

7.3           Final decision on meet dates will rest with the allocations office in order to minimize disruption to regular season use.

 

7.4           Requests for meets or special events must be made at the same time as regular season permits.  Staff responsible for permits will strive to reach an equitable balance between regular users and meet organizers.

 

8.0                      MEET REQUIREMENTS

 

8.1           It is the requirement of all persons who have permits in the pools to adhere to the concession agreement

 

8.2           In the event that additional space is needed during the meet, rooms must be rented.  Hallways will not be permitted for use.

 

8.3           Additional staff services must be requested a minimum of fourteen (14) days in advance of the meet at an additional fee.

 

 

9.0              POOL ALLOCATION PERCENTAGES

             See schedule “A” for the percentage of time at each pool to be allocated.