By Bill Petzold
Editor
CARO — After some debate, the Caro city council voted 3-2 to approve spending $6,998 to hire Greater Thumb Recreation Association to conduct the city’s summer parks and recreation programs for 2014.
Councilmen Joe Greene and Gordon Taggett voted against accepting the bid, with Mayor Dick Pouliot and council members Rick Lipan and Amanda Langmaid voting to accept it. Mayor Pro Tem Mike Henry and councilwoman Charlotte Kish were unable to attend the meeting.
Langmaid made the motion to approve the proposal, seconded by Lipan, before debate ensued.
“It’s a pretty cheap babysitter,” Taggett said.
“It’s a dollar an hour babysitter you’re paying for, 90 cents really,” Greene agreed.
Mayor Dick Pouliot said that Caro’s Parks and Recreation committee previously had organized and run its own summer programs, but less revenue had forced the city to eliminate its full-time Parks and Rec director position and outsource programs that provide kids with summer recreation opportunities.”
“In my opinion, Gordon … $7,000 is a small portion of what this community spends for children to have some type of program through the summer,” Pouliot said. “I think it’s money well spent. I sat on the council when I saw $45,000 spent on recreation in this community. Those days are gone, … we’re not doing that any longer. $7,000 for an organization that has agreements with other entities in the Thumb of Michigan is overall a good thing for young people in the greater (Caro) area.”
Langmaid, who said that her children attend the program, pointed out that parents will share the costs of each camp.
City manager Jared Olson provided a breakdown of participation in both the 2013 and the 2012 summer programs. Last year, participation rose to 156 children, up from 83 in 2012.
“The main differences between the two years were that in 2012 the approval and subsequent advertising happened very late int eh spring along with several first-time programs being run,” Olson’s report states. “In 2013, the programming was approved early in the spring and thus allowed a very strong advertisement window along with being the second year of the programs.”
Olson said that plans were to begin advertising the programs at Caro Schools following spring break, in the hopes that residents will have greater awareness and that attendance will once again grow substantially.
Programs offered include sports camps like a weeklong basketball camp at the Caro High School gym that cost $25 for city residents and $30 for non-residents, as well as a weeklong tennis camp that costs the same amount. A golf camp slated for the third week of July at the Caro Golf Course would run parents $40 for in-city tuition and $45 for non-residents.
Day Camp is offered Monday through Friday from June 16 through August 22 at Caro’s McComb Elementary School, and costs $45 a week for city residents and $50 a week for non-residents. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, but the information provided to the council states that “children are able to come as early as 7:30 a.m. and are able to stay until 5:30 p.m. for an additional cost to parents of $2.00 per hour.”
A cost breakdown provided by Greater Thumb Recreation Association shows total expenses for summer programs of $26,475, the greatest single cost being day camp labor at $12,500. Revenue would include the city’s portion of nearly $7,000, as well as day camp revenues of $18,000 and specialty camp revenues of $3,250. Both camp revenues are based upon participation, and as projected GTRA projected a profit of $1,773. A list of Thumb businesses that financially support the programs was included in GTRA’s proposal.
Greene questioned why the city’s contribution to funding the program was greater than other municipalities in the Caro Community Schools District.
“We’re paying for 31 percent of the participants who aren’t city residents,” Greene said. “We’re charging (non-residents) an extra five dollars, and that’s nothing really. Really, we’re supporting the townships around us by putting on this program, charging $5 when we’re putting $7,000 into it and other townships are putting in $242. … Why are we including kids from out of town then?”
“We’re including our school district, that’s the thing,” Langmaid replied. “It takes place at Caro Schools, so we’re including the school district.”
Council agreed to again track participation numbers in greater detail to see who is benefiting from the city’s contribution to the program.
• Monday’s meeting began with a public hearing for the purpose of gathering input on the council’s plan to amend the city charter to provide for The Caro Historical Commission.
Resident Herb Sheardy requested that language be added to Chapter 27 of the city charter to specifically state that monies donated by residents to the historical commission remain in the historical commission line item in the city budget. Council reworked the language to meet Sheardy’s request and sent the revised document to the city lawyer for approval.
The establishment of The Caro Historical Commission could be approved at the April 21 meeting.