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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2003 0521 CC REG ITEM 09FITEM 9 . F. x� -2- t- lrO MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL... AGENDA REPORT TO: The Honorable City Council FROM: John Hartnett, Recreation Manager <447 DATE: May 9, 2003 (CC Meeting of May 21, 2003) SUBJECT: Consider Approval of a Youth Scholarship Program for Recreation Services SUMMARY The City's Community Services Department wishes to establish a Youth Scholarship Program that would off -set a portion of fees for youth recreation programs and classes. This results from periodic requests from the public, who are seeking more affordable leisure programs for their children. As proposed, those eligible for assistance would be families in Moorpark who fall within the low income level. DISCUSSION Many cities in California offer some form of financial assistance to residents for youth recreation programs, when those families fall within a low income level. In most cases, these programs are funded by grants, donations from civic groups or businesses, and private donations. The Community Services Department proposes to establish a Youth Scholarship Program for City of Moorpark residents who fall within or below the low income level (800 of median income adjusted on family size). Staff will be developing qualifications and parameters for the program in the next few months. An application process will be created which typically could include; income criteria based on family size for qualifying residents, a sliding scale for fees based on income, an annual maximum family allotment of scholarship funds, and eligible recreation programs for youth scholarships. Staff 0 00G33 Honorable City Council May 21, 2003 Page 2 believes the HUD Home Program model would be most appropriate to follow for income criteria. Some large programs, such as the Summer Camp Program, may have a limited amount of slots available for scholarship applications, due to the limited amount of monies available in the program. Staff's goal will be to reduce program fees for eligible low income families between 25% to 75% by applying for scholarship funds. A list of eligible recreation programs will eventually be developed for participants. Initially, the program will only be available to City residents. In the future, depending on the success of donations, the City may want to consider opening it up to residents who live within the School District boundaries. It is the staff's intention to have the Youth Scholarship Program be self - funded. This can be accomplished by a number of means, including; increasing existing fees and using the extra revenue as a funding source, fundraising efforts such as an annual City Golf Tournament, and donations from local civic organizations and businesses. The Community Services Department plans to initiate the scholarship program with the upcoming Summer Camp program, which will take place before the adoption of the City's FY 03/04 budget. Additional programs targeted for scholarships in the future might include the City's Sports Leagues, Teen Travel Camp, Youth Classes, Beach Bus, etc. Although all the details pertaining to a Youth Scholarship have not been worked out, as yet, staff is seeking the Council's approval of the concept, in order that the City might promote the program in the Moorpark Summer Newsletter. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Approve the Community Services Department's Youth Scholarship Program as outlined in this report. MM{ .