Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, July 05, 2022
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVING A COMMUNITY SERVICES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
With the recent increase in the cost of living, residents interested in participating in Community Services programs are increasingly seeking scholarship opportunities to offset the cost. To respond to this circumstance, a scholarship program is being proposed that would assist low-to-moderate income residents by offering scholarships for a portion of the registration fees. The scholarship would be available to participants in Youth Sports, Enrichment, Kids Club, Day Camp, and Early Childhood Education. The total proposed funding for the program is $50,000 and would potentially assist up to 1,775 residents. The City Council is asked to approve this program.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
CONSIDER approving a scholarship program for low-to-moderate income residents registering for community services and recreation activities.
Body
III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action that the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
As the cost of living has increased, parents interested in having their children participate in Community Services programs have been challenged to pay the registration fees. To assist residents, a scholarship program is being proposed to offset a portion of the cost. The programs targeted for scholarship assistance are Youth Sports, Enrichment, Kids Club, Day Camp, and Early Childhood Education.
Originally, staff had submitted a request to the Community Development Department for a $100,000 allocation of CDBG funds to support the new program. However, as City Council has reviewed, limited funding is available in the Public Services Activities grant awards category, with multiple community non-profits requesting support for the upcoming year.
To ensure that only low-and-moderate income applicants are approved, staff proposes using modified CDBG guidelines to assist those Carson residents in most need. Once an applicant is approved for a scholarship, the amount approved will be credited into the ActiveNet registration system under the applicant’s account. Only Carson residents would be eligible to apply.
Staff has developed the table below to convey how the scholarship funds could be awarded for each program:
|
Program |
Resident Fees |
Scholarship/Participant |
|
Baseball/Softball |
$100 |
$25 |
|
Soccer |
$75 |
$25 |
|
Football |
$85 |
$25 |
|
Basketball |
$90 |
$25 |
|
Kids Club |
$50/week |
$25 |
|
Day Camp |
$70-$90/week |
$25 |
|
Enrichment |
Varies |
$25 |
|
ECE Part Time |
$288 |
$75 |
|
ECE Full Time |
$564 |
$150 |
Information and a history on the costs to participate in the Youth Sports, Summer Day Camp, and Kids club program are presented in Exhibit No. 1.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact on the General Fund. Staff proposes utilizing the City’s ActiveNet platform to issue credits to residents’ accounts in the amount of their respective scholarship awards. Upon registration, residents can use that credit to enroll in eligible activities. As a result, the Community Services annual revenue may decrease by up to $50,000 during the Fiscal Year. Staff will monitor and make necessary adjustments to the revenue projections during the mid-year review.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Youth Sports, Summer Day Camp and Kids Club costs (pg. 3)
2. Historical Community Services Participation Statistics (pg. 4)
1.
Prepared by: Tim Grierson, Recreation Superintendent, and Michael Whittiker, Community Services/P&R Director