HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 12425 (Pickleweed Center Enterprise Plan)RESOLUTION NO. 12425
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
TO APPROVE THE PICKLEWEED PARK COMMINITY CENTER AND LIBRARY
ENTERPRISE PLAN
WHEREAS, the City of San Rafael opened the Pickleweed Park Community Center and Library in
July 2005 after extensive community involvement with the design, plan, funding and construction; and
WHEREAS, the community participated in the formation of policies and procedures that
determine the operations of the Center and Library; and
WHEREAS, the community retains accountability within the policies and procedures for review of
balance and benefit of programs and services to the residents; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to memorialize the purpose of the Center and Library, how they
relate to the community, and commitment of all stakeholders to its continued success; and
WHEREAS, the Pickleweed Park Community Center and Library Enterprise Plan is a model for
application to other civic facilities.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL DOES RESOLVE TO
APPROVE THE PICKLEWEED PARK COMMUNITY CENTER AND LIBRARY ENTERPRISE PLAN.
I, Esther C. Beirne, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly
and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael,
held on Monday, the 4th of February, 2008, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro
NOES: Councilmembers: None
ABSENT: Councilmembers: None
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Esther C. Beirne, City Clerk
The City of San Rafael strives to
strengthen, enhance, and heal the ever changing web of social,
ecological, and economic relationships that make up the Canal
Neighborhood symbolized in the Pickleweed Park Community Center and
Library.
Communities are wise to the extent they
use diversity well. Only through dialogue among the varied viewpoints do
the most comprehensive and powerful truths emerge. Only through
respectful interplay among the distinct, different ways of life does the
fullness of life arise.
The Canal Neighborhood, that 2.5
square mile area in South East San Rafael replete with a diversity of
people, homes and businesses, is made up of people throughout the
world whose cultures lend vibrancy, energy, and texture to life in San
Rafael. Pickleweed Park Community Center and Library is a special place
for people to recreate, socialize, celebrate, and learn from each other to
remember their past, understand their present, and develop their future.
The communities of the Canal
Neighborhood and Pickleweed Park Community Center and Library
management will actively collaborate in engaging public, private, and
civil sectors to deliver services and foster dialogue that improves and
betters the Neighborhood and the Center.
The Staff of the Pickleweed Park Community
Center and Library acts as a team to manage, maintain, program and
continually connect the Center to the communities of the Canal
Neighborhood.
Pickleweed Park Community
Center and Library embraces communication for social change, a
process of public and private dialogue through which people define who
they are, what they want, and how they can get it. Communication for
social change emphasizes people as agents of their own change, places
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information in the dialogue of issues of concern, and empowers people to
act collectively to bring about change.
The Mission and six value statements serve as a framework to guide daily
action and decisions of staff and in the measurement of all individual and
collective actions for the self development of the communities of the
Canal Neighborhood.
WhoThe Center and Library serve the 12,000 residents of
the Canal Neighborhood in East San Rafael as the
primary target and greater San Rafael as the
secondary market.
Historically, the Canal area has been a place for new
beginnings. Apartment buildings in the area were first
constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, serving young
families saving for down payments on houses in the
suburbs. Asian immigrants, mostly from Vietnam,
settled in the Canal area during the 1970s. In the
1980s, Latinos from Central and South America began
arriving, many fleeing war-torn countries. In recent
years, Haitian refugees have joined this ethnic mix.
With a population density that is the equivalent of
12,000 people per square mile, it is an area of
00 apartment buildings and other multi -unit rental
housing and an island of low-income working families
j surrounded by affluent neighborhoods.
A secondary target market is the population of
greater San Rafael who are drawn to the Center by
community serving programs and events, and Marin
County residents who are invited to take part in public
forums, cultural events, social services and recreation
programs.
The Canal Neighborhood is home to a vibrant mix of
people who hope for a better future, and work for it.
There is a strong sense of community, neighbors work,
play, celebrate and problem solve together and
there is great natural beauty close at hand. The
wetlands between the park's soccer fields and the
San Rafael Canal support a variety of wildlife.
Providing open vistas across San Rafael Bay, the
recently developed Shoreline Park is only a few steps
away from the Pickleweed Park Community Center.
In addition to the hills across the Canal, Marin's most
famous landmark, Mt. Tamalpais, is visible from several
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viewpoints in the park.
Bahia Vista School opened in 2006 as a rebuilt campus for over
400 students. The County of Marin Health Campus will open in
the near future. Canal Alliance and the Welcome Center are
non -profits with significant impact on human services delivery in
the Canal Neighborhood.
Grass Roots leadership development is occurring daily. The
Pickleweed Advisory Board, Canal Youth and Family Council,
Welcome Center, Cub Scout and Boy Scout Troop 2000, Girl
Scouts, plus numerous cultural organizations and tenant groups
exist to address issues and involve citizens in self governance.
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Citv Council provides Goals for the overall City Organization
and approves the Departmental budgets including any
contribution to Center operations by the General Fund.
Park and Recreation Commission advises the City Council on
policies and projects that serve the neighborhood needs for
leisure and social services; assisted by the Pickleweed Advisory
Board.
Library Board is a Council appointed Board that advises the
City Council on policy and delivery of Library services.
Pickleweed Advisory Board is a nine member appointed Board
that makes recommendations on the use and operations of
the Community Center and Park. The Board also hosts
community meetings and act as liaison on issues, projects and
proposals directly affecting the residents of the Canal
neighborhood. Members are Canal neighborhood residents
and are often called to make recommendations on services
and operations.
Communitv Services Staff plans, organizes, develops, markets
and supervises on going programs, administrates co-sponsored
programs, rents portions of the facilities to community and
private organizations, supervises the proper maintenance and
repair of the facilities, acts as a liaison to City departments and
community residents.
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Library Staff provide reference information to the community,
maintains the library materials inventory, provides access to
MariNet, supervises the public hours of the computer lab and
communicates with city departments and community
residents.
City Departments, including Police, Fire, Public Works, provide
specialize services for safety, maintenance, and repair of the
Center, Library and Park.
Co -Sponsorship Partners provide programs and services at
no cost to the City and no or low cost to residents in
exchange for use of Center, Library and Park facilities.
Community supports programs and services with its
attendance, volunteerism, leadership and feedback.
By policy, and with approval from the Pickleweed Advisory
Board, the City enters into partnerships with program
providers, non -profits and organizations to bring programs
and services to the community at
Pickleweed Park Community Center
and Library. These are referred to as
co -sponsorships because the City
supports the programs through gift of
facility use. Program partners may
apply for space at no charge to
conduct community -serving programs
at no or low cost to participants.
Applications are reviewed by staff
and the Advisory Board to assure the
programs meet community needs.
The Board may recommend a full or
partial fee waiver for applicants, and
may obligate space for up to one year. Co-sponsored
programs may apply for renewal, subject to a program
evaluation and review by the Board. The policy provides for
objective review process, tracks information on the programs
at Pickleweed Park Community Center, and promotes
services for the community that are balanced, cohesive and
inclusive.
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WhatThe Pickleweed Park Community Center and Library,
serves the Canal Neighborhood and greater San Rafael
with programs and services that reflect the community's
educational, recreational, social, cultural, child
development, health and safety and personal
development desires
p y Co sponsored programs with non-profit service providers
such as Kid's Club after school mentoring program,
i if7�''llly'I k (Catholic Charities and Marin YMCA), Crossroads Teen
Mentoring Program, (Marin Academy High School)
computer technology training with Canal Alliance, ESL
classes with Canal Alliance, Home Child Care Job
Training (College of Marin), teen theater (Marin
Shakespeare Company).
Library services such as checking out materials from the
collection and through MariNet Consortium; reference
NI a services, access to public computers, access wi-fi
connections; literacy programs, children's story time and
literacy events; assisting patrons with reference,
u development of information literacy
Recreation programs include basketball and volleyball
leagues and drop in sessions, indoor soccer, youth
soccer, martial arts, fitness, fine arts, and dance.
Educational programs include English as Second
Language, Jazzercise, Karate, and Art and Drawing. The
library provides additional opportunities for individual, self
directed education and additional group educational
opportunities especially in the areas of literacy and
computer technology.
Social events include weddings, Quinceaneras, dance
parties, dinners, movie nights, music recitals, church
services.
Cultural events include Mayan Dance Group programs,
Vietnamese Language School Graduations, Festivals
including Dia de Los Muertos, the Vietnamese Mid -
Autumn Festival, Spirit of the Holidays Youth Carnival,
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Asian New Year's Celebration and Las Posadas.
Child development programs include Pickleweed Pre
School and Children's' Center child care services, teen
mentoring programs, teen counseling.
Health services include Health Fairs, clinics, and public
health screenings.
Life skills and civic engagement including legal assistance,
voter registration, tax preparation assistance, children's aid
and insurance, financial literacy programs, and mobile
consultants
Safety services include San Rafael PD Community Policing
office resources, Fire Safety Camp, public forums,
community meetings.
Public meetings and conferences on various topics of
interest to the neighborhood and community including
those listed above
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The Center and Library proudly hold these core
competencies:
■ Exemplary Customer Service
■ Community responsive programming and services
■ Collaborative partnerships
■ Inclusion of the entire community
■ Efficient use of resources
■ Effective facility management and maintenance
Issues that challenge the Center and Library:
■ Sustainable funding for free and low cost programs
and services
■ Expanded staff resources
■ Sustainable funding for facility maintenance and
replacement
■ Stable foundation of community supporters and
contributors
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In the future, the Center and Library will strive to achieve:
■ Utilization of the facilities at full capacity
■ Balance of community serving and revenue producing
programs
■ Creation of a non- profit Foundation to sustain funding
support
■ Construction of an expanded Child Care Center
■ Installation of year round sport fields facilities
When
The original Pickleweed Park Community Center was
constructed on the City owned property at 50 Canal
Street in 1985. The $2 million project was funded in
part by the Marin Community Foundation based
upon a Joint Use Agreement between the City of
San Rafael and Canal Community Alliance. The City
staffed the Center and conducted recreation and
community programs. Canal Community Alliance
operated a Teen Center and community education
programs in the building.
By the mid 1990's the demographics of the
neighborhood had changed dramatically. The
Center was not used by a majority of the residents.
It closed early on Fridays due to lack of use, and
remained closed over the weekends.
A dramatic change in the community's
participation in the Center came about in 1996
when the City changed profoundly the way it
operated the Pickleweed Community Center, by
converting it from a "branch" of its community
center network into a distinct, Canal -serving
institution. The City introduced an open -use policy
that reduced use fees for room rentals at the Center
and made space more accessible to nonprofit
organizations, community group meetings, and
family gatherings. Groups offering programs to the
public at nominal or no charge were hosted in the
Center at no charge. Satellite offices for police,
code enforcement, library, and health referrals
provided residents access to important City services.
This first stage of revitalization was completed when
the City renovated the surrounding Pickleweed Park
with the largest picnic, playground and sports fields
in the City inventory.
The partnership between the community and the
City opened the doors and grounds of the Center to
more than 100,000 individual visits per year. Forty
organizations and community groups offered
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tutoring, job training, life skills, art classes, sports and
recreational programs. Gatherings range from
classes of 10 to an annual Dia De Los Muertos
celebration that draws more than 3,000 people.
This partnership between the community and the
City created a wide range of activities at the
Pickleweed Community Center appealing to
diverse, multi -cultural interests. 43 non-profit
agencies began offering programs at the Center.
The Center became host to community celebrations
such as Dia de Los Muertos, the Chinese Mid -
Autumn Festival, Spirit of the Holidays Youth Carnival,
Asian New Year's Celebration and Las Posadas.
Families and community members utilized
Pickleweed Park Community Center for weddings,
baptisms, Quinceaneras and other celebrations.
In 2003, 18 organizations and agencies joined
resources to create a "Summer of Peace" at
Pickleweed Community Center. Recreation, sport,
education, counseling, job training, art, dance, and
music programs brought hundreds of youth ages 12-
18 to the Center for activity, social interaction and
life skill help. The full spectrum of offerings ranged
from bicycle maintenance and drama classes to
conflict resolution taught by San Quentin prison
inmates. Parents and families attended programs
designed to teach adults how support their
teenagers. The program has received funding from
the Koshland Foundation to continue programming
year-round.
Private organizations rented the community center
well, including soccer leagues, fraternal
organizations and church groups. Their use created
a "win-win" situation - the renter has competitively
priced space, the community has more program
opportunities, the Pickleweed Park Community
Center has net revenues to use for services. The
Center soon operated at capacity, and valuable
community programming was turned away for lack
of space.
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In 1999, the City Council commissioned the Pickleweed
Advisory Board of Canal residents to conduct a
community outreach project to identify priorities for a
Pickleweed Revitalization plan. Hundreds of door-to-
door surveys, several community meetings and other
outreach contacts achieved an outpouring of ideas
from more than 600 residents.
A striking theme emerged: a commitment among
responded to create opportunities for economic self-
sufficiency for their families. After-school tutoring,
college -level classes, computer skills, arts programs and
instruction, and job training were among the top five
activities requested from a list of hundreds of
possibilities - along with additional educational
resources, indoor sports, live music and entertainment.
Strong community support for an enlarged library was
also identified. Increased space and operations of the
library were in line with the desire for more technology
access and tutoring services to augment the already
well-established literacy program.
The Group IV Architects of South San Francisco expressed needs
and aspirations of the Canal neighborhood into space designations.
Nine months of public meetings created a plan approved by the
community and the City for the renovation and expansion of the
Pickleweed Community Center. Fundraising and construction
ensued. The renovated and expanded Pickleweed Community
Center and Library opened in
July 2005. The 24,000 s/f
f ! facility includes a
! gymnasium, art room,
a.- community room, teen
lounge, classrooms,
homework center, computer
lab, library, new lobby, entry parking and outdoor deck
HowThe initial investment in the renovation and expansion of
the Pickleweed Park Community Center and Library was
$8.5 million. Funding for the project came from public
sources such as Federal, State, County, and
Redevelopment Agency funds, eleven philanthropic
organizations, and private donations. Operational costs
including staff, maintenance, utilities, replacement funds,
materials and supplies, marketing and direct program
costs for the Center and Library are approximately $522,
000 per year. Program fees and rental income currently
produce about $155,000 per year. Sources of income:
City Subsidy - The General Fund subsidizes a portion of
the operation of the Center and Library.
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Participant Fees - $2 per night open gym admission to
$45 for 11 week computer program.
Facility Rentals - private citizens, corporations, churches,
and non profit organizations rent the facilities when
programming is not taking place. Fees range from
$28/hr for a classroom to $2,000 for an all day event such
as a wedding or large event.
Local Non Profit Organization Support- Friends of the
Library, Friends of San Rafael and the KOPP program
raise and donate funds for services, programs and
equipment at the Center and in the Library.
Foundation - A key factor for the future of the Center
and Library is a link to the greater community and its
resources. Local fundraising for the Center construction
campaign revealed a deep sense of support for the
Center and the neighborhood on behalf of greater San
Rafael and Marin County. The Mayor appointed a group
of business and community leaders to continue the flow
of funding from these sources. This group, Keep Our
Pickleweed Promise, shall adopt new initiatives and
sustaining measures identified as unmet needs by the
to connect business and private funding to those needs.
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Grants - Grants are solicited for specific programs that match
criteria of the funding organization, Marin Community
Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Koshland Foundation,
Wells Fargo Bank, are a few of the granting organizations that
support services at the Center and Library.
Program Partners - Valuable contributions of personnel, materials
and services are received from program partners in return for
utilization of the Center and Library.
Sinking Fund - Maintenance and replacement costs can be
addressed through a sinking fund that calls for an amount or
percentage of revenue each year to be reserved to address
regular maintenance issues such as roofing, painting, furniture
replacement and similar expenditures.
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A cohesive, stable community provides individuals the
best opportunity for educational, financial and social
success. Successful individuals contribute significant
economic, social, cultural returns for the greater
community, City and County.
Why
The Pickleweed ParkCommunit Center and Y Library
provides shared experiences that honor cultural
origins and meld diverse cultures into new
approaches for life in San Rafael. The facility hosts
;,;
cultural events, education programs, artistic
performances and observances of all kinds. It is
common for these events to be open to the general
public. In this way neighbors gain understanding and
insight to each other. Parallel to these events are
those new to many, but part of the San Rafael fabric
of community: film nights, dances, picnic days, sports
leagues, theatrical performances, literacy programs.
Participation creates a common platform for
experience, creating mutual reference among
neighbors. Residents who share positive experiences
create cohesive neighborhoods.
Pickleweed Park Community Center and Library serve
as a gathering place rather than a service center. It is
a community gathering place where people learn
and play. A place where people spark one another
to make a difference in the neighborhood. At the
Center, people are empowered by the services and
opportunities to make a difference in their own lives
and futures as well as a difference in the
neighborhood life and its future. It is a place of lively
exchange and growth; of coming together as groups
with mutual interests and initiatives, and standing up
as individuals. With this Center the families within the
neighborhood have the opportunity to build a
cohesive, stable community.
A cohesive, stable community provides individuals the
best opportunity for educational, financial and social
success. Successful individuals contribute significant
economic, social, cultural returns for the greater
community, City and County.
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The Pickleweed Park Community Center and Library builds
and sustains a network of information that supports the
community. Through community initiative, residents benefit
from a higher awareness of issues affecting the
neighborhood. They become increasingly aware of existing
opportunities that lead to workable, collaborative
approaches to the issues, the public participation increases,
along with leadership and representation. Collective
decisions reflect the consensus views of the community.
Consensus views contribute to the political fabric of the City
and County.
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The "Central Address" of the Canal Neighborhood provides
a place, space, and catalyst to promote individual change
and following that, social change. The presence and
invitation of the Center and Library engages residents in
community dialog that clarifies challenges and conflicts;
identifies options, objectives and action. Collective
response begins at the Center and Library and radiates to
the community at large impacting individual knowledge
and behaviors which lead to overall social change for the
ultimate improvement to the quality of life for all San Rafael
citizens.
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Catalyst
Pickleweed Park
Community Center
and Library
Social Change
leadership,
community
capability, degree
& equity of
participation, sense
of ownership,
cohesiveness
Community
Dialog:
Residents, City
Council and
Commissions,
Advisory Board,
Partners and Staff
Individual Change
Knowledge,
skills, ideation,
intention, behavior
Collective Action:
programs, services,
operations,
Facilities
Integrated Model of Communication for Social Change