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Building Partnerships with Business by Steve Montez The late 1980s-early 1990s has been a period of transition for American business. As companies struggle to adjust and readjust to the change of industry and business' role in the economy, the public sector is no less affected. Declining tax bases, tax payer revolt, tax ceilings and changes in Park District Codes that affect the ability of public agencies to bond and finance the maintenance of infrastructure and facilities cause park districts throughout the state to struggle to find revenue alternatives. Contract Camp The Peoria Park District has conducted the Ancient Oaks Day Camp at W.H. Sommer Park for the past twenty-three years. While the program has run smoothly for a number of years, attendance had dropped for the three years previous to 1992. In 1989, Charles Ruppman Marketing Services (RMS), a telephone marketing company based in Peoria, was looking to provide day care services for their employees. A large number of employees were single parents, with the majority being single females. Many drove from out of town, some forty to fifty miles one way. An in-house survey at RMS found that employees had difficulty finding adequate affordable child care for older children, 6 through 14 years, during the summer, particularly in smaller outlying communities. Ancient Oaks Day Camp conducted a 1990 survey of child care services, their fees and ages of children served. To our surprise, out of 15 randomly picked services surveyed, seven did not provide for ages over 6 years, and two provided for up to 7 years. Of the six remaining, four were private, religious based camps that provided scholarship-based programs, and two were membership only. This suggested that a large number of children 7 and up in the Peoria metropolitan population of approximately 350,000 did not have access to summer day camp/ day care services similar to what we offered. The Peoria Park District now had the opportunity to serve these children through companies that were considering summer day camp services as a benefit to their employees. Through an employee reference of our camp, RMS contacted the camp director and inquired about reserving a number of slots at Ancient Oaks Day Camp for their employees. In light of the declining enrollment in the previous year, this was viewed as a mutually beneficial program. As a result, the slots for the camp were reserved. The RMS campers were charged in-district fees based on the large number of camper spot reservations made. This fee was shared by the employees and RMS. After a successful partnership in 1989, the next year RMS requested that a camp with expanded enrollment separate from Ancient Oaks Camp be conducted for the dependents of its employees. This would be a district benefit offered by RMS for their employees. At the same time, the personnel manager of the Peoria Journal Star had heard of the arrangement with RMS and contacted the camp director. With the expansion of the RMS enrollment and the possibility of another company coming on board, further thought was given to how the park district could provide a service to Peoria-based companies. We decided to offer separate day camp services to run concurrently with Ancient Oaks Day Camp, catering to the needs of businesses that wished to offer summer day camp services to their employees. Good news travelled fast. In 1991, Proctor Hospital contacted the camp director on behalf of their employees' dependents. In 1992, Caterpillar, the biggest employer in the area and one of the biggest in Illinois Joined the Contract Camp. The results of these partnerships are that in 1992: 1) 685 youth were given the opportunity to participate in day camp services that may not have been able to participate otherwise; and 2) additional Peoria-area families were able to take advantage of affordable day camp/day care services as a benefit from their
employers. This success was not achieved at the expense of the community based Ancient Oaks Camp. In fact, the popularity of the Contract Camp helped build the enrollment of the Ancient Oaks Camp through word of mouth, enough so that camp registration in 1992 rose by 7.5%, the first increase in four years. Volunteers In the Park Volunteers were utilized in the day camp through the "Volunteer In the Park" program (VIP). As much of a training program as a volunteer program, the VIP program teaches responsibility, pride, work skills and respect for park district facilities. VIPs are treated as park staff, and they are expected to attend training and orientation, to wear camp uniforms, to help in planning and execution of camp activities, to attend special camp functions, and to represent the camp and the park district in the best possible manner at all times. In 1990 three VIPs were used at the day camp. In 1991 two additional VIPs were solicited, and five young adults finished the program. In 1992 the VIP program was expanded to include 15 volunteers. In this past year, these young people donated almost 5,000 volunteer hours. Value-Added Services One of the biggest attractions of Ancient Oaks Day Camp is the bus service arrangements made to provide door-to-camp services, with bus pick-up at the front door of the various companies. The various work shifts at each company were accommodated by hiring staff that provided early and late care either at the work site, near the work site or at the camp itself. Registration was taken at the company site, usually during lunch in the lunch room or, when possible, using the company's electronic mail system through the personnel department. Parents of potential camps, personnel directors and top executives at each company were invited to tour the camp grounds, either as a group or individually. An open house luncheon was held to thank all companies for their consideration of the camp and to explain additional park services. Steps Toward ADA Compliance In 1991 the Peoria Park District, with the Heart of Illinois Special Recreation Association (HISRA), started work to develop a proactive plan to provide day camp access to children with disabilities. An agreement was developed that outlined the responsibilities of the two agencies in implementing access to Peoria Park District programs, in particular the day camp at W.H. Sommer Park (Ancient Oaks Day Camp/Contract Camp Services). The agreement included the advertisement for the camp to include information on mainstreaming, assessment of the camp site and recommendations for compliance with ADA, training of staff for camper needs, on-going assistance and the availability of a trained specialist at the camp site, hiring of qualified counselors to work with disabled campers, arrangements for specialized transportation, funding from HISRA for the additional staff and transportation needed, and regular meetings with HISRA staff to keep on top of potential problems and incidents as they arose. Access for disabled campers, regardless of the ability to pay, was arranged through American Camping Association funding by HISRA and the Peoria Park District. Campers that had previously attended the HISRA day camp were evaluated by HISRA and forwarded to the day camp. With the generous and untiring support of HISRA, 25 children with a wide range of disabilities participated in all the day camp activities that were not previously available to these children. Participating companies were included in these plans. Fee Structure Companies were charged a percentage above the total direct costs to be considered as an administrative fee. In 1990 this was figured at twenty percent, in 1991 the figure was twenty-five percent, in 1992 it was thirty percent, and in 1993 it will be thirty-five percent. The figure should stabilize at forty percent in 1994. This overhead charge does three things: 1) subsidizes programming within the park that does not make money, yet is an important part of our mission; 2) brings the price up to that similar of private sector services, thereby keeping at minimum any protest by the private sector of a government agency undercutting their services; and 3) will eventually help to pay for improvements in the park such as maintaining its infrastructure and freeing park district funds for other purposes in these tough economic tax times. Additionally, this overhead fee will turn a facility with a deficit of $22,000 in 1991 into a facility with a surplus of $4,000 in 1993. The Peoria Park District is proud of its record of balanced budgets and fiscal management. The Ancient Oaks Day Camp, through the Contract Camp Service Program, represents an emerging attitude among recreation professionals in providing services with a more business-like approach in fiscal matters and attention to customer service. By creating the Contract Camp Services Program and filling a void in child care needs, the Peoria Park District has formed partnerships with some of the biggest companies in the area that form the basis for numerous joint ventures in the future. Summary The Peoria Park District's Ancient Oaks Camp/Contract Camp Services program strives to meet the needs of area. residents and attends to the needs of the customer. As the ground rules and demands on park districts have changed, the staff at the Peoria Park District adjusts changing needs of our community and provides the necessary programs and services, all the while working to stabilize their financial base. In providing these services, the Peoria Park District works with local businesses, public agencies and area volunteer youth to give greater access to a wider target group of all ages and abilities. The accomplishments of providing the benefits of the Contract Camp Services program without sacrificing the traditional community based programs shows that public agencies can have it both ways. About the Author Steve Montez is the manager of W.H. Sommer Park and the Peoria Park District. He has a B.S. in Physical Education from the University of Illinois, a M.S. in Education, specializing in Recreation Management, and a Masters of Public Affairs from Southern Illinois University.
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