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Council adopts ordinance setting standards of care for city-run youth camp programs
Summary
The Allen City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4134 after a public hearing to set minimum standards of care for city-run summer and holiday youth camp programs that qualify for a state daycare licensing exemption.
The Allen City Council voted to adopt Ordinance No. 4134 establishing standards of care for youth camp programs operated by the Allen Parks and Recreation Department.
The standards, presented by Parks and Recreation staff member Alyssa, set minimum requirements for administration, staff qualifications and ratios, and facility safety for the city’s summer and holiday camps. Alyssa told council the rules are required so the city can qualify for a municipal exemption from state daycare licensing and that guardians must be informed the programs are not licensed by the state. “Parents must also be informed that the program is not licensed by the state,” Alyssa said during her presentation.
The ordinance covers two in-house programs described by staff: Camp STAR (Summertime Around the Rec at Joe Farmer), capped at 50 campers per week and operating with a wait list; and Camp TREK at Terrace Center, capped at 20 campers per week, which staff said has shown early growth. Alyssa said staffing reflects those roster sizes and that this year’s ordinance proposes no substantive changes from the prior year.
City staff opened a public hearing on the ordinance; there were no registered speakers. After council discussion, a motion and second were made and the council voted to adopt the ordinance. The council record shows the motion carried; the meeting minutes do not list individual vote tallies in the transcript excerpt.
The city will submit the adopted standards to the state to receive the municipal exemption and will include the standards in its parent enrollment package and related communications. Alyssa told council the Parks Board reviewed the standards on Dec. 2 and that no new changes were proposed this year.
Background: Under Texas rules, municipalities that operate programs meeting the stated criteria may qualify for a daycare-licensing exemption if the governing body adopts local standards and informs guardians that the program is not a licensed childcare facility. The ordinance formalizes those local standards for Allen’s city-run camps.
