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Committee reviews 50 community centers and partnerships; city highlights third-party operations and rental use
Summary
Parks staff told the June 3 committee there are about 50 community centers citywide, a mix of city-staffed and third-party–managed sites, many rented on weekends; staff emphasized partnerships with nonprofits and ongoing efforts on aesthetics, technology and shared facilities with libraries.
Bridal Parks (council auditor's office) and Daryl Joseph (Parks Department) briefed the Special Committee on Duvall Do's on June 3 about the city’s inventory and operation of community centers, senior centers and the overlap with library locations.
Committee materials list about 50 community centers across Jacksonville, grouped by council district. Parks staff said a subset are staffed by Parks and Recreation and Community Services employees; several are third-party managed by nonprofit partners such as the Boys & Girls Club and PAL, and four facilities listed are closed for renovation.
Daryl Joseph said Parks has shifted smaller sites to community-based nonprofits when city operation was inefficient, and the department monitors those contracts through assigned contract managers and annual reports. "We've actually worked closely with smaller nonprofits, community based nonprofits, and allowed them to kinda use those sites," Joseph said.
Parks staff summarized rental activity: many community centers are rented on weekends for private events; roughly half of facilities available for rental are booked about 50 percent of the time. Senior centers showed lower rental rates (around 22–25 percent on average) with some centers higher and others not rented. The rental fee cited in materials is $25 per hour; Parks staff said that fee is under review as part of a fees study and could change.
When asked about security for rentals, staff said the renter is responsible; Parks staff said there is no city security automatically provided for private rentals.
The committee discussed combining services in shared buildings where feasible. Daryl Joseph and Tim Rogers said one existing joint community center–library site is an example; Joseph said planning future facilities that combine library and center functions "makes a lot of sense" for coverage and efficiency. Council members urged attention to aesthetics, technology and programming to increase use and keep facilities relevant.
Ending: Committee members thanked Parks staff and said information on community centers will help upcoming budget and CIP discussions.
