Alva City Council reviews Recreation Complex policies, fee schedule and facility repairs

On Feb. 12, 2025, the Alva City Council discussed proposed policies and procedures for the Alva Recreation Complex, including a proposed July 1 start date for new fees, playground surfacing replacements, pool and turf repairs, and constraints on a $100,000 lighting grant.

Council members and staff said the policies are intended to provide consistent pricing and clearer reservation rules for organized teams, tournaments and casual users. A board member urged the council to adopt a start date of July 1 so organizations have time to plan and budget. “I’d like to start it July 1,” the board member said.

The council discussed how to charge organizations that register many teams versus individual teams. One council member cited a contract model used by Woodward Kids Inc., in which an organization is charged a single flat fee; others said they prefer charging teams or events directly so users bear the cost. Staff said the final fee structure remains under discussion and that they will bring refined language back to the council.

Facility maintenance and safety items drew specific attention. Staff reported a plan to remove the existing rubber/black playground surfacing and temporarily replace it with crushed-travel (CT) gravel until funding or leftover turf can be used for longer-term surfacing. Staff also said the city will replace three baby swings and a damaged metal slide and has ordered six additional picnic tables and canopies to improve park amenities.

Pool and athletics updates included a staff report that youth soccer enrollment reached 232 players across roughly 30 teams, with season play starting March 24. Staff described ongoing pool repairs and concrete work outside the pool office. The council reviewed a proposal from a vendor identified as Musto for lighting and improvements to soccer fields; staff said the vendor’s formal proposal includes payment options and a quoted total of $950,000, but the council did not adopt any financing terms during the meeting.

On grant restrictions, staff said a $100,000 lighting grant is limited to ball-field lighting and cannot be repurposed to light the recreation building. “It’s gotta be used for those lights,” a staff member said after checking with the grant agency. Council members asked staff to confirm whether payment plans or multi-year financing would be acceptable to the grantor; staff said they had asked the grant manager to clarify whether multi-year payment schedules would meet the grant’s definition of an active project, but had not yet received final guidance.

The draft policies include operational items such as reservation payments (staff recommended advance payment for some reservations), a $20-per-hour charge for concession-area use tied to certain court rentals, and clearer responsibilities for trash removal and cleanup by user groups. Staff also suggested deposit or partial-payment requirements for larger reservations; the council discussed modifying the payment terms (for example, a 50% payment requirement) but took no binding action.

Council members also raised an outstanding invoice dispute with a contractor involving turf work at a middle-school field. Staff said the contractor billed for extra rock and for work the city disputes because the contractor was unable to connect turf to concrete as initially expected; the city has been negotiating the disputed charges and said the subcontractor’s attorney and the city’s attorney had not reached agreement.

There was no formal vote to adopt the Recreation Complex policies at the meeting. Council members directed staff to continue refining the fee language for ball fields and other facilities with a target of implementing changes on July 1, and to return with clarified payment terms, contract proposals and grant-use confirmations.

The council’s discussion ties into other recent financial updates the city reviewed earlier in the meeting, including budget-tracking remarks and the status of several grant applications; staff said some grants were unsuccessful, one land-and-water grant of $500,000 remains under consideration, and the city had received unexpected donations for the ball field and pool.

Next steps: staff will follow up with the grant manager about allowable uses and financing timing, refine proposed fee language for ball fields and reservations, clarify contract terms with Musto and the disputed turf contractor, and return to the council for further action.