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Council asks whether renewing RecTrack vendor will fix parks registration problems
Summary
Councilmember Ellis pressed city staff on functionality and timing for a new RecTrack recreation-management contract (A23); procurement staff said the contract is negotiated and delayed by coordination with a citywide merchant‑card solicitation, while Parks and Recreation described recent performance improvements (waiting room, back‑end fixes) and planned monitoring metrics.
Councilmember Ellis asked staff on Feb. 24 whether a proposed contract renewal with the RecTrack vendor would resolve recurring registration problems residents have reported for Parks & Recreation programs.
James Scarborough, chief procurement officer, said the procurement timeline was driven by a concurrent citywide merchant‑card provider solicitation that had to conclude before finalizing the RecTrack contract; he said the contract is now negotiated and ready for execution. Lucas Massey, assistant director of Parks & Recreation, acknowledged earlier capacity problems years ago but said staff have worked with the vendor to boost transaction speed, implemented a "waiting room" process for high‑demand registration periods, and completed user focus groups and back‑end changes to improve search and enrollment functions.
Councilmember Ellis asked what metrics would determine success and whether the city would require additional features (wish lists, multiple‑child registrations). Staff said the agreement language allows revisiting requirements before authorization if additional needs arise and that operations-level objectives are being refined with departmental input.
What’s next: Staff said the negotiated contract would be considered on the council's Thursday agenda and that additional implementation metrics will be provided if requested.
