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Everman council considers ordinance to create Parks & Recreation Commission
Summary
The Everman City Council heard staff testimony and moved on Ordinance No. 850 to establish a seven‑member Parks & Recreation Commission to manage city events and youth sports; staff gave revenue and staffing scenarios but the transcript ends before a recorded vote.
The Everman City Council on Tuesday introduced Ordinance No. 850, a proposal to create a seven‑member Parks & Recreation Commission to advise the council on events, youth sports and related programming. City staff presented revenue and staffing scenarios and asked the council to approve the ordinance so appointments and program planning could begin in time for a fall season.
City staff summarized why the commission is needed and what it would do. "Our population currently is at least 7,000," the presenter said, adding that roughly 21.9% of residents are under 15 — about 1,400 children — and that Johnson Park has four youth fields that are underutilized. Staff said the commission would "oversee citywide special events as well as our youth baseball and softball programs" and would meet monthly under the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Staff outlined two staffing scenarios for running youth sports. A full‑time coordinator was estimated at about $33,000 per year with total anticipated expenditures of roughly $122,000 under that model. Staff projected annual revenue from registrations, tournaments, concessions and sponsorships at about $89,000. In a part‑time coordinator scenario staff said the program could be roughly budget‑neutral and might net about $3,600 to roll back into parks programming. The presenter described these figures as estimates that would be refined once a commission is established.
The ordinance would create a citizen advisory commission of seven members appointed by council, serving staggered two‑year terms, to advise on policy, budget and programming. Staff recommended the commission be strictly advisory with no council members serving on it so that citizen members could independently bring recommendations to the council.
Council discussion included a technical correction to the ordinance language. The city attorney identified a typo in the ordinance section number and said it should read "section 2‑74" rather than "2‑73," and offered to revise and resend the corrected language to staff. Because of an agenda error, staff said appointments could not be made that night and that a special meeting would be called to make appointments if the ordinance is approved.
A motion to approve Ordinance No. 850 was made and seconded during the meeting, and an amendment was moved to note the attorney's correction. The provided transcript ends after the motion was seconded and before a recorded roll‑call vote on the ordinance, so the council's final vote is not recorded in the supplied segments.
If approved, the commission would be tasked with coordinating events such as the Easter egg hunt, Celebrate America festival and youth seasons at Johnson Park, and could seek minor field improvements funded in part by sponsorships and TIF funds as appropriate. Staff said the commission would be launched quickly to allow program planning in time for an August start for fall recreational leagues.
The council's next procedural step on this item was to finalize the corrected ordinance language and hold a vote; appointments were deferred to a special meeting.
