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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-14-256 - Parks and Rec Employees and Volunteers City of Miami Gardens Agenda Cover Memo Council Meeting Date: July 27, 2011 Item Type: (Enter X in box) Resolution Ordinance Other X Fiscal Impact: (Enter X in box) Yes No Ordinance Reading: (Enter X in box) 1st Reading 2nd Reading X X Public Hearing: (Enter X in box) Yes No Yes No X Funding Source: N/A Advertising Requirement: (Enter X in box) Yes No X Contract/P.O. Required: (Enter X in box) Yes No RFP/RFQ/Bid #: X Strategic Plan Related (Enter X in box) Yes No Strategic Plan Priority Area: Enhance Organizational Bus. & Economic Dev Public Safety Quality of Education Qual. of Life & City Image Communication Strategic Plan Obj./Strategy: (list the specific objective/strategy this item will address) N/A X Sponsor Name Councilman Oliver Gilbert, III Department: Parks and Recreation Short Title: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA, AMENDING SECTION 18‐297 OF THE CITY’S CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS; PROVIDING FOR ADOPTION OF REPRESENTATIONS; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN CODE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Staff Summary: Background Information The launch of the City of Miami Gardens Youth Sports (CMGYS) program has been an opportunity for the City to be at the forefront of organized sporting activities on city parks. City staff recognizes that unsupervised volunteers and employees having direct contact with children on a daily basis is a delicate situation. At the same time, the City is also sensitive to the enormous value and contribution of the ITEM I-1) ORDINANCE SECOND READING/PUBLIC HEARING Amending Section 18-297 of the Code 1515 NW 167 Street, Building 5 Suite 200 Miami Gardens, Florida 33169 hundreds of volunteers that give of their time and talents to these young people. Many of the volunteers are products of some of the teams they are now seeking to coach. Current Situation The Parks and Recreation Department utilizes approximately four hundred (400) volunteers for its various youth sports programs. The City’s current Code of Ordinances has a specific ordinance related to the background screening of Parks and Recreation Department employees and volunteers, which was adopted with the intent of creating a local standard for exclusion criteria for Parks employees and volunteers. Per the ordinance, the Department must secure a nationwide criminal background fingerprint check for city employees and volunteers whose primary duties require physical presence on park property owned or operated by the city. Currently, employees and volunteers who have two (2) or more convictions for a violent felony, for conspiracy to commit a violent felony, or involving the trafficking of a controlled substance, are prohibited from working or volunteering with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, regardless of when the crime occurred. Councilman Gilbert is proposing that the Code be amended to prohibit volunteers and employees from working in the Parks and Recreation Department if they have two (2) or more convictions for a violent felony, for conspiracy to commit a violent felony, or involving the trafficking of a controlled substance within the past ten years. He is also recommending that the Code be amended to clarify that the City reserves the right to refuse to allow any volunteer to volunteer at any City park based on good cause. Proposed Action: Councilman Oliver Gilbert recommends that the City Council approve the attached ordinance. Attachment: Attachment A‐Ordinance: Parks and Recreation Employee and Volunteer background screening