Date: May 24, 2016 CITY OF MARATHON PARKS AND RECREATION 9805 Overseas Highway, Marathon, Florida 33050 Phone: (305) 743-6598 Fax: (305) 289-5888 MEMORANDUM To: From: Through: Subject: Honorable Mayor and City Council Jimmy Schmidt, Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Lindsey, City Manager Parks and Recreation monthly report Parks Programs Skate Park attendance has lessened slightly as the tourist population has decreased. These numbers are only for times that Skate Park attendants were on duty. Overall, numbers are slightly decreasing, averaging 15 skaters nightly. Most skaters have brought their own helmets and skate boards with them. The skate park attendants are avid skateboarders. Since the bulk of the snowbirds have left, attendance has gone down slightly during mid to late April. Adult Volleyball is at Marathon High School gym for two hours, starting at 7:30pm on Monday night, throughout the school year. It does not meet during periods when school is closed. Cost per person is $30. This program is for age 18 and older. To date, 32 have registered. Games were not played during the week of spring break, March 21-25. Adult Basketball meets on Wednesday nights at 7:30pm at Marathon High School gym. This two-hour program meets weekly throughout the school year. It does not meet during periods when school is closed. Cost per person is $5 per night. To date, 56 have registered. Games were not played during the week of spring break, March 21-25. Home School PE is every Tuesday afternoon from 1:30-2:30. It is led by the Parks and Recreation staff. To date, there are 85 home-schooled students who have registered this year. The program will run until early June. The curriculum includes a variety of sport and athletic activities, including tag and kickball games. T-Ball ended 4/7/16. The program served ages 4-6 and was an introduction to baseball. Equipment included batting from a T. Children provided their own gloves. Six teams met with practices and games each week from 3/8/16 until 4/7/16 when trophies were awarded. The program cost was $40 per child and included awards, a t-shirt and hat, as
well as the use of equipment. The Marathon Parks and Recreation department assisted the Marathon Youth Club (the program s organizer) with registration, evaluation, and team formation. The city Parks and Recreation department provided staff to assist in the entire organization and distribution of information for the program. City of Marathon Parks and Recreation Spring Break Mini-Camp took place the week of March 21-25 as well as March 28. Cost for the camp, which took place during spring break, is $80 per week or $20 per day. The camp is for ages 5-13. Out of town field trips included visits to the Sheriff s Animal Farm and Eco-Discovery Center in Key West on March 22. They swam at Jacobs Aquatic Center on Thursday, March 24. On Wednesday, March 23, the campers visited the local US Coast Guard Station in Marathon for a customized tour. All campers were able to board two coast guard boats in addition to seeing the facilities. Camp ran from 8:30am-5pm daily. Parks and Recreation staff and local counselors supervised all camp activities. Throughout the 6-day camp, a total of 48 children were served. Early drop-off was available starting each day at 7:30am for no additional charge. Little League includes baseball and girl s softball. This program is offered by Marathon Youth Club for Minor League baseball (ages 7-9), Major League baseball (ages 10-12), Junior League baseball (ages 13-14), and Girl s Softball (ages 7-12). Cost is $80 and includes pants, shirt, and a hat for each player. Little League evaluations were held Wednesday, March 2 at 6pm at Community Park Little League field.. Softball evaluations were held on Thursday, March 3 at 6pm at Community Park Little League field. The teams have been formed and the season is now under way. T-ball has 48 registered: 4 teams of 12 each; Minors have 36 registered: 3 teams of 12 each; Majors have 13 registered: 2 teams; Girls softball has 12 registered: 2 teams of 6 each. Syndi Barrera is the Marathon Youth Club coordinator in conjunctions with the Parks and Recreation Department. Opening ceremonies for this program were held on Saturday morning, April 2, at the Community Park baseball field. Activities included singing the national anthem, taking the Little League creed, and a parade of all players with their teams and coaches. Quickstart Tennis is presently being offered by the City of Marathon Parks and Recreation department. The 8-week program started April 11. Open registration began on Tuesday evening, March 15 at the main pavilion beside the park office from 5-7PM. This program is for ages 5-10 the cost is $40 and sessions will run throughout April at Community Park. Registration is available on the city website. To date, there are 36 youngsters who are participating in the program. It will end on June 7. Three sessions are held on Monday and Wednesday evening for older children and on Saturday morning for younger children. Earth Day Kite Flight took place Saturday morning, April 23, from 9-11am at Oceanfront Park, behind City Hall. The free event gave children the opportunity to express what they love about the earth by drawing and coloring on a kite. Then, the children completed the kites and attempted to fly them in spite of little wind.
Approximately 25 children under age 10, as well as their parents, showed up for the event. Publix generously donated cookies as well. Under the Stars movie series showed the movie Key Largo on Saturday evening, April 23 in Community Park. Approximately 200 attended this classic filmed about the Keys. Refreshments were available to purchase as well. Community Events Relay for Life local annual celebration took place on Friday, April 1 and Saturday morning, April 2 at the Community Park soccer fields. The theme Wizard of Odds- There s No Place Like Hope was carried out throughout the event. There were 40 local businesses and non-profits participating. The event raised money for the Relay for Life organization to fight cancer. A luminaria ceremony and a dessert bar were part of the event and took place Friday night through Saturday morning. An estimated attendance was at 900. Marathon Yacht Club Educational Foundation Nautical and Knot Flea Market is continuing its plans to offer youth sailing in conjunction with the Parks and Recreation department. Details are being finalized to offer this during the 8-week period of summer camp. More details are forthcoming. The foundation has purchased several prams to be used in the instructional program with the city. Corn Hole Tournament to benefit Relay for Life was held Saturday, March 19th starting at 6PM. Games started at 7PM. This was held at Community Park Soccer Fields. It was an adult program sponsored by Marathon Parks and Recreation. The attendance was 150 people, including observers. This is a local group of adults who organized themselves to have regular competitions. Easter Sunrise Service took place at 7am on Easter morning, March 27, at Sombrero Beach. This was an inter-denominational service and churches included Marathon Church of God, AME Church, New Life Church, and Community Church United Methodist. The service had around 1000 attending at sunrise. The Salsa band Mojito performed on Saturday night, April 7, at Community Park in front of a packed audience. The performance ran from 6-10 and approximately 250 attended. Food was available for purchase from the Middle Keys Booster club and drinks were sold by the Marathon Lions Club. Rotary Easter Egg Hunt was held on Saturday, March 26 at Rotary Park. Marathon Parks and Recreation will assist with this event. The event was sponsored and organized by the Rotary Club of Marathon. The event started at 9am with the Easter Bunny (provided by the city staff) and the egg hunt began at 10am. This was free to children in the community. An estimated 250 children participated in this annual event.
Pops Stiglitz Softball Tournament was held on April 16 and 17 in Community Park. The two-day event raises money for high school scholarships. Originally called the Nate Grill scholarship tournament, this has been a continuation of that event. A total of 15 teams participated and the attendance overall was estimated at 1200. It was reported that the event raised $11,000 which will be donated toward college scholarships for local students. Bucky Dent Baseball and Softball Clinic was held on Saturday, April 23 rd from 10amnoon and from 1pm-3pm. Another session was held on Sunday, April 24, from 12pm- 2pm. During the entire weekend, 75 participants worked on various pitching, catching, batting, and other skills necessary for the game. On Saturday, April 23, lunch was provided. This was open as a free clinic for any kids between ages 7-12 and was held at the Community Park baseball fields and tennis courts. Battle in the Bay Dragon Boat Festival took place on Saturday, May 14, from 9am-3pm at Sombrero Beach. Fourteen teams of boats participated in this annual event. Each 40 foot boat carried a team of 20 teammates and the course was 420 meters long. Great food was sold during the event and teams donate money raised to support the charity of their choice. It is estimated that a crowd of 1200 attended this event. Upcoming Programs Mara-tri is an annual local event that is scheduled for Saturday, May 28 at Sombrero Beach. The event incorporates swimming, biking, and running on courses at or near the beach. Online information can be found at www.maratri.com. This is a USA Triathlon Sanctioned event. Races are specifically designed for first-timers and those that love to share the sport of triathlon with friends and family. Mara-tri is a charity organization at heart, benefiting local youth athletics and the encouraging the use of our great outdoors. Roller Night is scheduled for Friday night, June 3 at the Basketball/Hockey court in Community Park. This event, which traditionally draws a young crowd of 3-9 year-olds, has music to skate by as well as free refreshments provided by Publix, Marathon Church of God, and the Parks and Recreation department. The event will last from 7-9pm. All ages are welcome and helmets are required. Scooters, roller blades, and skates are allowed. Skate boards are not allowed. Marathon Youth Club will have an end-of-season ceremony for the athletes who have participated this spring in girls softball and boys baseball. This event will be held before the end of school. The ceremony will be organized by MYC president Syndi Barrera. Details will be announced in the near future. City of Marathon Summer Camp will take place for 8 weeks during the summer starting June 13 and ending August 12. Camp will run on weekdays starting at 8:30am and ending at 5pm. Cost is $80 per week. A $20 discount will apply to additional family members and will include the cost of field trips. Children will bring lunch and snacks. Registration opened online on the city web site on April 1 for this camp. It is anticipated
that based on past years, there will be between 40-50 campers each week. Out of town field trips throughout the Keys have been set up and campers will make a weekly trip to Key Largo to Jacobs Aquatic Center as well as to another out-of-town attraction each week. Registration forms and flyers will be available online as well as the park office. Early drop-off, starting at 7:30am, will be available each day of camp at no charge. Summer Soccer will be offered during the summer months starting on Thursday, June 16 and will run for 8 weeks until Tuesday, August 9. This will be for ages 4-10. The program cost will be $60, and advance registration cost for forms received on or before June 13 will be $40. Program cost includes a soccer ball and end-of-season award. Parents may go online and register starting in mid-april. Forms may be brought to the office or faxed to the park at 305-289-5888. Parents are strongly encouraged to register early. Registration will also be held at the main pavilion in Community Park on Wednesday, June 1 from 5-8pm and on Saturday, June 4 from 10am-noon. Any adults who want to volunteer to coach a team or any avid youth soccer players (over age 10) who want to be junior coaches need to email: adamsa@ci.marathon.fl.us Exploring Oceanfront Park is a new program that is being offered by the Parks and Recreation department this summer as a part of early childhood learning. The program will be for ages 3-5 and will begin on Saturday morning, June 11. It will run for 10 weeks and the last program will be on August 13. The program is free and will meet from 10-11am each Saturday morning for the entire summer. The place to check in for each session is the Oceanfront Park main pavilion. No advanced registration is needed. Out of Africa will be shown at the Community Park amphitheater on Saturday, May 21, starting at 8:30pm. This program is free for everyone. This is a PG rated movie. Coolers and blankets or chairs are encouraged. Florida Keys Guitar Festival will perform on Sunday, June 5 at the Community Park amphitheater at 6pm. This is a free Children s Concert put on by the Florida Keys Guitar Festival. For more information, contact FloridaKeysGuitarFestival.com. The event is made possible by a grant from the TDC of the Florida Keys.