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STAFF REPORT <br />TO:Parks & Recreation Commission <br />FROM:Bryce Shearen, CPRP, Parks & Recreation/Community Services Director <br />DATE:April 6, 2023 <br />RE:Update to David Behles Scholarship <br />ACTION REQUESTED <br />The Parks & Recreation Commission is asked for a motion of support to update the David Behles <br />Scholarship to include financial support for all Little Canada families or individuals regardless of <br />age who submit for financial assistance in Little Canada Parks and Recreation programs or <br />activities. <br />BACKGROUND <br />Back in 2015, the City received a donation from Deb Behles in memory of her father David <br />Behles, a former youth sports coach for the Little Canada Parks & Recreation Department. This <br />donation was to be used for Little Canada families that are in need of financial help for their <br />children to participate in our recreational activities. <br />In 2017, Staff brought to the Parks and Recreation Commission a standardized form with <br />objective criteria to provide financial assistance for youth programming. The Commission <br />concurred with the staff recommendation of creating an easy form for families to fill out if they <br />needed financial assistance and to subsidize 80% of the program’s fees utilizing the Behles <br />scholarship. This would leave 20% of the program cost to families and has a cap of $200 per <br />year per individual that can receive the benefits. <br />As an example, $58 is the average youth program fee in Little Canada (after the 25% <br />Little Canada Recreation Association subsidy), using the proposed guidelines this would <br />mean that $46.40 would be subsidized through the scholarship and $11.60 would be <br />required for the family to pay. <br />The above criteria and formula have been working well and are consistent with surrounding <br />communities. Staff is not proposing to change the 80/20 scholarship assistance model. <br />From the initial donation of $5,000, there is approximately $4,000 in the scholarship fund and <br />the fund is only used a few times a year by program participants. With the increase in adult and <br />senior programs, there was some discussion at the last Parks and Recreation Commission <br />meeting about if the City had any programs available for financial assistance for adult and senior <br />activities. At the time, staff indicated that the City did not offer any programs for financial <br />assistance for adult or senior programs.