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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 01/20/2015 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 008, 2015, APPROPRIAgenda Item 5 Item # 5 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY January 20, 2015 City Council STAFF Renee Lee, Therapeutic Recreation Specialist SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 008, 2015, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the Recreation Fund for the Adaptive Recreation Opportunities Program Paralympic Sports Club. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to appropriate $15,000 of unanticipated grant revenue in the Recreation Fund to be used for general operating support for the Adaptive Recreation Opportunities (ARO) program Paralympic Sport Club. ARO has been selected to receive a grant of $15,000 from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for Veterans Adaptive Sports Programs serving Disabled Veterans and disabled Members of the Armed Forces, funding cycle of October 2014- September 2015. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The ARO program serves community members with disabilities to support their participation in recreation programs and activities of their choice and has been a Paralympic Sport Club for five years. The VA Adaptive Sports grant will allow ARO to provide local veterans the opportunity to learn adaptive techniques and receive training in the Paralympic sports of swimming and archery, focusing on skill development, fitness and community reintegration. Integrative Restorative (iRest) Yoga Nidra will also be offered and is used at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other VA facilities and has been proven to diminish symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression. This grant project will also help strengthen our partnership with the Cheyenne VA Outpatient clinic and other veteran agencies who serve veterans with physical and visual disabilities. FINANCIAL/ECONOMIC IMPACTS The VA Veterans Adaptive Sports Program grant will contribute to existing ARO programs and services and will not require any additional City financial resources. PUBLIC OUTREACH The grant programs will be advertised through the ARO newsletter/ brochures and on the ARO website. The grant director, Renee Lee, will attend the Larimer Co. Veteran Advisory Group monthly meetings and present opportunities to veteran groups when available. ATTACHMENTS 1. Paralympic Adaptive Sports Abstract (PDF) 2. City of Fort Collins ASB-16 Transmit Letter (PDF) Paralympic Aquatics, Archery and Wellness Programs Abstract for #VA-ASP-2015-01 The Paralympic aquatics, archery and wellness programs will be administered through the City of Fort Collins Paralympic Sport Club, an Adaptive Recreation Opportunities (ARO) program. ARO offers recreation programs and services for people with disabilities so they may participate in leisure activities of their choice. ARO has been an established USOC Paralympic Sport Club since 2010 and has developed a strong partnership with the Cheyenne VA Outpatient Clinic and the Cheyenne VAMC, who both provide direct veteran referrals and staff training. Currently, the Cheyenne VA operates two large outpatient clinics in the Northern Colorado region, one being in Fort Collins. Both facilities have had expansive growth over the past several years and an increased need for innovative patient centered care initiatives. The primary populations are veterans with Polytrauma, traumatic brain injury, physical disability, PTSD and pain management needs. Through collaboration with the Cheyenne VA, we hope to prove positive outcomes using sports, recreation and wellness engagement as a therapeutic treatment modality to help promote recovery. Disabled veterans and injured members of the Armed Forces will have the opportunity to learn adaptive techniques and receive training in the Paralympic sports of swimming and archery, focusing on skill development, fitness and community reintegration. Coaches training and certification of staff will increase the competency and sustainability of these sports for future opportunities. The selected sports of swimming and archery will allow us to build on the success of our current U.S. Paralympics Integrated Adaptive Sports Program grant offerings, while the addition of Integrative Restorative (iRest) Yoga Nidra will allow veterans that are more severely impacted by PTSD, a place to continue to heal within their community towards eventual recreation participation. The participants will also be able to benefit from other ongoing ARO Paralympic sport club programs including cycling, wheelchair rugby, goalball, skiing, kayaking, and guided running. Veterans will be integrated into community programs as a means to facilitate their increased awareness of community resources and support, to allow for more sustainable leisure and recreational opportunities and to promote healthy, active lifestyles. ATTACHMENT 1 ATTACHMENT 2 - 1 - ORDINANCE NO. 008, 2015 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED GRANT REVENUE IN THE RECREATION FUND FOR THE ADAPTIVE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM PARALYMPIC SPORT CLUB WHEREAS, the Recreation Department’s Adaptive Recreation Opportunities program (ARO) has been selected by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to receive a grant in the amount of $15,000 during the funding cycle of October 2014- September 2015; and WHEREAS, this grant opportunity is made available through a partnership between the USOC and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the U.S. Paralympics Integrated Adaptive Sports Program, which provides integrated adaptive sports for disabled Veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces; and WHEREAS, the grant totals $15,000, which includes funding for qualified instructors; coaching certification; and facility, transportation and equipment costs as related to providing veteran specific opportunities in two Paralympics sports: swimming and archery; and the addition of Integrative Restorative (iRest) Yoga Nidra for veterans more severely impacted by PTSD; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9, of the City Charter permits the City Council to make supplemental appropriations by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year, provided the total amount of such supplemental appropriations, in combination with all previous appropriations for that fiscal year, does not exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, City staff has determined the appropriation of the revenue as described herein will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Recreation Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received in that fund during any fiscal year; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that there is hereby appropriated for expenditure from unanticipated grant revenue in the Recreation Fund the sum of FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($15,000) for the ARO program partnership with the USOC and VA to serve veterans with physical and visual disabilities. - 2 - Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 20th day of January, A.D. 2015, and to be presented for final passage on the 3rd day of February, A.D. 2015. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 3rd day of February, A.D. 2015. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk