Committee flags Community Center agreement, setup practice and aging HVAC as budget concerns

Committee members reviewed the 1994 donation agreement between the Templeton Community Services District and the Templeton Charitable Women’s Club that grants the club free use of the community center.

Staff reported the written agreement appears to allow the Women’s Club ongoing use but does not obligate the district to provide setup or tear-down services, which the district has historically been performing. Staff said those extra services consume staff hours and interrupt other duties; staff estimated modest recurring labor (typically two people setting up and tearing down for meetings) and occasional callback visits when the setup requires adjustments.

The committee discussed options ranging from formalizing continued support to asking the Women’s Club to perform setup/teardown itself. Staff suggested one near-term step could be to notify the club that the district is reviewing current practices and may stop performing noncontractual setup unless parties agree otherwise.

Separately, staff warned that both HVAC units in the community center are original and may soon require replacement. The contractor recommended replacement rather than repeated repairs; staff provided an order‑of‑magnitude estimate of roughly $40,000 to replace both systems and said the building’s limited rental income makes treating a large replacement an avoidable near-term emergency.

The committee did not direct immediate replacement but asked staff to monitor the unit’s performance, document repair history, and include HVAC replacement timing and cost scenarios in future budget planning.

Next steps: staff to review the agreement language with the Women’s Club as an information item and return with a recommended approach to noncontractual services and a budget scenario for HVAC replacement.