The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors approved an agreement with the Seaside School District at a special meeting on May 16. The agreement replaces a three-party intergovernmental agreement between the school district, park district and city that was signed in April 2012.

Without an agreement in place, the school district would be hampered in its compliance deadline to meet federal Title IX requirements that guarantee equitable playing conditions for both male and female student-athletes.

In a motion by board member Celeste Bodner, the board gave authority to Skyler Archibald, executive director of the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, to sign the agreement on behalf of the park district providing the district’s edits are incorporated and no major modifications are made.

Approval of the agreement gives the OK to begin construction.

The park district will continue maintenance and upkeep of the facilities and grounds care, according to terms of the agreement. The school district takes sole responsibility for site supervision during their events and the park district takes full responsibility for all other events and open play times.

The park district will be responsible for maintaining the concession stands at the Herche Family Training Facility. Revenue from concession stands will be split between the operator of the concession stand for that event and the park district. Construction projects include new turf, softball field relocation and reconstruction of the training facility.

Both the school district and park district will allocate funds annually for major planned maintenance needs. The school district will deliver $30,000 and the park district will add $15,000 annually.

The school district will also be financially responsible for the relocation of the existing Sunny Hunt Community Garden.

A Broadway Field intergovernmental agreement management committee will be composed of representatives from the park district, school district and Seaside Kids to review the annual budget and draft any amendments needed.

Maintenance and repairs over $5,000 will be reviewed by the committee for approval.

The city bowed out from an active role in the operations and maintenance of the field earlier this month, leasing their portion of the field property to the school district for a 15-year, $1 a year lease.

The school district will assume the city’s portion of future costs, including an estimated $250,000 in this budget year.

The document remains under review pending approval by the park district’s legal counsel and acceptance by the school district.

After the meeting, Archibald said rewriting the agreement had been a district goal for years, and on the board agenda for more than 3 years.

Park district board president Katharine Parker credited Archibald with “a fantastic job” in developing the revised agreement.

The board’s role, she added, was “to help finesse it across the finish line.”