Nevada council to mull park fee hikes at its next meeting

Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Nevada Park Board voted 6-0 during its Nov. 28 meeting to recommend that the city council increase all park and recreation fees an average of 5 percent for 2013.

The hikes are on the city council's agenda for its 7 p.m. Dec. 4 meeting in the council chambers of the Public Safety Building, 120 S. Ash St.

Historically, park fees have risen every four or five years. The question is whether it is better to have small increases frequently or larger increases less often, Dana Redburn, park and recreation director, told the board.

"I'm proposing a 5 percent across-the-board increase," Redburn said.

"We've had a 5 percent increase in chemical costs and are expecting an increase in health insurance and the general operating cost has increased," she said.

"Five percent is not a lot of money," she said.

A 5 percent increase will raise the basic cost of renting a room at the community center from the current $10 to $10.50.

"That looks reasonable to me," park board member Gina Cripps said.

"The area that looks the worst are the golf course fees, because the pass prices are large to start with," Redburn said.

"Most golf courses won't allow you to use your own cart, because the majority of their income is from cart rental," she said.

The golf course leases golf carts for a flat amount each year and after each cart is rented out a certain number of times, all of the rental fees are profit.

"We are supposed to be bringing in a consultant for the golf course and I want to ask them about the entire fee structure at the golf course," Jeff Post, park board president, said.

"Let's include the trail fees with the rest of the golf course fees," he said.

Karen Polon told the board that some of the proposed increases are more than the 5 percent that is being proposed.

Redburn said that she would adjust the fees accordingly and would round them to the nearest 25 cents.

Under this proposal adult season passes at the golf course would increase from $435 to $460, senior season passes would go from $325 to $345 and family passes with a cart would increase from $1,200 to $1,260.

At Walton Aquatic Center, the daily admission fee would increase from $3.50 to $3.75, individual pool passes would go from $70 to $76 and family passes would increase from $160 to $168.

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