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Rock Springs council approves new parks and outdoor fee schedule, including gradual golf increases
Summary
The council approved an updated outdoor-fee schedule meant to raise golf and field fees gradually; staff estimated modest additional revenue but said usage changes are possible.
The Rock Springs City Council on March 18 approved an updated outdoor-fee schedule that raises some golf and athletic-field fees and gives the city flexibility to adjust charges for events and traveling teams.
City parks staff said the adjustments include a roughly 2.5% annualized increase applied in part to golf memberships and certain daily fees and that the last roundlike increases dated back several years. The staff member presenting the proposal said the increases reflect new equipment purchases and comparisons with regional courses.
"Starting with the green fees, for the daily usage we bumped those up starting with the carts because of our new carts that we just got and they have some new features," the parks staff member said. The staff member said the proposal would put Rock Springs in a more competitive position with similar-sized Wyoming courses and create a five-year structure aimed at avoiding a larger single hike in the future.
Councilor Hickerson asked for clarity for the public on how the new fees compare with other cities. He cited examples, saying Cheyenne's public-course season pass is about $660 a year for adults, while Rock Springs's proposed pass was much lower.
Parks staff gave a conservative estimate of added revenue under steady utilization. "With consistent utilization, the same as this last year, we expect around... 170, but we made a couple differentiations... and we're going to allow memberships to be applied to external tournaments that we feel are going to push that to 180 plus as is the guess," the staff member said. The staff member also acknowledged that any cost increase could reduce utilization and that staff would track use and costs and return to council for review, likely in January.
Councilor Hickerson and other councilors said they understood the need to balance cost recovery and community access. The council voted to approve the fee schedule; the motion carried unanimously.
The new schedule includes: a modest increase in daily green fees and cart fees tied to recently purchased carts; a structure for membership fee adjustments over a multi-year period rather than a single large increase; and a revised park/field fee structure that allows staff and council latitude to align fees to program benefits and cost recovery. Staff told the council they would monitor staffing, lighting and other hosting costs and bring any recommended adjustments back to the council.
The council approved the ordinance and fee schedule without recorded abstentions; staff will track fiscal effects and may return with adjustments after the coming season.
