Lawrence Parks and Recreation proposes membership fees, reduced-rate option and free after‑school hours to help close budget gap

Lawrence Parks and Recreation staff presented a proposed membership and fee structure at the June Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting to help offset expected budget reductions and preserve core services.

At the June meeting, Lindsey Hart, assistant director, said the proposal would create daily passes, punch cards, and monthly and annual memberships with resident and nonresident pricing, plus a separate, deeply reduced “qualified” rate for residents demonstrating financial hardship. “The purpose of the fee structure is, number 1, to protect essential services while obviously meeting city wide budget reduction goals,” Hart said.

The proposal emerged from a community engagement process that included an online survey, pop‑up events and planned focus groups. Staff reported 2,632 survey responses and 1,353 open comments; two of four planned pop‑ups had been completed and the initial focus group with budget‑committee members had 12 participants. Porter (community engagement staff) and other project staff described the engagement as consultative under the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) framework.

Why it matters: Staff said fees are intended to reduce the scale of service cuts the department faces. Hart said the plan would “help preserve core programming, retain staff, and avoid closures,” and that fee revenue would help offset a parks and recreation share of larger city budget reductions. Staff repeated the city’s budget context at the meeting: the city must close a multi‑million dollar gap this year and…