Lemoore council approves 3.7% user-fee increase, agrees to subsidize resident rentals for two rec-center rooms

The Lemoore City Council approved updates to the city’s master user-fee schedule on June 3, raising most fees 3.7% effective July 1, 2025, and directing a resident subsidy for two recreation-center rooms after concerns from regular renters.

City Manager Marissa Trejo told the council the increase implements a 2024 council resolution that required annual adjustments tied to the Consumer Price Index. She recommended rounding down some fees for convenience and subsidizing the resident rate for the day-camp/multipurpose room and the dance/meeting room to $189 for a three-hour block instead of the 3.7% adjusted amounts.

The vote followed extended public comment from regular room users and business operators who said the change would push established community programs out of the recreation center. Florence Colby, a longtime Zumba instructor at the recreation center, said she would be forced to stop teaching if the higher fee took effect: "I only bring in $7.50 at the most a month," she said, adding she teaches largely for community benefit. Owners of the Movement Factory warned the hourly price under the new schedule would cost them roughly $4,032 per month and said that rate would be unsustainable for their business and for the community programs they provide.

Council members debated legal and policy constraints, including whether subsidizing a for-profit operator with public funds would create a prohibited "gift of public funds." Council member Gornick summarized the legal limit: "You can't subsidize a for-profit business only," and Trejo advised that a subsidy keyed to all residents would be legally defensible. The staff recommendation to apply the lower, subsidized resident rate to all residents — not just particular businesses — was presented as the compliant option that preserved equal treatment.

The council approved the updated master fee schedule with the city manager's suggested changes; the motion carried with four votes in favor and one member absent. The substantive changes were: (1) apply a 3.7% CPI increase to most fees, rounded down where administratively practical; and (2) set a subsidized resident rate of $189 for a three-hour block for the dance/meeting room and the day-camp/multipurpose room. Trejo said the city has budgeted for a comprehensive fee study in the upcoming fiscal year that would take effect July 1, 2026, and could reset rates based on cost-of-service calculations.

Advocates at the meeting urged city leaders to consider the public-health and equity implications of pricing out low-cost exercise and youth programs. Nurse and community member Cammy Rodriguez cited regional health disparities and told council members those indoor programs are necessary because outdoor exercise is often unsafe or unhealthy in the summer months. Rodriguez also cited California Assembly Bill 1482 (the tenant-protection law) when arguing that sudden rental hikes should be avoided for long-term users.

City staff told council members they have attempted informal work-arounds with current renters — for example, exploring part-time city employment to supply instructors, scholarship offsets through donations, or alternate rooms with lower rental rates — but said the fee schedule needed to be regularized to treat all users consistently. Staff also noted that the 2020 comprehensive fee study is now five years old and that the CPI-only adjustment is unlikely to fully cover long-term operating and maintenance costs.

Council members and staff said the fee schedule and the subsidized resident rates would be revisited after the fee study is completed in spring 2026 for implementation July 1, 2026. For now, the council affirmed the CPI increase and the resident subsidy to avoid forcing community programs to relocate immediately.

The decision preserves the rec center’s existing use by several established community instructors while setting a path for a deeper cost-of-service review next year.