Milton approves $10 late‑pickup fee and optional aftercare for in‑house recreation programs

The Milton City Council approved an amendment to Appendix A (Chapter 34, Section 24) to add a late‑pickup fee and an optional aftercare fee for in‑house recreation programs.

Parks and Recreation Director Tom McElveen told the council the fees would apply only to programs staffed directly by Milton (not to contracted program providers). The late‑pickup fee, as adopted, includes a 10‑minute grace period; after that, an account holder will be charged $10 for every 15 minutes a participant remains past pickup time, with payment required before future program registration. The aftercare option will be $10 per hour per participant, with a 20% discount if a participant pays for the full session in advance.

McElveen said staff proposed the fees after repeated instances of late pickups that required personnel to remain past scheduled hours and generated unbudgeted staffing costs. The Parks & Rec Advisory Board had recommended a 5‑minute grace period; staff recommended a 10‑minute grace to allow for unforeseen delays and the council approved the staff recommendation. Councilmember Carol Cookerly made the motion to approve with the 10‑minute grace and Councilmember Doug Haney seconded; the motion passed unanimously.

Council asked staff to limit the fees to in‑house offerings such as full‑day summer camps and similar programs; contracted provider programs (youth sports, dance, swim team) were excluded from the new charges.