Oak Harbor council adopts revised master fee schedule but delays parks fees

The Oak Harbor City Council on Jan. 14 adopted Resolution 24-23 to amend the city's Master Fee Schedule but explicitly excluded Schedule G (Parks & Recreation) and Addendum 2 (Senior Services) for separate consideration.

The change updates most city fees across seven schedules and two addenda; staff said the annual comprehensive amendment is routine but reflects two years of inflation and program changes. David Goldman, finance director and deputy city administrator, told the council the city conducts the comprehensive amendment each year and that some development fees were increased roughly 3% to reflect current costs.

Councilors and the public focused most of the evening's debate on proposed parks and recreation fees in Schedule G. Parks and recreation director Brian Smith said staff switched from a per-participant charge to hourly field reservations and adjusted rates for facility storage, concession stand rentals and class fees after market research and meetings with local leagues. Smith presented a cost-recovery analysis showing field maintenance costs for soccer, football and baseball and said the proposed hourly fees increase projected revenue while keeping Oak Harbor below market averages in comparable jurisdictions.

Public commenters and several council members asked for more detail and clarity about specific items in Schedule G, including which concession stand(s) would incur rental fees, how tournaments would be defined, how billing would be enforced when registrations were already open, and how the city would track event attendance for tiered special-event fees. Smith said staff met with leagues and adjusted several items after feedback; he also noted some rates were lowered to avoid disrupting leagues that had already opened registration.

After an initial motion to adopt the full resolution as presented failed, Councilmember Brian Marshall moved to adopt Resolution 24-23 while excluding Schedule G and Addendum 2 so council and staff could resolve outstanding questions. The council approved that motion unanimously.

Council and staff agreed to continue outreach and return to council with clarifications and additional information. Mayor Pro Tem and staff asked that council send any remaining specific questions about parks fees to staff promptly so staff could prepare answers for the next workshop.

The city clerk recorded the action as the adoption of Resolution 24-23 amending the Master Fee Schedule, with parks and senior-services items removed for later consideration.