County employee asks commissioners for MyPark Pass usage data and opt-in option; officials say program supports Aquatic and Track Center
January 16, 2025 | Monongalia County, West Virginia
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
A county employee asked the Monongalia County Commission on Jan. 15 for information about the MyPark Pass employee benefit and suggested the county consider making participation opt-in if usage is low.
Cal Carlson, 814 Ridgeway Avenue and a county employee, told commissioners he found $35,964 in payments to Mylan Park Properties labeled as MyPark Pass on county open financial records covering fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025. Carlson said the memo showed “MyPark Pass 333 employees,” which equates to about $108 per employee per year ($9 per month). He asked for a breakdown of how many county employees are eligible, how many have activated or used the pass in 2023–25, and what metrics are tracked for facility visits and discounted rentals. “I'd like to know how many employees have activated or are currently utilizing their pass totals,” Carlson said during public comment.
Why it matters: The county’s participation in MyPark connects to funding and usage of the county-supported Aquatic and Track Center and reflects a recurring personnel-benefit expense paid from county accounts. Commissioners said they view the MyPark participation as part of a partnership intended to sustain the Aquatic and Track Center after its opening amid the COVID period.
Commission response and context
A commissioner responding later in the meeting said the MyPark payment was not a direct project grant but part of the county’s contribution as one of three funding partners that help keep the Aquatic and Track Center operational. The commissioner said the county “signed up for the MyPART program to incentivize other community partners to participate in that program and to keep the, aquatic and tract center viable.” He acknowledged the county’s usage numbers were low and said he had “pushed a number of times to ... get Mylan Park to ... send out regular correspondence to our employees because it wasn't being used by our employees.”
Carlson also suggested that if fewer than half of employees are using the benefit, the county could explore an opt-in model to reduce costs. Commissioners said staff would attempt to provide the requested usage details and that internal efforts had already been made to urge Mylan Park to increase employee outreach and metrics reporting.
The exchange included references to a September 6, 2023, Dominion Post article that first introduced the MyPark Pass program and noted the county’s recorded payments on OpenGov. County staff did not provide exact activation counts during the meeting; commissioners committed to compiling and providing more detail following the request.
No formal action was taken on the MyPark Pass question during the meeting; the item was discussed during public comment and in commissioner remarks.
Cal Carlson, 814 Ridgeway Avenue and a county employee, told commissioners he found $35,964 in payments to Mylan Park Properties labeled as MyPark Pass on county open financial records covering fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025. Carlson said the memo showed “MyPark Pass 333 employees,” which equates to about $108 per employee per year ($9 per month). He asked for a breakdown of how many county employees are eligible, how many have activated or used the pass in 2023–25, and what metrics are tracked for facility visits and discounted rentals. “I'd like to know how many employees have activated or are currently utilizing their pass totals,” Carlson said during public comment.
Why it matters: The county’s participation in MyPark connects to funding and usage of the county-supported Aquatic and Track Center and reflects a recurring personnel-benefit expense paid from county accounts. Commissioners said they view the MyPark participation as part of a partnership intended to sustain the Aquatic and Track Center after its opening amid the COVID period.
Commission response and context
A commissioner responding later in the meeting said the MyPark payment was not a direct project grant but part of the county’s contribution as one of three funding partners that help keep the Aquatic and Track Center operational. The commissioner said the county “signed up for the MyPART program to incentivize other community partners to participate in that program and to keep the, aquatic and tract center viable.” He acknowledged the county’s usage numbers were low and said he had “pushed a number of times to ... get Mylan Park to ... send out regular correspondence to our employees because it wasn't being used by our employees.”
Carlson also suggested that if fewer than half of employees are using the benefit, the county could explore an opt-in model to reduce costs. Commissioners said staff would attempt to provide the requested usage details and that internal efforts had already been made to urge Mylan Park to increase employee outreach and metrics reporting.
The exchange included references to a September 6, 2023, Dominion Post article that first introduced the MyPark Pass program and noted the county’s recorded payments on OpenGov. County staff did not provide exact activation counts during the meeting; commissioners committed to compiling and providing more detail following the request.
No formal action was taken on the MyPark Pass question during the meeting; the item was discussed during public comment and in commissioner remarks.
View full meeting
This article is based on a recent meeting—watch the full video and explore the complete transcript for deeper insights into the discussion.
View full meeting