Parks and Recreation commission tables Oak Harbor master fee schedule after league and commissioner concerns

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission reviewed a proposed master fee schedule on Jan. 13, 2025 and unanimously voted to postpone a final recommendation while staff gathers additional financial details and written questions from commissioners.

The department presented several substantive changes in the draft schedule: reductions and clarifications to facility and program fees, a shift from per‑participant to per‑hour billing for field allocations, changes to special‑event thresholds and fee tiers, and a new approach to concession and storage charges.

Key proposed changes described by staff

• Kitchen (Kitchen A) fee reduced from $150 to $100 per use, per staff presentation.

• On‑site storage: proposed charge of $100 per container per year.

• Concession stand: proposed $500 per month concession fee for Fort Nugent league use, intended to cover roughly half of estimated utility and operating costs.

• Late fee: a 20% per‑annum late fee was added to the schedule.

• Field allocation and rates: the department plans to move from a per‑participant fee model to an hourly rate model. Staff provided transitional introductory rates for leagues in 2025 (an illustrative rate of $7.21 per hour for baseball fields) with proposed 2026 rates of $11.75 per hour for baseball fields and $10 per hour for softball fields.

• Special events: the draft proposes raising the attendance trigger that requires a special‑event permit from 50 to 100 people and creating tiered fees for small (101–249 attendees), medium (250–999) and large (1,000+) events. Staff said a code change would be required to alter the current 50‑person threshold.

• Tournaments and road closures: staff proposed separate fees for tournaments and for events that require road closures or staff to manage traffic, and said existing one‑size application fees did not reflect staff time for large events.

• Lease excise tax: staff reported guidance from the city legal department that the state lease‑excise tax may apply to certain longer‑term leases and building rentals; staff said temporary rentals (for example, short‑term field use) are generally not subject to the tax.

Public comment and league concerns

Representatives of Northwood B Little League and other community members urged caution and requested more time and data. Rita Bridal Klein, who identified herself as a long‑time Little League volunteer, said much of the field infrastructure and concession materials were donated by the league over decades and warned that tournament fees could discourage hosting events that generate hotel and restaurant tax revenue. “When teams come here for the state tournaments, they do not pay us anything,” Rita told the commission. “If the league makes any money, it’s off of additional concession stand usages.”

Resident and volunteer commenters also urged the city to protect youth programs from steep fee increases and noted that many leagues operate as nonprofits with thin margins.

Staff engagement and analysis requested

Staff described three meetings held with league representatives and said the department supplied cost and maintenance figures to league leaders in advance of the meetings. Department staff also shared that they were seeking to redirect $300,000 of a $610,000 grant toward softball field improvements and planned meetings with the school district about field leases and use agreements.

Commission debate and action

Commissioners asked for detailed cost‑recovery breakdowns, comparisons to other municipalities, and written clarifications about how the proposed hourly rates were derived. Multiple commissioners said they had not received the full, final master fee schedule in advance of the meeting and asked for more time to review.

The commission set a short deadline for follow‑up: staff requested specific written questions by the end of the week so they could compile answers before the next meeting. The commission then voted unanimously to postpone further action and continue the item at its next meeting.

Formal action

A motion to continue discussion and bring the item back for a vote at the commission’s next meeting was made and seconded; the commission voted unanimously to postpone the fee schedule recommendation to council pending additional information.