Parks and Recreation lays out fees, projects and staffing needs ahead of zoo season

Parks and Recreation staff presented a wide-ranging update covering parks maintenance, cemeteries, recreation programming and the zoo during Monday's Idaho Falls City Council meeting, asking the council for approval to run a public hearing in April on a proposed zoo nonresident fee increase.

The department described its assets and operations: 48 city parks; three golf courses; about 27 playgrounds; 33 public restrooms; more than 24 miles of pathway; roughly 25 baseball/softball fields and 27 soccer/football fields; 16 tennis courts; 6 outdoor and 7 indoor pickleball courts; two cemeteries (Rose Hill and Fielding), disc golf, an aquatic center and an ice rink. Staff said they maintain roughly 1,700 acres of city-managed property (including rights-of-way and storm ponds), with over 500 acres of turf grass alone.

Zoo and fees: Parks staff told the council the zoo will open April 24 and that staff are pursuing accreditation this year. To reduce subsidy pressure, staff proposed keeping resident zoo admission at 2024 resident levels while raising nonresident admission by $3; they asked council to authorize a public hearing in April. Staff also proposed reintroducing a resident validation card that patrons can obtain at the recreation center and show at park windows to receive the resident rate; staff said they expect to have the card…