Commission approves most Parks fee changes, pauses proposed swim-lesson hikes

The Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission on Monday recommended that the City of Fresno forward proposed amendments to the Parks DepartmentFY2026 master fee schedule to city council, but excluded two proposed swim-lesson fee increases pending additional information.

Commissioners approved the package after hearing a detailed presentation from Parks Department staff and questions from commissioners about program capacity, cost recovery and equity. Commissioners asked staff to return with historical fee data, the number of households eligible for the youth fee waiver and more detail on the calculation behind the proposed increases.

Aaron Aguirre, Parks Director, introduced a set of amendments that included clarifying language for facility reservations, new security-deposit rules for advanced reservations, a new tent-site fee for Camp Fresno and changes to program fees including aquatics. Assistant Director Shelby McNabb outlined the departmentanalysis behind a proposal to treat a session as up to five hoursof instruction and to charge for subsequent swim-lesson sessions after the first free resident session.

McNabb said the department went through the cost recovery calculation to see what does it truly cost for a swim session, and recommended a higher rate for subsequent sessions to reflect lifeguard and operational costs. The draft presented to the commission proposed raising resident subsequent-session swim-lesson fees from $50 to $100 and establishing a $129 nonresident per-session fee. The draft also extended the youth fee waiver to apply to subsequent sessions; staff said the waiver would reduce costs for eligible households.

Commissioners expressed concern about the size and timing of the proposed increase. Commissioner Sotto asked for the fee history and the number of households that qualify for fee waivers; McNabb provided data later in the discussion showing 776 fee-waiver applications were received recently and 585 (about 62%) were approved, and said roughly 100 of the prior year~3,500 swim participants requested additional lessons.

Several commissioners suggested alternatives, including an incremental increase and withholding action on the swim fees until the commission received more background. The commission voted to recommend the full package to council but explicitly excluded the two subsequent-session swim fees (the resident and the 18-and-over subsequent-session rates) pending follow-up. Commissioner Sotto made the motion to approve the package with those exceptions; Commissioner Barraza seconded. The motion passed.

Other notable proposed changes presented by staff included: - New tent-site fees for Camp Fresno, with resident rates ranging from $35 to $75 per night and nonresident from $42 to $90, reflecting different lot sizes; staff said the camp operates under a special-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service and that collected fees are retained by the City of Fresno. - A proposed $100 security deposit for advanced (quarterly) field reservations, with 80% refundable at the end of the period. - Clarifying language to apply staff fees when reservations extend beyond standard facility operating hours, and adding inline-hockey rink reservations (Cary Park) to the field-fee structure. - New and clarified fees for action sports at Woodward Park, including state-race and practice fees and a reduced $6 fee for noncompetitive open racepractice events.

Staff told commissioners the revisions are part of a citywide master fee schedule process and, if approved by council, would take effect July 1, 2025. Commissioners asked staff to deliver the requested fee-history, waiver-eligibility and cost-recovery documentation before the fees are considered by council.

Commission discussion and votes occurred during the hearing on the master fee schedule. The commissionmotion recommended forwarding the amended schedule to city council with the two swim-related fees withheld so they could be reconsidered after staff provided the additional data.

The commission chair closed the item after the motion carried and asked staff to supply the requested documentation before the council hearing.