Jackson Hite, senior manager of the Parks & Recreation business services team, presented the proposed 2026 fee schedule, saying "Last Thursday, city council formally approved the 2026 citywide budget. It's a little over $500,000,000," and that the department was adjusting fees to reflect rising costs and to preserve access.

The proposal includes targeted increases across parks operations, golf, outdoor rentals and indoor facility rentals, and it restructures court reservations to a single $10 per court per hour rate for tennis or pickleball reservations. Hite said the $10 rate is intended to simplify the reservation model and to align the city with common municipal practices. He said most proposed increases were under 10 percent and that membership and some software changes will go live with the new recreation management system in mid‑November while remaining fees would take effect Jan. 1.

The proposal drew immediate public concern. Karen Paul, who said she represents nearly 100 mostly senior women pickleball players, told the board the activity is her group’s main form of exercise and socialization and urged the city to preserve open‑play hours and affordable options. Paul said groups have volunteered to shovel courts and volunteered scheduling labor and asked that the city consider seniors’ ability to pay.

Judy Emery of a local pickleball advocacy group said members oppose charging the same price for a tennis reservation that is used to play pickleball because two pickleball courts fit into one tennis court. She told the board, "We believe a system where tennis court reservations cost $10 and pickleball reservations cost $5 makes sense," and asked the department to extend membership and discount programs to include court reservations once the software integrates.

Grace Thompson, co‑founder of a club with about 600 members, described how volunteer organizers make courts available for open play and urged weekend open play at South and North Boulder facilities, saying the proposed court rate change would double court fees from $5 to $10 and that seniors who previously had access through SilverSneakers or Renew Active would now face charges for reservations.

Staff acknowledged the concerns and outlined near‑term accommodations. Scott Schuttenberg, deputy director of Parks & Rec, said staff were expanding drop‑in opportunities and planned to add weekend open‑play blocks and a Wednesday evening slot at North Boulder as of Nov. 15. He also said the department is working with the recreation management vendor on membership‑plus court packages once the software supports linking court reservations to membership accounts.

Staff defended the single court fee from an operational standpoint. Hite and staff said many peer agencies charge the same rental fee regardless of whether a group uses the space for tennis, pickleball or other court sports, and that a single fee simplifies reservations and enforcement. They also stressed that the department receives no reimbursement from third‑party fitness vendors for unstaffed court use and that courts do not currently have a staff‑monitored swipe system that would capture those reimbursements.

On memberships, staff noted that the new Rec+ package is a convenience product intended for a small subset of users who use multiple facilities frequently. Jackson Hite said fewer than 6 percent of members currently use all three major amenity types regularly; staff recommended alternatives such as seasonal passes and a short freeze option for members who only use outdoor pools seasonally.

What’s next: the department will publish the full 15‑page fee schedule and run the city manager rule process, which includes a public notice/comment period; membership changes are being implemented with the new system on Nov. 14 and most fee changes would become effective Jan. 1. Staff also committed to continued targeted outreach to senior and equity groups and to pursuing software changes to allow court reservations to be added to membership packages.

Provenance: Jackson Hite presented the fee schedule (presentation begins 00:47:10). Public comment from Karen Paul, Judy Emery and Grace Thompson about court fees and open play occurred during public participation (00:15:55–00:23:54). Staff responses and Q&A with PRAB took place during the fee presentation and Q&A (00:54:00–01:00:00).

Ending: PRAB did not vote on fees; staff invited continued feedback and said they would return with more detail in the next meeting and complete the required rule‑making steps before implementing changes.