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Highland Village board backs fee changes for pavilions, camping and pickleball; sends recommendation to council
Summary
The Highland Village Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Nov. 1 voted to recommend a package of updates to the parks fee schedule to the City Council, including changes to pavilion rentals, camping rates, pickleball and senior park passes.
The Highland Village Parks and Recreation Advisory Board voted on Nov. 1 to recommend a set of fee changes and updates to the city's parks and recreation fee schedule and to forward the recommendation to the City Council.
Andrea Forman, assistant director of recreation, told the board that fee schedules "shall be adopted and amended from time to time by resolution of the city council" and that staff had benchmarked neighboring cities to propose rate adjustments for pavilion rentals, camping, pickleball and park passes.
Key staff recommendations presented included moving pavilion rentals from fixed half-day blocks to an hourly model with a two-hour minimum, revising daily caps for full-day rentals, a single year-round camping rate for Pilot Knoll Park, and formalizing pickleball fees in the city's fee schedule.
After discussion about resident access, marketing and local comparables, the board approved staff's package with the following board-directed exceptions that will be communicated to City Council:
- Senior nonresident annual park pass reduced to $75 (from $100). - DoubleTree Ranch Park nonresident hourly rate adjusted to $80 (resident hourly rate $40 with two-hour minimum). - Kids Castle nonresident hourly rate adjusted to $50 (resident hourly rate proposed at $25). - Pickleball nonresident reservation rate set to $10 per hour; board declined to add a separate lighted-evening surcharge at this time.
On camping, staff recommended and the board supported a single year-round rate at Pilot Knoll of $35 for residents and $45 for nonresidents, aligning the city with comparable regional facilities.
Board members emphasized marketing and online tools to raise awareness of underused venues, adding QR-based reservation information and photos, and suggested monitoring impacts before making further changes. The board's motion to forward the recommendations with the exceptions passed on a voice vote; the city council will consider the recommendation and any formal adoption would occur by resolution under the city's Code of Ordinances.
