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Parks advisory board urges City Council to prioritize funding for South Boulder Recreation Center
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Summary
After public comments and staff briefings, the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board voted to send a memo asking City Council to consider expanding the Permanent Parks and Recreation Fund or pursuing a mill-levy option to close a structural funding gap and support the South Boulder Recreation Center.
The Parks & Recreation Advisory Board voted to send a memo to Boulder City Council asking the council to prioritize funding solutions for the South Boulder Recreation Center and the parks system’s broader maintenance shortfall.
Public commenters and board members framed the memo around two funding pathways: expanding the Permanent Parks and Recreation Fund (PPRF) to allow operating and maintenance uses, and asking voters to approve a property tax (mill levy) increase. Resident speakers urged action at the city level to avoid repeated facility failures and to plan now for a replacement rather than reactive repairs.
Several members of the public described how facility closures or price changes affect families. "Under this new membership structure, my family will pay almost $400 more per year," said Kendall, a Boulder parent, arguing that the proposed household cap and specialty-pool fees would disproportionately burden families with children. Ted Connolly, representing reimagine South Boulder, urged the board to begin funding and design planning now so the community does not face future loss of the facility.
Staff contextualized the options. Allie Rhodes, Director of Parks and Recreation, said the city is organizing a public engagement process called "Fund Our Future" in early 2026 to present community needs and possible solutions. Rhodes and other staff provided financial context: the PPRF was budgeted to generate about $4.4 million in 2025, and earlier analysis showed a hypothetical 1.3-mill increase could bring roughly $7 million a year in additional revenue.
Board discussion acknowledged political and equity trade-offs. Some members supported the memo as a statement that the city’s parks and recreation system is underfunded and needs council attention; others warned that voter support for new taxes or charter changes is uncertain and that the city must be clear about how any new revenue would be used.
The board voted to send the revised memo to City Council; the motion carried by voice/hand vote. The memo will be transmitted with PRAB’s request that Council examine PPRF expansion and other funding paths as part of upcoming budget and community engagement work.
Next steps: staff will forward the approved memo to City Council and bring further information to PRAB as the Fund Our Future outreach and council deliberations proceed.
