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Committee discusses waiving school facility fees for Parks & Recreation to cut family costs
Summary
Swansea officials debated waiving or reducing school facility fees for Parks & Recreation, which could lower per‑player costs from $125 to $60; administration will return in January with fiscal details including FY24 collections and custodian costs.
School administrators and committee members discussed a proposal Dec. 16 to waive school facility usage fees for the Parks & Recreation Department to reduce costs for families.
Joanne, a school office staffer, told the committee that the school department collected $7,753.57 in FY24 from facility rentals and that Parks & Recreation estimated reducing its public fee from $125 per player to $60 per player if the school department waived its portion. "The total amount for... school year 24 was $7,753.57," she said.
Committee members questioned whether Park and Recreation must vote first to lower its public fees and asked for a full accounting of custodial overtime and related costs. One committee member argued the board could instead place the cost in the school budget and "fight with the finance board," while others said the goal should be to make programs affordable for residents.
John Posey, Parks & Recreation Director, described how program fees are calculated and said the department aims to operate at 'net 0'—covering costs but not making a profit. He said some programs may come out slightly in the black or red depending on staffing and facility charges.
The committee asked administration to bring back a January agenda item with detailed figures on FY24 facility revenues, custodian hours and potential budget offsets; one recommendation on the table would be a contingent vote to not charge Park & Rec facility usage fees if Parks & Rec lowers its public fee.
