Parks & Rec Board sends revised facility use policy to council after public concerns about refunds and fee wording

The Los Alamos Parks & Recreation Board voted unanimously to send final revisions of Policy 17‑35 (use and rental of county facilities) to County Council, advancing one change staff highlighted—the removal of “open pens” from the fee schedule—and asking staff to clarify fee wording before the council package is finalized.

Board members raised technical concerns about how certain fees are presented in the schedule, specifically whether the stable lot rental was expressed hourly or as a per‑square‑foot charge. Staff told the board stable lots are charged by square foot rather than by hour and agreed to add clarifying parentheses and to consider labeling the stable lot rate as an annual figure before the council presentation.

Public commenter Lisa Reeder, speaking for the Los Alamos Working Group (LWIG), urged the board to add language allowing refunds on a case‑by‑case basis instead of the present “no refunds” statement. Reeder said groups that secure reservations a year in advance can be displaced by county‑sponsored programs and may incur unrecoverable costs such as airfare for hired clinicians or paid participants. “There is no…the only refund policy is that there are no refunds,” Reeder said, asking for an explicit refund provision or clearer priority‑of‑use guidance.

Staff responded that the county has historically preferred not to give refunds but that refunds have been issued administratively on a case‑by‑case basis in limited circumstances (for example, when a county‑initiated date change occurred). Staff said refunds typically cover rental fees rather than third‑party expenses and pointed the board to Section 4 of the draft document, which outlines an appeal procedure directing appeals to the department director for written review.

Board members pressed for more transparent standards for how case‑by‑case refunds are evaluated—who decides, and by what criteria—and suggested that at minimum the policy should identify the decision maker and note that appeals are possible. Staff acknowledged the administrative practice and agreed to include clarifying edits.

A motion to advance the policy to County Council with the agreed edits was made, seconded and approved by roll call. The board’s action forwards the consolidated fee schedule and the clarifications discussed to council for final adoption.

The board did not adopt new language on refunds at the meeting; staff committed to incorporating the edits discussed and to returning a final package to County Council per the board’s motion.