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Parks director urges budget shifts to meet surging demand for Indian Trail programs
Summary
Parks staff told the council rentals and program hours surged in FY26 and recommended reallocating existing lines (not adding full-time positions) to expand contracted instructors, including a contract/instructor line increase from $76,000 to $113,000 tied to revenue.
Hayden, Parks and Recreation staff, told the council the department saw continued, rapid growth in FY26 and is proposing reallocated operations spending rather than new full-time hires.
"Park and rec continues to be high impact, high demand service for Indian Trail," Hayden said, citing an approximate 20% increase in rentals and a 25% rise in rental hours and an overall resident participation rate near 60%. He said those figures indicate both heavy facility utilization and growing community reach.
The department is proposing to raise its contract and instructor line from $76,000 to $113,000 — about a $37,000 increase — to bring in specialized instructors and expand programming. Hayden emphasized the line is revenue-driven: "If we do not bring in the revenue, we do not expend this line item," describing an 80/20 revenue split with instructors that ties expense to participant fees.
Council members asked how many rentals and event participants are Indian Trail residents. Hayden said athletic activities generally receive resident priority and estimated roughly 80% of athletic participants are residents, and offered to provide detailed resident/nonresident rental and participation data with the town manager's permission.
Councilors also discussed how large tournaments and events (some organized outside the town) bring nonresident participants who pay higher rental rates and generate local economic activity. Hayden and other staff noted Family Fund Day and sponsorships bring additional revenue and grant opportunities; Hayden said the town averages about $15,000 annually from sponsorships tied to those events.
The presentation stressed program diversification (special-needs offerings, "Comedy Under the Stars," a new "planting it" nature event) and stated no new full-time or part-time positions are requested for FY27. Hayden said reallocation and use of contracted instructors lets the department scale quickly without growing headcount.
The council asked for follow-up materials, including resident vs. nonresident rental/participation counts and more precise revenue projections to evaluate the proposed contract line increase. The parks presentation closed with staff offering to return with the requested data during the next budget workshop.
