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Rohnert Park begins estimating true facility costs for recreation centers to inform fees and subsidies
Summary
City staff presented a methodology to allocate public‑works maintenance and overhead to specific recreation rooms and facilities using square footage shares. Council approved the approach and asked staff to return with program-level costs and fee recommendations in the spring.
Rohnert Park leaders moved a step closer to aligning user fees and subsidies with true operating costs on Jan. 13, when staff presented a method to include public‑works facility maintenance in recreation cost recovery calculations.
Director of Community Services Cindy Bagley and analyst Chris Morgan told the council they combined direct facility costs (utilities, janitorial supplies, routine maintenance) with an allocated share of public‑works maintenance labor and overhead, then apportioned those costs to individual programmable rooms using room square footage divided by total programmable square footage.
"Pools, the sports center and the community center are the most expensive to operate on a fully burdened maintenance basis," Bagley said, showing per‑room annual maintenance allocations. For example, the community center multi‑use room accounted for roughly 39% of the center—s programmable maintenance cost.
Council members supported the principle and directed staff to proceed with phase two (in‑house program cost calculations and fee comparisons). Staff emphasized that administrative overhead and program staffing would be handled in subsequent phases and that deferred maintenance and capital replacement costs are not included in the initial facility maintenance calculation.
Next steps: staff will model how including public‑works facility costs changes overall program subsidy levels, and then present recommended fee adjustments and subsidy options for in‑house programs and rental facilities in spring 2026. Council members stressed the need for protections to ensure subsidized access where the city decides that public benefit justifies continued subsidy.
Practical context: The exercise responds to an earlier council directive to base subsidy decisions on community benefit and to provide a transparent foundation for future fee changes. City staff said they would coordinate with the Parks & Recreation Commission prior to returning with fee proposals.
