Casper parks and recreation presents updated five-year plans, highlights $9.44 million in grants and targets cost-recovery improvements

Julia, the city's parks and recreation director, presented updated five-year business plans for the department's enterprise funds and said the city has secured more than $9.44 million in parks- and recreation-related grants since January 2023, with a city cash match of about $3.5 million for roughly $12.7 million in total investment.

The plans are intended as "living documents" to guide rate setting, staffing, programming and capital priorities over a five-year horizon, Julia said. "These are living documents that we intend to use to help guide our rate setting," she said. She cautioned the projections are forecasts, not guarantees: "I can't commit that they will perform exactly how we've identified, but we're going to try real hard."

Why it matters: council members heard staff's case for using the plans to balance long-term sustainability and affordability while expanding access and supporting the city's tourism and economic goals. The presentation grouped recommended operational changes and capital investments by enterprise, and staff said the resulting shifts could reduce subsidies, increase program revenue and expand capacity for higher-revenue events.

Key takeaways and enterprise highlights

Grants and partnerships: Julia credited an active grant program and deepening nonprofit partnerships for the recent funding wins. She cited the Community Recreation Foundation's scholarships and equipment support and a Collective Health Trust grant that brought mental-health services and staff training to summer programming. "They provide scholarships to kids, families, and adults," she said of the foundation, and praised partners that have helped buy equipment and expand free community events.

Golf: Staff proposed a mix of revenue and cost strategies for the municipal golf operation, including automation already in use (an automated ball dispenser), a facility fee earmarked for a future clubhouse, dynamic pricing, tiered season passes and expanded sponsorship and merchandise sales. Capital work to replace or dredge irrigation systems and to redesign sand traps also appeared as long-term cost-reduction steps. The department said the golf fund's operational cost-recovery goal remains 110%, and the new facility fee (5% implemented this year and next) will be earmarked for capital rather than counted against operational cost-recovery.

Aquatics: For pool operations, staff recommended shared custodial services across the three connected indoor facilities (aquatic center, rec center and ice arena), a shared lifeguard staffing pool supported by scheduling software, and development of higher-margin aquatic fitness classes in partnership with health providers. Staff reported that outdoor pool cost recovery commonly sits around 30%, while a premier outdoor facility (Mike Cedar) achieves roughly 80% cost recovery. Given historical performance, staff proposed modestly lowering the aquatics cost-recovery target to a more realistic level to reflect market conditions.

Sports and athletics / ice arena: The presentation emphasized converting fields to artificial turf where grants and capital investments permit, allowing longer seasons and more tournament play, and revisiting Resolution 1511 (a 2015 fee structure) so the city can set fees aligned with regional rates. Staff showed a roughly $3 million investment for a Field of Dreams project and described plans for Crossroads Park and a North Casper Athletic Complex. At the ice arena, staff proposed a second sheet of ice to expand camps, leagues and rentable hours; additional revenue opportunities include concessions, skate-sharpening subscription services and a new attendant role trained for mechanical tasks.

Budget outlook and next steps: Staff presented five-year forecasts showing how cost-recovery could shift with the recommended measures and with varying inflation assumptions. For aquatics specifically, staff estimated an investment range of about $772,000 to $863,000 in the near-term to balance the fund under current assumptions. Julia told council staff will return with more detail and that the department will present related spreadsheets and worksheets to the council for review.

Council reaction: Councilors asked about the status of the grants shown (Julia replied they are awarded, in process, or have written notice), how capital grants affect operating subsidies (Julia said capital itself is not counted as operating revenue but can create new programming that increases operating income), preseason golf pricing compared with private competitors, and options for reimagining Washington Park aquatics as part of a master-planning process. Several councilors emphasized equity and access, asking for scholarship support to remain part of fee and rate decisions.

What happens next: Staff said they will share the presentation materials and underlying spreadsheets with council and return with project updates (notably on the ice arena second-sheet project) at a future meeting.

Sources: Presentation by Julia, Parks and Recreation director; Q&A with council members during the City Council meeting.