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Parks & Rec questions consultant's fee study, seeks town-specific data before endorsing rate hikes
Summary
Committee members flagged gaps in a consultant's recreation fee study that recommends raising organized youth league fees and urged gathering detailed local data (from AYSO, Little League and neighboring towns) before advising the town council.
Chair opened discussion of a consultant's fee study that shows Portola Valley's recreation program currently recovers roughly one-third of its costs and recommends raising some user fees. The report, members said, lists a recommended fee for organized youth leagues rising from about $44 per player to roughly $82, while the consultant's estimate of the true per-player cost was cited in discussion as about $137.
Committee members pushed back on the consultant's methodology and asked for town-specific detail. "It sort of reminded me of the new sheriff's contract," a committee member said, noting the study appears to rely on staff interviews and high-level overhead allocations rather than line-item town accounting. Another member said the consultant's comparative analysis (which includes Burlingame and other towns) does not break out individual components such as field maintenance, water, referees or program lesson revenue.
"According to this analysis, the town is only recovering a third of its cost for recreation," the Chair said, adding that recreation is a mix of field fees, community-hall rentals and special events. The Chair and others emphasized the need to clarify the committee's goal: whether the intent is to raise cost-recovery to a particular percentage (e.g., 50%) or to restructure fees (per-hour vs. per-player) in a way that changes cost burdens between adults and youth.
Members recalled a previous town review 10—15 years ago that substantially raised fees and recommended the committee gather primary data before recommending policy changes. The group agreed to pull together a simple template and contact lists: Cindy volunteered to call AYSO contacts and reach out to the Alpine/Strikers contact Amar Patel; Steve was volunteered to follow up with Little League. The Chair said she would email Darcy (town staff) to clarify whether the council's presentation next week is informational or will include decision points.
Next steps: the committee will assemble a small team to collect precise fee structures used by leagues and neighboring jurisdictions, prepare a short comparative spreadsheet, and return findings to Parks & Rec before making formal recommendations to the town council.
