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Council boosts parks and rec fees; considers MTM nonprofit use and Beaver Park cabin rent hike
Summary
Councilors adopted fee increases that push program revenues higher and discussed whether the MTM community center and nonprofits that use it should pay more or retain subsidies; staff will provide building-usage and utility data before policy changes.
Lisbon Falls 2 April 14 2 At its April 14 budget workshop the council reviewed recent Parks & Recreation fee increases, discussed cost recovery at the MTM community center and considered a proposed rent increase for the Beaver Park cabin.
Staff and the manager said changes to program fees are expected to increase realized program revenue by about $70,000 over prior estimates and produce a total program surplus near $120,000 that helps offset departmental overhead. "The programs now that we've put them into these [separate accounts] are on little separate accounts, so we can very clearly, transparently see how much they are making and how much they cost," the chair said while reviewing the spreadsheet. (Chris Kamery, Chair.)
Councilors also discussed LACOE and other nonprofit users at the MTM center, where several councilors said the building serves residents from neighboring towns and provides essential services. Some councilors argued for charging nonprofits a share of utilities or a modest fee to cover overhead; others said raising fees risks pushing vulnerable residents to more distant providers. Staff said the MTM currently has no dedicated meter and agreed to provide a clearer breakdown of MTM energy use, refrigeration food-storage risks and what a separate meter or a clamp-meter study would cost.
On cabins, staff recommended raising Beaver Park cabin rental from $400 to $750 for the first six months (and $1,000 thereafter for 2027) as a response to underpricing relative to responsibilities and utility costs; staff estimated about $4,500 of additional revenue if the change is adopted. Councilors expressed mixed views and asked staff to confirm the current occupant's willingness and assess whether incremental increases would be more appropriate.
Next steps: staff will return more precise MTM utility and usage numbers and options for a nonprofit-use policy; councilors signaled support for the parks fee structure as currently drafted but asked for continued monitoring of cost recovery and program staffing.
