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Parks and recreation review highlights camps, events revenue and beach-closure limits tied to county standards
Summary
Parks and recreation staff reported 320 campers, scholarship aid for local families, roughly $2.1M combined revenue across cultural/recreation/marina programs and recurring beach closures driven by county health rules after half-inch or greater rainfall; staff urged capital investments to raise cost recovery.
Jeffrey Ahn, general foreman for the parks department, and the village recreation director presented a combined overview of parks, recreation and community events, focusing on operations, program reach and revenue generation.
Ahn reviewed parks maintenance responsibilities and metrics — he said the parks team maintains approximately 144 acres of grass weekly, oversees 12–13 parks including Harbor Island and Florence Park, and manages in‑house projects from tree planting to HVAC contractor coordination. "We plant trees in house through the village as part of the Tree City USA," he said.
The recreation director described program statistics and event activity: 320 registered campers in 2024, a scholarship program that provided roughly 35 day‑camp scholarships this year funded partly by donations and the village budget, and partnerships with Sportime that generated significant revenue. "We have 22,000 beach visitors in a 102‑day season on average," the director said, and cited Sportime revenue just under $500,000 in the year to date.
Officials discussed beach closures and water quality rules. Recreation staff said the county health department mandates beach closures after rainfall — a half‑inch triggers closure, and over an inch typically triggers a 48‑hour-plus closure — and estimated closures of roughly 18–20% of summer days in recent years. "If it rains over an inch, it's a 48 hour plus closure," the recreation director said, and staff noted those closures have driven interest in sprayground expansions and consideration of competitive 'Swim' grant opportunities or floating‑pool concepts.
On revenue strategy, staff recommended capital investments to boost rental income and cost recovery — ideas included a pavilion/bandstand on the water, a food concessionaire or restaurant via a public‑private partnership, expanded field capacity (including turf infields) and third‑party kayak/paddle rentals to generate revenue without large staffing increases. "Where you're making money is you're driving money on your parking revenues, your larger day camp revenue, your rental facilities, your beach revenues," the recreation director said.
Staff closed with a composite budget snapshot: parks, recreation, marina, marine education and arts council spending of roughly $3.8 million and combined revenues of about $2.1 million, calculating a combined cost recovery near 54.7%; trustees thanked staff and asked for further analysis of proposed capital options and program efficiencies.
