Council adopts fee-schedule changes including parks swim-team option, cemetery price updates and a CPI-based school-impact adjustment

Council voted to adopt Resolution 1879, which updates the city's fee schedule to reflect several Parks Department proposals and an inflationary adjustment to the school-impact fee.

Parks Director Alina Hibbs described two fee proposals: a new two-day-per-week swim-team option to offer a lower-cost entry point for participants (staff noted registrants still participate in the same number of swim meets and therefore the fee is not simply proportionally lower), and a set of cemetery-fee adjustments. Hibbs said many burial plots and mausoleum sections are sold out and that operational and maintenance costs compelled targeted increases for infant lots, cremation garden lots, certain sections and alcove niches. Staff also explained that some mausoleum-facing niches had been removed from the schedule because they were sold out, and only alcove niches were updated with increased levels.

City finance/operations staff (Chris Vaseline) explained the fee resolution also implements a 3.1% school-impact fee adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area; the change had been implemented administratively on April 1 and the resolution aligns the paperwork with that practice. Chris noted the city will review the school district's capital facilities plan when it is approved and may revisit the impact-fee calculation later.

Council moved, seconded and approved Resolution 1879 by voice vote. Council members asked clarifying questions about cemetery-board process and the reason staff brought the fee adjustments to full council without a cemetery-board vote (staff said the city did so to avoid delaying Weeks Funeral Home by waiting for a special cemetery-board meeting).