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Committee backs Recreation funding adjustments and consolidates youth-program funding into Kid Museum NDA
Summary
The committee recommended several Recreation items: approve prior supplemental funding for Silver Spring Aquatic Center completion, defer a slide replacement to align with ADA work, preserve operating funds for Rec programs and consolidate the Schools/Skills for the Future NDA into the Kid Museum NDA to simplify administration and maintain program support.
Director Riley and Recreation Department staff briefed the committee on an Executive recommendation to increase the department's operating budget by about $3.64 million, including a $786,644 expansion of the Excel Beyond the Bell program to two new elementary sites. Riley highlighted facility maintenance needs and seasonal workforce dynamics, noting the department relies on roughly 2,300 seasonal staff and faces growing demand for youth and senior programming.
On capital projects, committee members revisited a prior supplemental appropriation for the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center (a $2.0 million supplemental previously recommended) and reviewed an additional $1.2 million FY26 GO bond request to finish the project; the committee recommended those appropriations for final CIP reconciliation.
The committee also recommended a $1.79 million reduction to the swimming pool slide replacement project in Germantown to coordinate slide work with planned ADA improvements and accessibility upgrades, a deferral the department said will not create immediate safety issues because slides are state‑inspected.
Members discussed Rec Assist, the department's subsidy program for low‑income households, which the packet showed had increased usage by about 42% and paid for hundreds of camp registrations and family pool passes in the prior year. The department reported it routinely sets aside revenue assumptions in the operating budget and reconciles usage after June 30.
Finally, council staff proposed consolidating multiple county funding streams for youth STEM and after‑school programming (the Schools for the Future/Skills for the Future NDA) into the Kid Museum NDA to simplify administration. Representatives from the Kid Museum and Recreation supported the move; the committee voted 3–0 to recommend the consolidation and asked staff and OMB to reflect required bookkeeping changes in reconciliation materials.
What happens next: The committee's recommendations (CIP supplement, slide deferral, Rec Assist monitoring and NDA consolidation) will be packaged for full Council consideration as part of FY26 operating and CIP reconciliation.
