Council reviews draft parks and recreation fee schedule; considers 20% community impact fee and parking charges

Parks and recreation staff presented a comprehensive first draft of a revised fee schedule intended to strengthen cost recovery for drop‑in programs, camps, facility rentals, Perrigo Park and special events. Emily, presenting the draft, described several new items — a material fee for classes, non‑city sponsored drop‑in rates, VIP add‑ons for public skate parties, separate restroom fees for park rentals, per‑site camping fees for Taylor Way and a proposed community impact fee that would add about a 20% surcharge for major events.

Council and public commenters sought clarity on how the schedule would affect traditional local events. A council member asked for worked examples showing how the new fees would affect events such as the medieval festival or Reddy Brown Festival; Emily said staff would pull prior rental agreements and model several event scenarios. Julie Christie urged the council to keep community and volunteer participation in mind and suggested sliding scales or volunteer‑led cleanup options to maintain affordability for community users.

Why this matters: the draft would change how the city recovers the cost of hosting events and managing facilities and could affect volunteer groups and event organizers. Council directed staff to refine the proposal and return with specific costings and event examples for further consideration.