Fee hikes proposed for Carson City parks and rec facilities

The Parks and Recreation Commission is proposing a new fee schedule for Carson City facilities beginning next summer.

The commission on Tuesday voted to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve the new charges, which raise most fees between 10 to 33 percent plus a 10 percent asset management fee to maintain the facilities. The asset management fee is not planned for Lone Mountain Cemetery or the Carson City Rifle and Pistol Range.

The new schedule was initially set to start in January but Commissioner Dave Whitefield suggested delaying it due to the uncertainty surrounding the current public health crisis, and the other commissioners agreed.

The fee increases are the first in more than 10 years since a 2009 resolution set the current policy.

Under the proposed schedule, the drop-in fee for adults at the Aquatic Facility, for example, would go from $4 to $5. The weight room there, which is free of charge, would have a $3 drop-in fee as well as punch card and membership passes.

The fees at the Multipurpose Athletic Center are similar. The youth drop-in fee, for example, is proposed to go from $3 to $4 while a 10-punch pass is set to increase from $22.50 to $30.

The new fee schedule includes activities at the pool, MAC, Community Center, sports fields, programs, and permits. A fee schedule for the gun range was approved by the board in May.

The new schedules are available online at https://www.carson.org/home/showdocument?id=72062. The fee changes have to be approved by the board.

Much of the commission discussion concerned charges for the Bob Boldrick Theater and providing a 25 percent discount for Carson City nonprofits that rent the theater as well a co-sponsorship option for free, non-ticketed events.

The nonprofits currently have up to a 50 percent discount, but Dan Earp, recreation superintendent, said the half discount only covers the cost of staff time.

“The goal of the department is to come up with fair and equitable fees, and not complicated tiers, but we wanted to make sure nonprofits had access to theater,” said Earp.

Jennifer Budge, director, Parks, Recreation and Open Space, said anyone who has rented and paid for a facility in advance would pay the current fee. She said event organizers who have had to cancel events because of the COVID-19 pandemic have rolled over their reservations to 2021.

Budge also said the recently renovated rifle range has been busy. Range revenue since the new fees were implemented in May has been $18,000, including sale of 206 annual passes. She said the range averages 180 people a day.