At its regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 14, the Parks and Recreation Board learned the city department is in the process of gathering feedback on its “Tot Gym” program.
The program is geared toward smaller children, providing an opportunity to play with others and use equipment several times a week at the community gym. Once a free service, Parks director Kate Thomas explained the program has lately been experiencing a decline in attendance.
The input she hopes to get from local
families would go toward reversing this trend.
“It’s good to get input,” she said. “The numbers have dropped pretty significantly.”
Over the past two years, daily attendance has dropped from a usual of 10 to 20 kids – tending toward the mid-30’s on busy afternoons – to between one and six this past year.
Thomas suspects the institution of fees for the program may be at the root of this trend. Over the past decade, user fees and grant funding have covered only from 13-to-21 percent of Wrangell’s recreation
budget. The Borough has covered
remaining costs – which cover salaries, the pool and other facilities – through transfers from sales taxes and the General
Fund.
In 2013 program costs hit a high,
topping $514,000, with city funds covering 86 percent. To move more toward an
industry standard, Thomas explained the department began reassessing fees, and for the Tot Gym instituted a $1.25 user fee. With the adoption of a new fee schedule this summer, the rate has increased once more to $2 a day.
Thomas has been contacting some
mothers known to have brought their
children to the Tot Gym, and she is also inviting parents and potential users to attend the board’s next meeting on Nov. 4 to discuss alternatives.
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