The Wrangell Parks and Recreation Advisory Board sat down to
workshop a set of proposed increases to fees for youth sports programs last Wednesday, Sept. 4. Parks and Recreation Director Kate Thomas said that there are two main youth programs that use the P&R facilities: The Wrangell Swim Club and AAU girls basketball. The proposed fee change to $15 per hour would see the swim club pay a total annual fee of about $6,000, while AAU will see a bill of about $2,000.
According to documents provided by Thomas for the meeting, the swim club originally practiced for only two days a week in 2016. The fees for the swim team required that participants buy a pool membership, as well
as an additional $15 per hour for practice time above four hours. It is estimated that the swim club has paid over $4,500 in fees since 2017
The AAU team began paying
for facility use in 2017, according to the document. They originally agreed to pay $80 per player for three months of gym time. Their practices range
from 7 to 10 hours of gym time with additional hours for tournaments. They have paid about $4,000 in fees since 2017.
Thomas said that the new policy being discussed would set a shared base rate between the two groups, in the name of consistency. For the swim club a fee of $15 per hour, assuming 10 hours of pool use per week and 40.5 weeks in a season, will pay a total fee of $6,075. The AAU team, meanwhile, only has 13.5 weeks per season and will pay $2,025. For reference, Thomas said that the AAU team paid about $1,300 last year. She did not have numbers for how big of an increase this new fee system would be for the swim club, but said that the cost breaks down to roughly $200 per swimmer for the season.
Several members of the parks and recreation board voiced concerns about these fees being too high, and that it might drive people away from the clubs or using the department's facilities. Thomas said in response to these concerns that it is up to the clubs to determine how to gather the necessary funds, and that the extra costs will not necessarily trickle down to the participants. The clubs can always throw fundraising events, or look for grants. She also added that even with the increase, fees of $15 per hour for these programs do not really cover the costs of the facilities being used, but it is a necessary step in the right direction.
"I am increasingly more nervous about the future of the City and Borough of Wrangell," Thomas said. "I am nervous about what will come down the pipes and what parks and recreation will be asked to do ... Do we really want to pay this much money? No, no one really does, but we still have to do something. We all need to come together and work on that collaboratively. I'd rather do that now here, with us, than have someone tell us we have to do it."
After further discussion on possible ways to keep fees on the lower end, or potential discounts that could be offered to the youth programs, it was agreed the board would try to meet again early in October. The final decision on the fee changes will come before the borough assembly once the parks and recreation department finalizes their recommendation.
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