Parks and Recreation Committee Approves Multiple Policy Updates, Increases In Fees For Pools And Golf Course

The Parks and Recreation Committee met 12/12/2022 and approved updates to several policies which included changes and increases to various fees at Reid Golf Course and the city’s two pools. All of these policy changes were approved unanimously, with the exception of the Aquatic Fees and Charges Policy which Alderperson Joss Thyssen (District 8 ) voted against.

You can download a complete transcript of the discussion below:

The changes to the Reid Golf Course Rates Policy included a

• $1.00 increase to adult weekday, senior weekday, walking and riding twilight, and 18-holes walking super twilight
• $25.00 increase to the junior summer pass, senior weekday pass, junior and junior associate annual pass, senior annual pass
• New $15.00 fee for junior 18 with restrictions

Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) asked if they felt that the changes were going to negatively impact sales at Reid for next year.

Jeff Plasschaert, the Golf Course Superintendent, did not think they would. He mentioned that the cost of everything had skyrocketed over the last couple years, so these rate increases were a way to help offset some of those costs. He felt the benefits of the rate increases outweighed the negative.

Alderperson Hartzheim wondered if there was a way to advertise that the city had not wanted to increase rates but needed to do so in the face of rising costs. Mr. Plasschaert thought that was a good suggestion.

Director of Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Dean Gazza noted that Reid’s prices were still very competitive when compared with other local golf courses. They also had not raised costs across the board, but had selectively chosen specific rates based on how low Reid’s rates were compared to their competitors.

The committee voted 4-0 to approve the Reid rate increases.

The changes to the Aquatic Fees and Charges Policy included:

• $0.50 increases to daily pool admission fees
• $10 increases to punch card fees
• $20 increases to summer swim passes
• The removal of open swim at West High School’s pool

Regarding open swim at West, the memo to the committee was, in my opinion, a little confusing because it implied that open swim had only been eliminated during fall, winter, and spring but would still be available in the summer. That is not the case, however. Recreation Manager Niki Wendt told the committee that they do not do any open swim at West any more. This was due to low usage and lack of staffing.

As with the Reid rate increases, Alderperson Hartzheim asked if staff felt the rate increases would negatively impact the sale of passes at the pools.

Ms. Wendt did not think so. They had looked at the surrounding municipalities and some other area pools were charging more than Appleton was charging at its pools, although those facilities were newer than Appleton’s facilities. She felt that with inflation and the increase in wages for seasonal staff they needed to increase rates to cover those increased costs and she believed Appleton’s new rates would still be competitive.

Alderperson Thyssen wondered if any of the other area communities were going to increase their rates for seasonal passes. She was concerned because the non-resident rates in some nearby communities were lower than Appleton’s proposed 2023 resident rates.

Ms. Wendt said some communities were increasing their rates, but she could not remember off-hand which ones were. She also noted that Appleton, Neenah, and Menasha shared reciprocity with each other, so a seasonal pass from one of those cities was good in the other cities.

Alderperson Thyssen ended up voting against the changes, and the updated policy was approved by a vote of 3-1.

The Aquatic Special Event Policy update included

• The removal of the $500 deposit
• Fee increases

This was approved by a 4-0 vote after Alderperson Hartzheim commented she was excited to learn that it was possible to rent a pool in Appleton.

Changes to the Pool Rental, Reservation, and General Use Policy included:

• Removal of specific hours for private rentals
• Removal of West Pool as a rental option
• Updates to the cancellation policy only allowing refunds if it was re-rented by another party
• Increases to the rental fees to reflect the rising cost of staffing and supplies.
• The addition of rental fees for swim teams utilizing the pools for practice

Regarding the addition of rental fees for swim teams using the pools for practice, Ms. Wendt told the committee that the city has been charging those fees but it had not been spelled out in the policy prior to this update.

There were not a lot of times that the pools facilities could be rented for private parties and they were mostly limited to Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 to 11:30 AM and 7:30 to 9:30 PM. Ms. Wendt told the committee the city had to cut back on how often they could allow rentals because requiring people to start working at 6AM in the morning for swim teams practice and stay until 9:30 at night for a private rental was a lot to ask of employees when staffing levels were already bare bones.

Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) asked how many rentals they typically got per summer, but she did not know off hand. Alderperson Hartzheim assumed it would be a small group of people.

The changes to the policy were approved 4-0.

The Military Family Support Policy was also approved by a vote of 4-0. The changes to the policy were minimal, consisting of updates to the verbiage with nothing of substance being altered.

View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1007213&GUID=E08636A4-50F7-4BED-BA7D-D08F3374F88F