A majority of Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday said they’d support charging residents fees to use recreation centers.
However, they said they’re interested in possibly considering fees that are lower than what the Parks and Recreation Department proposed, and looking into a way that youths can still access the rec centers for free.
Luis Ruiz, director of parks, recreation and culture, gave commissioners a presentation on the proposed fees and asked them for their input on a fee proposal released Thursday night. He said implementation costs to put the membership structure in place relative to the increased revenue that fees would bring in would be minimal.
Annual memberships to use Lawrence’s recreation centers — currently admission-free — will cost $250 per adult, or $150 per senior or youth, if the Parks and Recreation department’s initial proposal is approved. A household membership — up to five people, including at least one adult — would cost $400 annually. Monthly rates to use the rec centers would be $25 per adult, $40 per household or $15 per senior or youth.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
The Lawrence Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Monday generally agreed that they do not support implementing fees for rec centers, and they voted to give city commissioners a statement saying that the proposed budget cuts for the department would have a negative effect on access to facilities and challenge the city’s commitment to equity and inclusion.
Commissioners held a work session to discuss the proposed fees. They do not take binding action during their work sessions, but they do provide staff with direction. They heard from a dozen members of the public, most of whom were opposed to the fees or certain aspects of the fees.
Click here to display more background information about the fee proposal.
Revenues from memberships are part of the Parks, Recreation and Culture department’s plan to offset its $1.8 million share of the city’s anticipated $6 million deficit in 2026. (Read more coverage of the city’s budget process at this link.)
More than 80% of the more than 2,600 people surveyed in the city’s community engagement process said they “strongly oppose” (61.2%) or “somewhat oppose” (20.3%) the fees.
Under the fee proposal, youths ages 5 to 17 would be able to enter rec centers for free from 3 to 5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, when Lawrence Public Schools have early dismissal.
Qualified rates would be available for financially stressed households. People would prove their eligibility through a low-barrier process, such as showing they qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches or KanCare, according to the agenda and previous meeting discussions.
The qualified rates would be 60% off the regular rates — monthly memberships at $10 per adult, $16 per household or $6 per senior or youth; annual memberships at $100 per adult, $160 per household or $60 per senior or youth, according to the proposal.
The agenda also includes a lower price membership option for access to only the Holcom Park and East Lawrence recreation centers. Those would be $12 monthly for adults, $20 for households or $8 for seniors or youths, with annual rates at 10 times those amounts.
Day passes and punch cards would also be available.
Staff this year have also proposed adding spectator fees of $5 for people who come to watch athletic tournaments hosted at the rec centers.
20250710-Parks-and-Rec-fees-tablesThe city has never charged residents admission to use recreation centers. In 2023, the city planned to implement fees for rec centers but reversed course after the proposal was met with concerns from dozens of members of the public.
The department says this year that without adding rec center membership fees, they would have to make deep cuts, including potentially removing some park amenities such as shelters, restrooms and playgrounds, and rehoming the birds of prey at Prairie Park Nature Center. The department would also cut six full-time and multiple part-time positions, reduce hours and services at rec centers, and hold fewer fitness classes, sports and recreational programs.
Commissioner Bart Littlejohn said he was definitely interested in membership fees, though he thinks kids should be able to use rec centers for free.
“I could explore that conversation (about membership fees), because I don’t know if us making reductions this year is a great idea, because it’s not only this year, but the upcoming year where we have the World Cup and we have a lot of activities and we have a lot of things going on,” Littlejohn said. “So I think we probably need to figure out a little bit more of a solution, if possible.”
Commissioner Lisa Larsen said she thought she didn’t think the city could continue to sustain the organization without some level of rec center fees. She said she would be interested in sliding scale fees, as one member of the public had suggested.
“We believe that that would add complication to the process. So at that point, we’re asking for verification of income,” Ruiz said. “… That’s no longer a low barrier to entry.”
Commissioner Amber Sellers said she did think there was “an appetite” to charge spectator fees of people who attend tournaments at the city’s facilities, though she suggested that youths be allowed to watch for free if they could produce a school ID.
She said she was of the mind not to implement membership fees to use rec centers, but the commission needs to make a decision with the community’s understanding that the city could lose programs or service levels.
Sellers said if they do implement fees, anyone who meets the criteria of a “qualified resident” — financially stressed people who can prove their eligibility through a low-barrier process, such as showing they qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches or KanCare — should not have to pay anything to use rec centers.
“Instead of trying to, again, find a sweet spot for low-income individuals to pay for something when it’s nominal in the bigger scheme, why not just — can we commit to say that we waive the fee for youth and that youth don’t have to pay?” Sellers said.
Other commissioners agreed that they were interested in that. They also indicated they were interested in charging spectator fees for tournaments. However, city staff members clarified that people would not have to pay to come see their kids play in league sports. In addition, people taking classes or enrolled in activities through the city would not have to pay for admission to rec centers on top of that cost.
Vice Mayor Brad Finkeldei said he thought it would be more detrimental for the city to reduce rec centers’ hours than implementing fees to use them.
Finkeldei asked if staff members know how many residents of Douglas County outside of city limits use the facilities. Ruiz said they did not have that data; however, Lindsay Hart, assistant director of recreation, said they do know that less than 1% of rec center users reside outside of Douglas County.
Mayor Mike Dever said the city needs to talk about how to sustain the parks and recreation department in the long term. He also said he wanted to talk about naming rights as a source of revenue.
Ruiz told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Monday evening that seeking sponsorships and selling naming rights “takes a professional, full-time person or a consultant to pursue these things,” though he was interested in that possibility.
Ruiz told commissioners that “this is enough direction for us to dig in a little deeper and see what what we can come up with.”
See more coverage of parks and rec fees at this link and in the articles linked below.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
More coverage:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Latest Lawrence news:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
