Post updated at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16:
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday voted to keep the Community Building open and free to residents for a three-month trial basis once access fees to use the city’s other recreation centers go into effect in January.
The city has never charged Lawrence and Douglas County residents to enter recreation centers, but that is changing as part of plans to eliminate a portion of a multimillion-dollar city budget deficit.
People ages 18 and up will have to pay to access Sports Pavilion Lawrence and the East Lawrence and Holcom Park recreation centers starting next month. Plans also call for spectator fees of $5 per person per day for tournaments held at SPL. Read details about the access fees at this link.
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In addition, city staff plans called for the Community Building in downtown Lawrence to no longer offer free play, and its use to be limited to only people who are enrolled in programming or those who pay to rent the building.
Adding to some residents’ concerns about losing that exercise access downtown, the city plans to remove the basketball court at Watson Park this coming summer as part of construction.
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Lindsay Hart, interim director of Parks, Recreation and Culture, said 320 people have already signed up for rec center memberships. There will be a process for people with low incomes to apply to qualify for free memberships, but there is no mechanism in place yet to bring that to fruition.
The commission’s decision to charge rec center access fees has been final since September, but many community members have continued to push back against it.
Vice Mayor Mike Courtney and Commissioner Kristine Polian, sworn into their four-year terms on Dec. 2, had both asked to revisit the discussion of the fees and see if there is a way the city can avoid a budget deficit without charging access fees to people who wish to exercise at the rec centers.
Courtney put together a proposal that recommended the city use $250,000 of the $2.18 million (about 11.5%) that commissioners in September allocated toward restoring the city’s general fund balance in order to provide six months of fee-free rec centers.
“I would contend that we should use a portion of this fund balance to at least restore a six-month option, because we have really alienated the community at this point, right?” Polian said. “And all we really want to do is have some small wins.”
Mayor Brad Finkeldei said more than the fees, he was concerned about the Community Building closing.
Hart estimated the cost to keep the building open for a year at the regular hours that it currently operates would be $50,000. She said the staff’s main concern was what the revenue estimate would be for the other recreation centers if one building was still open and free.
“Any way you go, we’re going to be learning about what happens, and we’re going to continue to adjust, and we are going to look at the data, we’re going to listen to people, and we’re going to try and adapt any way we go,” Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens said.
The majority of the commission’s conversation focused on rec center fees in general, but after about four hours of discussion — including hearing from about 20 members of the public opposed to the access fees — Finkeldei made a motion to keep the Community Building open to public access for a three-month period. Commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of that plan.
Earlier in the discussion, Commissioner Amber Sellers said the rec center fees could be implemented while the city explores other options.
“I that appreciate fees are not popular, especially amongst people who use the rec centers — doesn’t surprise me,” Finkeldei said. “And I agree — I don’t like them either. But there’s other things I like less.”
Commissioner Mike Dever said he was not willing to spend down the money the commission had budgeted toward restoring the city’s fund balance.
“The city has been negligent in not trying to seek out more money from our great facilities, whether we should be charging more for tournaments, or having put a name on the building,” he said.
He said the city had budgeted poorly and not estimated correctly how much money it would have in its coffers.
“I feel like a safer, scientific approach would be for us to maintain these fees … with the idea that we are going to do everything we can to remove these fees using other means of support,” Dever said.
Courtney thanked the commission for having the conversation during a busy meeting. The conversation on recreation center fees alone lasted about four hours, and several items remained on the commission’s agenda.
Courtney did make a motion to pause the rec center fees for six months. He and Polian voted in favor; Finkeldei, Dever and Sellers opposed.
Read more about Courtney’s proposal in this article.
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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.
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Nathan Kramer / Lawrence TimesLawrence City Commission votes to keep Community Building open for exercise access on trial basis
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Nathan Kramer / Lawrence TimesLawrence City Commission votes to keep Community Building open for exercise access on trial basis
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