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Tampa Council Considers Increasing Park Fees

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2008

TAMPA - The cost of renting a picnic shelter for your birthday party or space at a community center for your wedding reception appears to be heading up.

And in several months, fees for programs such as gymnastics classes and summer camps could increase as well.

At a budget workshop Tuesday, the Tampa City Council said the parks and recreation department should consider raising fees for some programs, including summer camps. Meanwhile, parks department officials plan to ask the council later this summer for approval to raise rental fees.

The parks department is one of the largest in city government, and last year shouldered much of the budget cuts prompted by property tax reform.

Dozens of employees were laid off, and pool hours were scaled back to cut costs.

A popular day care program was slated for the chopping block, but parents and the city council urged that it be restored as long as parents paid a higher fee.

This year, the parks department is faring better, Director Karen Palus told the council Tuesday. Still, some fees are likely to be raised.

For example, renting the multipurpose room at Barksdale Senior Center would cost $200 an hour rather than $100 an hour, according to a draft proposal.

Renting the multipurpose room at the George Bartholomew Center would cost $50 an hour, up from $20.

While most of the prices in the draft proposal would increase, some rental fees would go down slightly, including some cleanup and damage deposits.

Councilwomen Mary Mulhern and Linda Saul-Sena also urged the parks department to consider increasing fees for programs.

"What impressed me is how rock-bottom our prices are," Saul-Sena said. "There is no childcare that is $40 a week, much less $40 a month, much less $40 a summer."

The parks department runs some summer programs that cost between $40 and $75, Palus said.

Many families can afford to pay more, and perhaps a sliding scale could be developed so lower-income residents wouldn't be priced out, Saul-Sena said.

Mulhern agreed.

"My son is the beneficiary of some of the most affordable summer camps this summer," Mulhern said. "Especially on Davis Islands, most of those families, including myself, can afford to pay more."

Palus said her staff is reviewing the programs, how much they cost to run and whether the city could charge more. She doesn't expect to bring a proposal to the council for at least several months.

Hillsborough County had considered eliminating a free after-school program, but county commissioners now are contemplating whether to charge a fee instead.

They also are talking about raising the price of the $50 summer youth program.

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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