PRPL staff and the PRC Board has reviewed our pool fees structure and is recommending to bring two items more into line with what other Montana cities are charging.  For years our policy has been to admit all children under 7 years of age into city pools at no cost.  All other major cities in the state now charge admission for children age 3 and over.  Since this age group is a substantial portion of pool users we are recommending that our policy be changed to admit children under 5 years of age at no cost.  This still allows 3 and 4 year olds admission at no cost whereas other communities are charging for this age group.  The city also operates 6 other aquatic facilities where all children under 7 can attend at no cost. It was requested to provide an admission comparison with other cities - it is provided in Attachment C.

The second item is to charge $5.00 per individual pass issued for a low income family pool pass for either Rose Park or South Park pools.  To date these have been issued at no cost, however there are expenses involved in providing these passes for printing, verifying income levels, record keeping and issuing the passes.  This nominal fee will help to recover some of these costs.  Other cities do not directly provide such low income family passes although some do have a scholarship type program in place.  

These two changes will require a repeal and amendment of Resolution No. 09-18906 which was approved on December 21, 2009.  Attachment A is the resolution with the changes marked in red, and attachment B is the resolution with the changes made for adoption. 

A review was conducted of other major Montana cities with respect to their admission ages, pricing and issuance of low income pool passes.  This recommendation is being made to bring us more in line with what other communities have done with their aquatic admission and fees policies.

There are many variables involved in predicting revenue for an outdoor pool facility, and the first season with pricing changes can also skew anticipated revenue figures.  Weather however can have the biggest impact since our operating season is only 74 days.  Based on attendance records for the 2010 season if nothing else changes, we have calculated that these two changes will increase revenue by $11,470.  Since last season was the second worst in attendance in the last 15 years due to weather, the revenue gain hopefully will be greater than this estimate.  This amount will fund the summer wages for over three lifeguard positions and will lessen the dependence on the General Fund for our aquatic services.

It is the recommendation of PRPL staff and the Parks, Recreation & Cemetery Board to approve lowering the age for no cost pool admission from the current 6 & under to 4 & under, and to asses a $5.00 fee for each individual low income family pool pass issued at both Rose Park and South Park pools.