Parks and Recreation staff to provide a recommendation to council to suspend the Loma Linda Pool Facility User Fees indefinitely, and provide the community a free neighborhood park amenity.

Approve a motion to suspend the Loma Linda Pool Facility User Fees indefinitely until a subsequent motion/action made by the Council. (David Seid, Deputy Director Parks and Recreation)

The Parks and Recreation Department regularly reviews and analyzes operations to ensure efficient service delivery to the community. With the arrival of the new Goodyear Aquatics Facility at the Goodyear Recreation Campus in the summer of 2021, staff began the process of evaluating the most practical and impactful future use of Loma Linda Pool. One area staff focused on was the admission fees collected and the overall expense of collecting, reconciling, and depositing this revenue. The below chart is reflective of the direct and indirect expenses of collecting, reconciling and depositing the daily $1.50 open swim fee over the last three (3) seasons:
 

Calendar Year	Revenue	Expense	Net
2019	$9,360	$7,500	$1,860
2020	$5,830	$7,720	($1,890)
2021	$6,620	$7,940	($1,320)

As outlined above, in 2019 the expense of collecting the $1.50 open swim admission fee was less than the actual revenue collected, but by 2020 and again in 2021, the expense to collect the admission fees exceeded the actual revenue collected by a considerable margin. Staff forecast this gap to remain, or possibly widen in the years to come. From a pure business perspective, it is now costing the city more to collect the Loma Linda Pool admission fees than the actual revenue collected.

On January 22, 2018, Council unanimously approved a new fee philosophy for recreation programs which included the following elements:

• Pyramid fee foundation
• Program cost recovery range
• Program costing formula
• Amendment to the Parks and Recreation Department user fee recommendation to maintain the current admission for open swim at Loma Linda Pool at $1.50 per person.

Delegation of authority to the Parks and Recreation Department Director for fee adjustments that are in the best interest of the City

On July 3, 2021, the Goodyear Recreation Campus opened to the public. This campus includes a 2-pool aquatic facility that has ample parking, a lap pool, diving boards, water slides, and a lazy river. This facility serves as a true “community” pool and Loma Linda Pool was returned to a “neighborhood” pool.

The Parks and Recreation Department is charged with providing high-quality recreational programs and services to the Goodyear community.  In an effort to ensure sustainable, fiscally responsible, and high-quality services, it is necessary to regularly review established fees and related cost recovery. When the fees for Loma Linda Pool were established it was serving as the “community pool” for Goodyear residents.  With the opening of the Goodyear Recreation Campus in 2021, the Loma Linda Pool reverted back to a “neighborhood pool”.

Staff have reviewed the operational efficiency and community benefit of continuing to charge $1.50 for open swim at the Loma Linda Pool as it continues to serve Historic Goodyear. At this time, staff are recommending that council suspend the Loma Linda Pool Facility User Fees indefinitely until a subsequent motion/action is made by the Council.   
Staff identified several factors that lead to the recommendation including:

• Operational best practice
• Increased efficiency for staff operating the facility
• Positive impact on Historic Goodyear neighborhood
• Fee relief for seasonal pool visitors

This recommendation will provide residents in Historic Goodyear, as well as anyone else in the community, a no-cost opportunity to visit the Loma Linda Pool during the summer pool season.