The bulk of the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board meeting Tuesday was reviewing and adjusting program, vendor and facility rental fees.
The changes the board approved will go into effect Jan. 1. All fees listed do not include taxes where applicable.
Looking at program fees, board Vice President Larry Ladd said he didn’t see anything that he thought was out of line. However, Diane Quance, City Council representative to the Park Board, said the vendor fees seemed low to her, and board member Jill Beehler agreed.
The vendor fees for concerts were $35 for nonprofits, $65 for for-profits from in the county and $75 for for-profits from out of the county. For the Family Carnival, vendor fees were $25 for nonprofits, $45 for for-profits from in the county and $55 for for-profits from out of the county.
Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa said they didn’t receive any comments from vendors on the fees, but agreed they may be a little low. Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said if they price the fees too high, then they won’t have vendors for the events.
Quance suggested raising the fees by $5.
Ladd asked what percentage of vendors are nonprofits versus for-profits. Wieringa said it depended on the event. The for-profits generally go for the country and rock concerts first. Nonprofits have a week to sign up before the profits.
Ladd said he doesn’t have an issue with raising the fees by $5. He made a motion to keep the program and event fees as Wieringa proposed them, but increasing vendor fees by $5 across the board. The motion was unanimously approved.
The facility rental fees were reviewed facility by facility.
The current fee to rent Center Lake Pavilion is $175 for weekdays and $400 for weekends. Ladd said the weekday fee seemed low but the weekend rate was where it ought to stay. Board member Michelle Boxell agreed $175 seemed low and maybe $200 was more fair. Ladd said in his mind, a lot of the fees should go up, but without discouraging people from renting them. The board settled on a fee of $200 for weekdays and $400 for weekends.
The firemen’s building goes for $150 weekdays and $200 weekends now. Board President Steve Haines said they put a lot of money into that building, and Ladd suggested going to $200 weekdays and $250 weekends. The board agreed with those figures.
On the Nye Youth Cabin, Plummer said it was one building “I feel we’re low on also.” Haines said it’s been since 2017 since they increased anything on that building. The current rental fee is $75 weekdays and $100 weekends. The board settled on increasing those to $125 and $150, respectively.
The cabins at Lucerne go for $50, weekdays or weekends. Haines said those have been upgraded, too, with handicapped accessibility. Plummer said those cabins are rented on a regular basis on the weekend. The board raised those fees to $75.
The Warsaw Parks has two amphitheaters – the newly renovated one at Lucerne and the bigger one at Central Park plaza. Both were $175, but the Board increased the fees to $200 at Lucerne and $225 at Central Park.
The fee for the Parks Department to set up the Center Lake Pavilion has been $20 for a long time, Plummer said. He said it takes two guys two to four hours, or sometimes more, and the fee was “way low.” Haines suggested raising that to at least $50 but asked if there was any way to charge by the hour. Plummer said it would be easier to go with a fixed fee. Haines said if they go with a fixed fee, they needed to charge at least $50. Boxell suggested $50 for a half set up (20 or less tables) and $100 for a full set up (over 20 tables) seemed good. Plummer said they could do that and would ask in the rental agreement how many tables the renter wanted.
The digital marquee, which is available to people who rent park facilities, was kept at $20. Park picnic tables were increased from $3 to reserve to $5. The delivery of picnic tables in town was increased from $10 to $15 and in Wayne Township from $15 to $20. The delivery of sawhorse tables was increase from $8 to $10 in town and $12 to $15 in Wayne Township. A wheelbarrow load of campground wood was raised from $10 to $15, and Plummer noted that Parks employees put a lot of physical labor into providing that as they have to split and haul it. Picnic shelters at all parks was increased from $35 to $50.
The Board then reviewed various fees at the campground.
The boat dock rental was increased from $5 daily, $25 monthly and $107 seasonal to $5, $50 and $150, respectively.
The current campground rental is $32 daily, $192 weekly, $490 monthly and $1,900 seasonal. Those fees include full service – electric, water, sewer and trash pickup.
“No wonder everyone signs up for the full season,” Board member Michelle Boxell said.
Ladd suggested $35 daily, $210 weekly, $525 monthly and $2,000 for the seasonal rate. He said at that rate, with the city paying the electric, “that’s still a bargain and people understand that.”
Haines said they could do an increase like that now and revisit it in 2021 instead of waiting three years. Beehler said $2,000 for the seasonal rate was better, but thought $35 daily was still lower than other campgrounds it was compared to. Quance said the least she’s ever paid elsewhere was $40 a night and that wasn’t out of line. Plummer said the last few years, they’ve only had about four spots to rent for a day. Sheila said they did have nine open spots this year, though this year hasn’t been a “norm.”
The board agreed they could live with $40 for a daily rental. Haines said he wouldn’t mind seeing the seasonal going to $2,200. Plummer said he’d like to see it go to $2,100 and then revisit it next year. The board agreed on $40 daily, $210 weekly, $525 monthly and $2,100 seasonal.
Ladd made a motion to accept all the fee adjustments and it was unanimously approved.
Finally, the Board reviewed its lease with The Kosciusko County Council on Aging and Aged Inc. for the Pete Thorn Center. Plummer said he talked with Executive Director David Neff, who understood the need for the Parks to raise the rental agreement and suggested he could go up to $1,200 a month. Plummer said he thought that was fair and reminded the board the Kosciusko Senior Services is providing a service for the seniors. “It is a benefit for our community,” Plummer said.
Haines said they don’t want to price them out of the building. He was happy with $1,200. Beehler said it’s an important service and Boxell agreed and that it is a great location for the organization. Beehler made a motion to increase the lease to $1,200 per month, which was unanimously approved.
