Parks and Leisure Board looks at fee hikes and 'Y'

GAINESVILLE - Hall County Parks and Leisure Board members left their meeting Monday afternoon not sure if there would be a July meeting. It all hinges on how county commissioners vote on the 2012 budget on Thursday.

Regardless of whether a tax increase is approved, or some kind of compromise is reached on funding recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Director Greg Walker said fee increases are going to have to become a fact of life, but he told board members there is no way county recreation could raise the $3-million needed to become self supporting because users would no longer be willing or able to pay the soaring fees.

"I was very clear in my letter to the Finance Director that a department is doing a good job if they capture 25 to 33 percent," Walker said.

In the face of possibly closing 16 of its 24 parks closed with no 1.41 mill hike, or closing four low usage parks if taxes go up, board members were receptive to fee increase ideas.

Those included raising youth recreation fees, and no more free events at the Chicopee Agriculture Center to cover a $100,000 deficit.

"We also have discussed our community centers and possibly Allen Creek Soccer Complex as well as River Forks Park," Walker added. " There's nothing off the table right now, anything we have out there, we may have to look at user fees."

YMCA's newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Rich Gallagher, invited to the meeting, listened to the discussion and said he was there to help any way he could. He said the 'Y' could do an assessment to see if it would be possible for it to run Hall County's youth programs. That assessment would take about 90 days.

"We go through and look at everything from staffing to grounds to programs to see how the YMCA can truly do the programs if it is something the YMCA would be interested in," Gallagher said.

The 'Y' runs youth sports for White and Lumpkin counties.

Recently, the Oakwood City Council asked the 'Y' to consider operating its recreation programs. (See earlier story.)

Gallagher appeared at the invitation of board member Tommy Sandoval, who said he had verbal commitments from three county commissioners to continue recreation at its current levels for another month, through August.

"I've been fighting for Parks and Leisure to have some kind of semblance of an organization after the budget if a worst case scenario comes forward," Sandoval said. "I've asked multiple commissioners asked them to commit to me to do their best to keep us floating for 30 more days while we continue to figure out where we are. Three have committed to me that with the worst case scenario without a tax increase they will try to find the money to keep us floating with full funding."

Sandoval added that the extra 30 days may not time enough to employ other options.

"If the YMCA needs 90 days to figure out what they could do that doesn't get us but a third there," Sandoval said. "It also, I don't think, would allow a serious fee increase to progress, it might start the ball rolling but not implement it."

Hall Commissioner Billy Powell, who also serves on the Parks and Leisure Service Board, pushed for making recreation as self-supporting as possible.

"I suggested that each department, the Ag Center, the Community Centers, the Youth Sports, come back with a proposal for next month's board meeting that might include additional fees or cost cutting measures," Powell said. "This would be with or without the tax increase."

Powell says no one knows what the County Commission is going to do at their Thursday meeting when they finally vote on the budget; adding that commissioners are looking at each line item with County Administrator Jock Connell and Finance Director Lisa Johnsa.

"At this point in time I don't think there are enough votes to pass the proposed tax increase," Powell said.