Park and Rec proposes increases for after school fees, and aquatic center hours

What a difference a year makes, especially when going through the city’s budgeting process.

Take the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, for example. This time last year, some councilors couldn’t stomach the idea of raising the department’s fees for after-school programs, expressing concern for struggling parents who would be negatively impacted. But on Tuesday, they seemed more inclined to support such changes during a presentation made by Parks and Recreation Director Holli Browder at a budget hearing.

“Last year, we brought forth an increase in our after-school programming and unfortunately it was not recommended or did not go through,” Browder told council. “So this year, we’ve come back again, because we still have a deficit in what we’re actually bringing in each year in our after-school program.”

The weekly rates at the city’s after-school programs — conducted at many schools — would jump by $6 under Mayor Teresa Tomlinson’s FY2018 recommended budget, she explained. The fees currently range from $21 to $56 for the first child in a family, and would jump to $27 to $62.

The fees are based on household income and drop with each additional child in a family, Browder said. Under the proposal, fees also would increase for the department’s before school and drop-off programs.

Councilor Skip Henderson, the city’s budget committee chair, asked Browder if Parks and Rec had compared the weekly rate to those at other after-school programs in the community. Browder said the department conducted a comparable study and found the proposed rates to be lower than other programs.

With that, Henderson said he felt comfortable moving forward with the new rates, and no one opposed.

“I voted against this last time, but this is a year’s worth of notice in my mind that we can’t continue at the rates that we’re currently charging, so I’m inclined to support this this year,” he said. “I just want reassurance that we are still doing what we can to help a sector of the community that can’t otherwise find child care.”

In 2016, the proposed after-school increases surfaced as part of deliberations over funding for the city’s aquatics center. At that time, the recommended increases was just $4 per child per week based on the city’s current income sliding scale. However, several councilors expressed misgivings about putting a burden on families who might not have anything to do with the aquatic center.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Browder said the mayor’s recommended budget also includes increased hours at the Columbus Aquatic Center, which would require no additional funding. Under the proposal, the operational hours would jump from 60 to 69 hours, with the center opening two hours earlier and an hour later three days a week to accommodate adult swimmers and other user groups.

The Aquatic Center is currently open Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It would be open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday if the new hours are approved. The hours would remain the same Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Browder said the department worked with members of the Aquatic Commission, who opposed a reduction of hours in past. And they are in support of the changes.

Henderson said he liked the progress that the department has made.

“This council, to my knowledge never, ever budgeted a number of hours; it’s always budgeted a dollar amount,” he said. “And the fact that you’ve been able to work that budget into expanding the hours is awesome.”

Browder also presented council with a total of $2.4 million in capital requests, which are not included in the mayor’s recommended budget. The list included new park maintenance equipment, computers and upgraded lights at Memorial Stadium, among other things.

Councilor Glenn Davis added $500,000 of the requested amount to council’s add/delete list for consideration.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Park and Rec proposes increases for after school fees, and aquatic center hours."