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and fees. They acknowledged that all fees would be directly reflected in their registration fees <br />to the participants. NSSA asked for a meeting to discuss potential fees and also to ask about <br />potential capital improvements in our area. They had a similar response to the potential fees as <br />SAYB association. They would ultimately pass on these fees in an increased registration fee to <br />their participants. However, they inquired if the City had any potential capital improvement <br />projects for Cummings Park, Hazelnut Park or the any possibilities of development of new <br />fields? Staff mentioned the recent irrigation improvements to Cummings Park and the potential <br />for irrigation improvements at Hazelnut Park. The NSSA board met shortly after our meeting <br />and notified the City in March that they would like to commit $8,000 toward the installation of <br />irrigation at Hazelnut Park. The irrigation project has been estimated to cost between $21,000 <br />and $26,000 for Hazelnut Park. <br />Factors to consider on charging youth fees for facilities: <br />1. Users inevitably will have higher expectations of field conditions when they are charged <br />fees. <br />2. There will be administrative costs associated with charging fees. The per hour fee is <br />more difficult to manage than a 3 or 4 hour time block. In most cases, groups will only <br />book for an hour or two and use the fields for a longer period of time. <br />3. Practices for the associations are assigned in a block of time. For example, Perry #3 is <br />assigned to SAYB Mondays and Tuesdays all spring /summer from 5 -dusk. They assign <br />their own coaches. The associations would be reluctant to book time slots if they have to <br />pay for each time slot, whether it is used or not. Therefore, they may send coaches to us <br />to schedule and this would be very high maintenance for our staff. <br />4. The associations will scale back on field use in order to save costs. They will refrain <br />from reserving blocks of time unless they are certain the field will be used. <br />5. If it is decided to not charge associations, the youth facility field fees would end up being <br />minimal. The majority of field use comes from the associations. <br />Adult Fees <br />Currently, the City charges fees for ball field use (prepped field with bases) and Bethel <br />broomball ($17.00 per hour). However, there is no charge for reserving a using a ball field for <br />a practice. The Intramural Departments at Bethel University and Northwestern College both <br />utilize our fields for Intramural Softball/Football at no charge. Staff reviewed how much <br />revenue the City could bring in based on 2010 usage if we charged for adult intramural /club field <br />use (Attachment C). <br />Factors to consider on charging for adult ball field /soccer field use: <br />1. The adults tear up the field much more than youth use due to the type of activities: <br />lacrosse, rugby, football, softball. <br />2. The City has struggled for years with Bethel University Lacrosse and Rugby using parks <br />without a permit. Staff can enforce use of the fields easier with a fee base. <br />05172011 Facility Fee Discussion. doc <br />