TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The City of Tucson Parks and Recreation rates and fees could increase as soon as July, affecting sports, aquatics, KIDCO camps, and leisure classes.
Lara Hamwey, the Parks and Recreation director, says the purpose is to align the cost residents pay with what the city pays to provide the service.
"So basically in the last year we've been looking at what fees we've been charging. Is there any opportunity to charge fees that we aren't charging? But also now that the city is really looking at how they are situated financially, how we can do a better job of cost recovery. Not necessarily looking at 100% cost recovery on everything that we do but how can we close the gap a little better?" Hamwey said.
Hamwey said it is not a standard increase across the board, as each program is different.
"There are some that we are looking at doing a 100% cost recovery like our leisure classes, that's your pottery, jewelry classes. So whatever it costs us to give you the opportunity to participate in that class, that's what we're going to charge you, of course divided by the number of people in the class," Hamwey explained. "Whereas KIDCO or after school summer camp programs, we're doing moderate, I would say modest increases."
KIDCO Summer Camp is projected to increase to $50 per week in July and the after-school program is going up to $67.50 per month.
Learn to swim classes are currently $15 and are expected to go up by $10 in July and eventually hit $40 in 2029. Lap swim will go from no cost to $30 in July. General recreation swim will remain free.
Many community members are concerned about the Udall Park pickleball courts. It is currently free to play at that location and has been for five years, but the city is proposing making it a managed location and charging $3.50 per court for 1.5 hours.
Steven Bollin and Ron Rinde are part of Tucson Area Pickleball (TAP). They said they take care of the courts themselves, so paying to play just doesn't make sense.
"We have built a shade structure, we’ve installed benches, we put in new nets, we’ve added a water dispenser. So we raise money and we take care of Udall more than the city would do," Bollin said.
Rinde said he has played in at least 26 different states and has never had to pay to play.
"Having this free, is like Steve was saying, it is a family. We do things for everybody," Rinde said. "Keep Udall free."
Hank Greenberg says if the city goes through with this, the whole culture the community created at Udall will change.
"Everybody knows our name and we’re a family and so they’re proposing, they’re telling me, 'look, I wanna end your family. I wanna end your connection to the community,' because if the managed people come in, it will completely change how it is run," Greenberg said.
A discount program will still be available for low-income families for certain activities.
"We're going to roll out a discount where depending on how your eligibility falls, you could get an 80%, 60%, 40%, or 20% discount," Hamwey said.
People who live outside city limits already pay 25% more than residents for programs. The department is proposing updating that to 50%.
The city is holding public meetings through April 20 for people to learn more about the proposed rate and fee changes, not just in the Parks and Rec department, but others as well.
RELATED: Tucson holds community meetings over proposed rate increases for water and other city services
The Mayor and City Council will vote on the proposed rate and fee changes on June 9.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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