Advisory panel opposes fee for youth sports

Adults who use county parks should pay more to bolster sagging tax revenue, not children, argued Douglas County Parks & Recreation commissioners on Tuesday.

"We shouldn't touch youth sports unless we absolutely have to," said commissioner Kelly Gardner.

A $240,170 shortfall in the county's room tax fund, which supports parks and recreation and senior services, has county officials not only cutting existing programs but searching for additional sources of revenue.

"Part of the exercise of government is asking uncomfortable questions," said Scott Morgan, director of parks and recreation and community services.

One of the questions Morgan asked park commissioners was whether youth sports should be charged a field use and utility fee, applied per player, to generate additional revenue for the department.

Representatives of youth sport organizations opposed the idea.

"I would hate for economics to disrupt our youth activities," said Jim Valentine, president of Douglas Pop Warner football. "These programs really help our kids."

Valentine said sign-up fees for the league are already hefty, and that additional fees would hurt participating families.

"What about the couples with young kids just starting out who don't have the money?" he said. "Even if it's only $10 a kid, if the family has two or three kids that want to play, that's an extra $20 to $30."

Park commissioners recommended youth sports be taken off the table and other options explored.

"We should raise rates on things that already have rates," said Gardner.

That means possible fee increases at Topaz Lake campground and the Kahle Community Center in Lake Tahoe, increases which could generate an extra $20,000 to $25,000 a year, Morgan said.

Commissioners agreed that increasing fees for adults was better than taxing youth sports.

"We shouldn't touch the veteran passes, though," said commissioner Celeste Pierini, who also expressed concern about modifying senior rates.

New fee schedules for Topaz Lake and Kahle Park have yet to be developed, but Morgan said a proposed increase last year was rejected by county commissioners because rates appeared too "steep."

Morgan said he'd take the board's new recommendation to the county commission.

"This is a true struggle for the commission," said Morgan. "These are not things they want to do, but they have to balance the budget."