Fees rising for Eau Claire's drop-in recreation programs

Nov. 22—EAU CLAIRE — Prices for drop-in recreation offerings including indoor swimming, ice skating at Hobbs Ice Center, and gymnasium times for basketball and volleyball organized by the city are slated to go up next year.

Those are among the fee increases planned for 2023 that the Eau Claire City Council is scheduled to vote on during its annual budget meeting this evening.

During a public hearing Monday night on the fee schedule, Councilman Joshua Miller questioned an increase for youth drop-in recreation programs.

"Is there a way that can be reconsidered?" he said.

As proposed, the $4 youth fee and $4.25 adult fee for attending a drop-in program will both go to $5 next year. A punch card for a dozen sessions currently costs $42.50, but that would rise to $50 in 2023.

While the proposed increases may not sound like much, Miller said that for families with multiple children who like to attend those programs, the costs can add up quickly.

Kitzie Winters, city finance director, said the higher prices are to help keep up with how much it costs to run those programs.

"That is not currently meeting the operational cost in that area," she said of the current fee levels.

City Manager Stephanie Hirsch then chimed in and said one of her priorities is to look at ways that lower-income families can have better access to city programs. She likened it to how schools provide reduced-price or free lunches to children based on their families' income levels.

While she intends to come up with an easy way for recreation programs to be affordable to lower-income families, Hirsch said it would generally be a good idea to set the proposed fees for those residents who can fit them into their budgets.

Another fee that created discussion on Monday night was for a popular downtown parking lot that has so far been available for free.

Councilman Jeremy Gragert noted the lot at the north corner of Barstow Street and Grand Avenue by The Lismore hotel would cost people $1 an hour to park there, starting next year.

Currently that lot carries no charge, but has a two-hour time limit during weekdays.

Gragert said the proposed fee for the lot would be double the 50-cents-per-hour charged for the city's other paid-parking lots and ramps.

Winters explained the higher fee was suggested as the lot in the center of the downtown business district has higher demand.

Hirsch added that the higher fee will be used to encourage people to park there briefly, so there is high turnover in the lot intended for customers of the shops and restaurants downtown.

"We are continuing to talk with the downtown businesses about these policies," Hirsch said about parking.

If approved today by the City Council with the 2023 budget, the fee schedule would take effect at the start of next year. However, parking fees for multiple lots, including the one next to The Lismore, also depends on new technology the city is adopting.

Replacing mechanical and digital parking meters the city had used in numerous lots will be a new app-based system where people can pay for parking using their smartphone. For those without a smartphone, a phone number will also be available to make payment via a credit card.