Higher Pima County parks and recreation fees start in July

Pima County is raising its parks and recreation fees, saying the extra money will help improve various county facilities such as installing lights at sports fields and adding new programs to community centers.

The county said the new fees will affect two areas: youth programs and services for organizations, vendors and visitors. The new fees begin July 1.

The Board of Supervisors voted to approve the new fees during their meeting on Feb. 7. The fee increase was passed after a 3-2 vote, with District 3 Supervisor Sharon Bronson and District 4 Supervisor Steve Christy rejecting it.

In December 2021, the county’s Natural Resources Parks and Recreation department realized that they were lagging behind other departments in Arizona when it came to certain fees, causing them to take a look into establishing their own, NRPR Director Victor Pereira said. The last time the NRPR increased fees was in 2009.

“Pima County has not built a new pool in 15 years, added new lights to sport fields in eight years and has not constructed a new sports field in 15 years,” Pereira said in the memo. “While we are making some process, we have not kept up with service demand. Implementation of the proposed fees will help accelerate enhancement of programs and facilities.”

For the youth programs, aquatics, community center programs and sports fields will all see new fees. Pereira said there will now be a $2 per hour charge in order to use sport fields.

“Our $2 per hour is still 40% lower than out neighboring cities of Marana, Oro Valley and Sahuarita,” Pereira said.

According to the memo, Pima County’s neighboring cities charge $5 per hour and 23 out of 25 Arizona parks and recreation departments charge for youth sports.

Similar to youth sports, community centers will also implement new fees for their summer and after school programs. Pereira said the new fees are equal to the amount the City of Tucson has been charging for the last 20 years.

For the after-school program, it will be $50 per month per child and $40 per month for each additional child in the same family, the memo said. Children who qualify for reduced or free meals in school will be offered a discounted price of $15 per month per child and $12 per month for each additional child.

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The summer youth program will be $100 per month per child and $80 per month for each additional child. Those who received reduced and free meals will be charged $30 per month per child fee and $25 per month for each additional child, the memo said.

The second part of the fee proposal includes new fees for ramadas, beer and wine permits, campgrounds, shooting ranges, court and skate park rental and special events, the memo said.

The new fees are expected to increase the departments revenue by approximately $200,000 to $500,000, the memo said. All the money from the fees will be put into a special revenue fund, which will be used to reinvest in various NRPR programs and amenities such as adding lights to sports fields, adding new ramadas and improving community centers.

During the 14 months the NRPR worked on this proposal, Pereira said they collaborated with the public and held four outreach events in order to get their input.

“The final version has really gone through several modifications that was really based off of our public and our constituent input, our sports league feedback, our advisory committee comments and our county administrator’s guidance,” Pereira said.

Not everyone is happy with the implementation of new fees. The county received several emails from residents who opposed the new fees, saying that there would be a decline in youth sport participation due to them.

“I think this is a solution in search of a problem,” Bronson said during the meeting. “I just oppose any fees in this instance and I think it actually will deter some folks from being able to participate.”

When asked about the oppositions the public has, Pereira said that while people may believe the department is trying to increase revenue, the fees are actually going to be reinvested back into the sports fields, community centers and parks.