[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Data from Parks and Rec to aid discussion of .25 tax renewal

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Becker, KC

Council will be discussing the .25 Parks & Rec tax renewal again at the Aug 7th council meeting. 

At our last business meeting, we debated whether the tax should be dedicated to the Dept of Parks and Recreation (DPR) or should be undedicated. While I support undedicating the tax, I have stated that I will support a hybrid of dedicated and undedicated taxes as a potential consensus measure. I proposed a hybrid that leaves what is essentially operations and maintenance dollars for P&R undedicated, but dedicates some portion (maybe 25-33%) for capital improvements for P&R facilities. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board has provided us with a short list of their prioritized desires for capital improvements. At the top of the list is Valmont Park South, the undeveloped park land purchased in 1997 for park purposes. DPR estimates that planned improvements at Valmont South will cost about $25million.

A fair question raised by Ken Wilson asks where the maintenance dollars for these potential new facilities would come from.

Thinking about this question, it occurred to me that for at least some of the proposed facilities, including Valmont South, it is likely that o&m dollars would come from fees assessed for use of these facilities, as well as additional tax dollars generated by the tourism that development of these facilities would create.
 
For instance, on a recent taping of "A Boulder View" on Channel 8, Mary Ann Mahoney from the Convention and Visitors Bureau states that the annual July 4th week softball tournament at Stazio brings 1000 people to Boulder. She estimates that tournament attendees spend $5 million during their visit. Additionally, I know that the fees that both youth and adult sports organizations pay to the city for use of Pleasant View fields, Stazio Ball Fields, and other park resources is significant. 

I'm hoping that staff could provide at our Aug 7th meeting more information about the current amount in fees that our sport programs pay to the P&R department for use of the fields. Presumably these fees are used for ongoing maintenance of the fields. I'd also like, if available, information on the revenue that some of the major tournaments and other big events (which take place at our P&R facilities) generate. It is my assumption that dedicating money to complete Valmont South would not generate significant, new, and unfunded operations and maintenance obligations for the city. But seeing data on this issue would be helpful to the discussion.

Thanks,

KC