City of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department

Program fees charged by the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department vary greatly, and one element of the department’s new master plan is to make those determinations more intentional.

“With commission input and now the public input, where do we want to be?” Parks and Recreation Interim Director Ernie Shaw said. “Is what we’re doing correct or is there something that needs to be more cost-supported, or paid more individually, than what we are currently doing?”

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will review the final draft of the department’s master plan, a nearly 250-page document that lays out four main goals: improving programming and services; providing new or improved facilities; organizational efficiency, and financial position.

The last goal, and in particular the development of a cost recovery model for the department, was one that the commission recommended prioritizing when it reviewed an earlier draft of the plan in September. For instance, without a model, there is no methodical reason for why fees for youth sports cover 105 percent of the costs while fees for programming at the Prairie Park Nature Center cover only 21 percent.

Shaw said once a model is developed, he thinks it will help answer a lot of the common questions from the commission and the public, though he noted actually coming up with the specifics of the model will be a longer process.

“This is strictly a roadmap to get us to a destination eventually,” Shaw said.

The cost recovery method included in the draft plan is what the consultants from GreenPlay LLC call a pyramid philosophy. Using that method, recreation programs and services are sorted into five levels according to how much the program or service benefits the community versus the individual. For each level, the city will have to determine what percent of the cost it wants the user fee to cover versus what percent it will be subsidized by the public.

Shaw said the idea is to use that method to purposefully decide how taxes and fees are used to pay for certain programs.

“What do we want the tax dollars to go for to support our community-based programs and facilities?” Shaw said. “And what should — as you go up the hierarchy of different programs as they become more individualized — should be paying for themselves?”

Finances also come into play with other goals detailed in the plan, some of which will require significant investments.

Priorities for improvements include expanding the workout and weight rooms at the Holcom, East Lawrence, and Community Building recreation centers, which currently have small workout rooms and limited equipment. Other priorities include completing the Lawrence Loop trail and adding more amenities and connecting trails. Another is acquiring new land for parks in areas that are anticipated to develop in the future, specifically areas on the western, southern, and southeastern edges of Lawrence.

A public survey also helped identify potential new additions for the Parks and Recreation Department. Those include a splash park, outdoor amphitheater and adventure park.

Once approved, the plan will be utilized to update Horizon 20/20 and inform the commission’s ongoing strategic plan in relation to the Parks and Recreation Department. Priorities in the plan are labeled as short-term, mid-term and long-term, and Shaw described it as a roadmap for the future of the department.

“It just all depends on where the money is, what the priorities are and when you get to them,” Shaw said.

For the past year, a 16-member steering committee has been putting together the new 10-year master plan, which will replace one created in 2000. The plan includes guidance for future development and ideas to fund new facilities and programs, as well as public survey results regarding those topics.

Also mentioned in the financial section of the plan is the use of sponsorships. The commission is in the process of developing a policy for sponsorships and naming rights, which could help fund some programs and new or improved facilities.

The City Commission will meet at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.