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Would you be willing to pay a fee to use Lawrence Parks and Recreation facilities?
Asked at the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St. on April 3, 2009
“No. I believe that the facility should be free to everyone. ”
“No. That would take away from the convenience of it.”
“Yes, because it’s a valuable resource, and it’s worth paying for. If I used a private facility, I would have to pay a lot more.”
“It depends on the fee. If it was cheaper than a (commercial) rec center and I knew that it was going to something that would benefit the community, I would like that.”
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Comments
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Napoleon_Dynomite (anonymous) says…
No. I pay taxes for that.
We just rasied the city tax.
So, H___ No!
chargdup (anonymous) says…
Napoleon_Dynomite (Anonymous) says…
No. I pay taxes for that.
We just raised the city tax.
So, H___ No!
I see what you're saying, except that the sales tax that passed is to pay for streets, transit and other infrastructure items.
canyon_wren (anonymous) says…
Charging a fee for those facilities makes it harder on people who are struggling already and will result in the use of the facilities largely by the more well-to-do, which is unfair. It seems like the fact that the City is even considering this scenario makes it obvious that they either have providing more in the way of parks and recreation than was "fiscally sound," in the first place or are not managing their budget needs well. This is not the time to impose more of a burden on the residents.
preebo (anonymous) says…
I am in agreement. If we are going to move to a fee based financing structure then they should either receive less tax revenue or be cut off entirely. I find extremely in poor planning on the part of the City Manager and the Commission to both finance parks and rec at the current revenue stream as well as charging fees.
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
"I see what you're saying, except that the sales tax that passed is to pay for streets, transit..."
How do the T supporters feel about the T now? You have your funding for the empty buses going around pointlessly in circles, but not enough money for facilities that are used a lot, and used by people of all walks of life in Lawrence.
So... do the liberals want to raise sales taxes again, or just admit that we can't afford every socially concious program we would like to fund? One of those two things now has to happen.
autie (anonymous) says…
The simple answer is yes. Or you won't have them. Any ad valorem used to help pay for these types of things don't come close to covering the whole cost. User fees are a necessary evil.
beawolf (anonymous) says…
"You have your funding for the empty buses going around pointlessly in circles,".....
You are an idiot. I ride the bus regularly and at times they are almost filled. Peddle your crap elsewhere.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
They charge for belly-dancing? Fascists!
I'm usually indifferent to a lot of these questions because online anonymous opinions are worth about what they cost, but I'm surprised how many people think all this should be free (beyond whatever tax they think funds it). Thank goodness my pinko commie online buddy, Autie, who used to be a mayor of a mid-sized city, understands this.
"I see what you're saying, except that the sales tax that passed is to pay for streets, transit and other infrastructure items."
Excellent and awesome observation. Chargedup proves a point that people really have no idea what their taxes fund and to what extent.
RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Ronaldo Ignacio) says…
Would I be willing to pay a fee to use P&R facilities? Yes.
The masses? I'm not so sure.
They are practicing making incendiary devices.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/apr...
And then we have the angst generated by garage sales...
autie (anonymous) says…
pinko commie? better than a libertarian anarchist. If one is really wondering about this, go to city hall and request the buget line item stuff for Parks/rec and just see what it cost. Then ask them how many mils from the tax base are used to support it. When the difference is a negative number..user fees fill the gap. If my memory is close, we had around 1.6 million in ad valorem revenue for a budget in excess of 8 million. The rest of the revenue was sales tax and fee for service. Some of these responses would be like saying, I don't want to pay my water bill cause I pay taxes..that is just stupid.
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
"I ride the bus regularly and at times they are almost filled. "
Peak times. I see these buses a lot, and it's clear that they are largely unused. I stand by my statement.
Beawolf: what's your response to my question? Is there a point where you give up on over-idealistic goals of buses, homeless shelters, arts programs, free wi-fi, etc, etc., or do you propose that we go ahead and bump our sales taxes to 13% and get it over with?
Even if I'm wrong and the busses are very popular, the fact still remains that we will never see a T that is self-sustaining, and in a city where we "leave no agenda behind", we need to gain some perspective.
Can you deny that a greater number of people would benefit from moving the T funds to parks and rec?
merrill (anonymous) says…
Taxpayers should be questioning the multi million dollar athletic project under way at Clinton Lake that basically duplicates the USD 497 multi-million dollar athletic project???
http://www.lprd.org/clmasterplan.shtml
Is Clinton Lake area within walking or biking distance to the far greater majority of Lawrence taxpayers?
newsreader (anonymous) says…
I thought I did? It's called taxes.
HermioneElliott (anonymous) says…
The two old white people voted yes. I bet they will never use it. The two people of color voted no.
Interesting.
I_Bejewel (anonymous) says…
Which Parks and Rec facilities are we talking about? I have two sons playing baseball this spring and just wrote a check to them for $140 to cover that. Doesn't that count? Am I not already paying to use their facilities?
blue73harley (anonymous) says…
HE
If Katie is "old" she wears it well. And your stereotyping makes you look like a jerk.
RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Ronaldo Ignacio) says…
Cleo.
??????
Thought-provoking...
autie (anonymous) says…
The true consideration is how does that benefit for the "common good of the public" as opposed to an individual benefit for me.
sgtwolverine (anonymous) says…
If you're not willing to pay a fee to use it, then you're willing to shut it down. I don't know what you all are complaining about; fees for these types of services are neither uncommon nor unreasonable.
sunshine_noise (anonymous) says…
Absolutely NO. I already pay taxes that go to fund this.
RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Ronaldo Ignacio) says…
Wondering if it is wise to observe National Cleavage Day during Testicular Cancer Awareness Week.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
I couldn't think of anything wiser.
woman - Um, why are you staring at my breasts?
man - National Cleavage Day. It's the law.
woman - Well, if the gov't says so, stare away.
man - It is also Testicular Cancer Awareness Week and I'm not able to self exam...
The story writes itself. I should move to the valley and write scripts and save lives.
prospector (anonymous) says…
If I had to guess, the one NOT on the brown malt and barley beverage this morning yet, is .......... Autie.
A good perspective there sir.
Woman: Do you look at women's cleavage and say what a lot?
Man: What?
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
TOB, you could be the head writer on the new "CSI, Eudora" show.
cthulhu_4_president (anonymous) says…
The two old white people voted yes. I bet they will never use it. The two people of color voted no.
Interesting.
---------------
Hermoine's constant string of reverse racism/stereotyping/profiling are getting old. We get it: you hate old white people. Interesting? Only if you want it to be. I find it more interesting that you can deduce someone's personal habits by their skin color and age.
RoeDapple (anonymous) says…
HermioneElliott (Anonymous) says…
"The two old white people voted yes. I bet they will never use it. The two people of color voted no.
Interesting."
Why, why, WHY? It never dawned on me what color the people were until you mentioned it! YOU are a racist! Every article the LJW prints with pictures or reference to race YOU make an issue of. Racism goes both ways, Hermi/Cleo! How do you expect racism to ever stop with people like YOU making it am issue every time you open your face! You have mentioned that your child is bi-racial. Is she embarrassed by your constant rant of this issue? Maybe, maybe not. I'm sure you have made every effort to poison her mind, hopefully she has seen through your hatred and is a good, kind human being!
It seems that all four are gainfully employed.
Mr. Lee is a bus driver by trade, appears to be in his 50's.
Ms. Hastings is a massage therapist, I would guess her to be under 30.
How old are you Hermi/Cleo? What do you do?
Never mind, I figure you for well over 60, (65---68) who's old?
And we see daily what you do. You rant............
Mind boggling, that's all I can say.....................
RoeDapple (anonymous) says…
Okay, I've taken my meds, better now.................
;-)
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
Snap -
My agent tells me that my writing talents will fare better in the San Fernando valley than the Kaw River valley.
RoeDapple (anonymous) says…
She's still a racist, though...........
KUweatherman (Curtis Lange) says…
Nope, I would not.
lawrenceishome (anonymous) says…
If they were a little bit nicer I would think about it...but still would probably be a no.
Rainfalls (anonymous) says…
No, I put my kids in quite a few events through Lawrence Parks and Rec and none of them are free. Since their prices for the activities are really cheap I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for each activity but I don't want to pay some type of membership fee when I'm still going to have to pay for each activity.
pissedinlawrence (anonymous) says…
No freaking way.
SpeedRacer (anonymous) says…
No. These facilities provide an important service for residents of the city. There aren't many free things in this town, especially for youth. Community centers should be free use.