A proposal last week to restructure the city of St. Cloud parks and recreation program and facility fees to require nonresidents to pay more has prompted the city to reexamine its fee structure for that department, after the City Council questioned several special agreements with certain sports groups.

“I just think we need to be fair and equitable across the board,” Councilman Jay Polachek said.

The resolution discussed during the council meeting Nov. 12 created a higher non-residential fee for the various city parks and recreation facilities and programs. Since 2007, Osceola County government had agreed to subsidize costs for outside residents, paying $50 for each person who didn't live in St. Cloud but still wanted to participate in any number of St. Cloud programs each year, up to $125,000.

But the county has decided it can no longer afford that subsidy. The proposed fee structure would have compensated for that loss in funding. Program fees for St. Cloud residents would not have changed, but nonresidents would pay more. Some facility rental fees increased to both groups.

“Where the city resident fee is increased is only where we did a comparison with other like facilities within the county and within the Central Florida area, to make sure that the city taxpayer overall was not subsidizing that specific user,” Director of Parks and Recreation April Fisher said.

The proposed change also deals specifically with how much the St. Cloud Aquatic Team, a private swim team in comparison with the city’s recreational swim team, is charged to rent the city’s pool. Instead of getting a separate rate, the aquatic team’s use will be charged as a private pool rental. The difference between what the city charged the team and the team’s rental costs as a private entity amounts to $7,000 annually, $2,000 of which is deposits, Fisher said.

“What we realized then, if there’s that much of a disparity, then the taxpayer is really subsidizing that program,” she said.

Polachek said that while the city was changing parks and recreation fees, it ought to take a broader look, especially in what it charges for use of ball fields.

“I’m still amazed that we don’t charge these groups to use our fields and our lights,” Polachek said.

Fisher, who took over the position of director in the parks and recreation department recently, explained that per a 2008 resolution, the city should have been charging fees for the use of its ball fields. She said she wasn’t sure why that fee had not been imposed, though the city would contact the various entities that use the fields and start enforcing the resolution by Dec.1

However, the city has a unique agreement with St. Cloud Little League, she explained. Instead of paying a per player fee for the field, the league pays some expenses, like electricity, and has use of the concession stands and two storage facilities, though that agreement was set to change for the spring season. A separate user agreement also exists with the organization that primarily uses the St. Cloud Senior Center.

Mayor Donna Hart said that while she agreed with imposing a nonresidential fee, she thought the city should take more time to review the entire issue. The council agreed that a workshop-type format, to which all the organizations would be invited, would be appropriate.

“I think we need to at least approach them (the organizations) before we start stabbing in the dark,” Councilman Jarom Fertic said. “I think there needs to be more discussion on that end.”

Some representatives from some sports organizations spoke during the meeting, most expressing frustration that they hadn’t been notified that the fees were to change. Robert Bass, vice president of the St. Cloud Little League, said his organization had already budgeted the existing fees for the upcoming year.

“I know it might be, according to the budget, a drop in the bucket, but for a nonprofit group, it’s quite a bit,” he said. “Before anyone starts throwing darts at St. Cloud Little League, I just want you to again realize how much money we do spend just to operate that program.”

Don Boyer, of Osceola Youth Baseball League, asked that the fee structure be fair to all. “We’re willing to pay for those fields, but we want to pay the same amount for those fields that everyone else does,” he said.

Hart said the proposed resolution was a good “first draft” but that there was “work to be done” before finalizing it.

The council unanimously agreed to delay a decision on the issue until staff hashes out the specifics with the several entities. Staff did ask that any entity that uses its facilities give the city a point person who would act as representative of the organization at the workshop.