Agenda 01/27/2015 Item #11B 1/27/2015 11.B.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recommendation to accept and approve the completed Parks and Recreation Department
Fee Study conducted by Public Resources Management Group,Inc.
OBJECTIVE: To provide to the Board data and recommendations concerning the Parks and
Recreation Department's user fee schedule.
CONSIDERATIONS: On June 10, 2014, the Board directed staff to perform a comprehensive
analysis of user fees and operating costs for the Parks and Recreation Department. Staff secured
the services of Public Resources Management Group, Inc. (consultant), a vendor under County
contract,to perform the study. The scope of the study includes the following:
• Analysis of the relationship between operating costs and the various fee categories
• Presentation of a fee schedule sufficient to recover all recurring operating costs
• Comparison of the existing fee schedule to parks systems in other Florida cities and counties
• Comparison of the existing cost recovery rate in Collier County to other cities and counties
The consultant relied upon the adopted Fiscal Year 2015 operating budget, fixed asset records,
reported patronage, billing statistics, and interviews with staff to allocate operating costs among
the Department's programs and services. Allocated costs were then evaluated relative to
revenues generated from user fees to identify the sufficiency of such fees in funding the full cost
of operation. Indirect costs were also allocated to the various programs and services, including
administrative, front desk, and therapeutic services.
The adopted fee schedule includes more than 300 fees. Table 1 below demonstrates a
representative list of existing fees compared to the rates that would be required for the same
programs for services to operate the Parks and Recreation Department under a full cost recovery
model. Many of the current fees would have to be increased significantly and could exceed
users' ability and/or desire to pay.
Table 1- Sample Full Cost Increases to Typical Fees—Existing
Existing Full Cost
Description $ $ Increase
Athletic League Fee Sample:
League Fee - Soccer $15.00 $44.02 $29.02
League Fee - Softball Team $710.00 $2,083.65 $1,373.65
Aquatics Facilities—Sun N Fun
Daily Adult Entrance Fee $13.00 $13.17 $0.17
Annual Family Pass -Nonres. $232.00 $235.12 $3.12
Aquatics Facilities—Golden
Gate
Daily Adult Entrance Fee $3.50 $25.30 $21.80
3 Month Pass $65.00 $469.95 $404.95
Aquatics Facilities—Immokalee
Daily Adult Entrance Fee $3.50 $66.87 $63.37
3 Month Pass $60.00 $1,146.33 $1,086.33
Beach and Marina Access
Daily Parking/Nonresident $8.00 $13.95 $5.95
Annual Permit/Nonresident $50.00 $87.17 $37.17
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BMX/ Skate Park - Adult
Membership $15.00 $187.86 $172.86
Child Care -ASA Session(Jan-
Jun) $500.00 $906.58 $406.58
NCRP Fitness -Annual Fee $190.00 $217.75 $27.75
GG Fitness -Annual Fee -
Includes Aquatics $190.00 $366.81 $176.81
Immokalee Fitness -Annual Fee
- Includes Aquatics $190.00 $208.48 $18.48
Max Hasse -Annual Fee -
Includes Aquatics $190.00 $578.15 $388.15
Instructional Class -Fitness $7.00 $12.04 $5.04
Summer Camp -Full Summer
Weekly $66.00 $85.81 $19.81
Learn to Sail (5 Lessons /2.5hrs) $125.00 $1,747.51 $1,622.51
Neighboring Parks and Recreation Departments were surveyed for cost recovery comparison
purposes. The following entities were chosen based on their vicinity and similarities in
community characteristics:
City of Cape Coral Collier County Palm Beach County Lee County
48% 37% 27% 19%
The City of Cape Coral's 48% cost recovery calculation does not include maintenance expenses.
Lee County, Palm Beach County, and Collier County all include maintenance costs in their
respective calculations.
Based on the data gathered from the other park systems, staff believes Collier County's current
cost allocation rate and methodology compare favorably with the other systems.
Accordingly,the consultant and staff are recommending the following actions moving forward:
1. No changes to the fee schedule approved in June 2014 at this time.
2. Develop a cost recovery policy that includes overall objectives and a methodology for
monitoring, updating and assessing event-related fees in the future to remain consistent with
the policy.
3. Develop an annual pricing index to allow for the periodic adjustment of fees to remain in step
with general inflationary trends.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with accepting this report. If the Board
so directs, staff will return with a policy as described above and include a thorough analysis of its
fiscal implications at that time.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: There is no growth management impact associated
with this item.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item has been approved as to form and legality and
requires majority vote for approval.—CMG
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RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of County Commissioners accepts and approves the
Parks and Recreation Department Fee Study conducted by Public Resources Management Group
Inc.
Prepared by:Natali Betancur, Operations Analyst, Parks and Recreation Department
Attachments: 1)PRMG Report, 2) 2014 Parks and Recreation Department Fee Study Report(Due to the
size of the document, a web link has been provided for viewing at
http://www.colliergov.netiftp/AgendaJan2715/PubServi ces/Col lierCountyCostRecoveryReport2015.pdf
A hard copy is also available at the County Manager's Office.)
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COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 11.11.B.
Item Summary: Recommendation to accept and approve the completed Parks and
Recreation Department Fee Study conducted by Public Resources Management Group, Inc.
(Steve Carnell, Public Services Administrator)
Meeting Date: 1/27/2015
Prepared By
Name: BetancurNatali
Title: Operations Analyst,Beach&Water
1/15/2015 9:59:18 AM
Approved By
Name: AlonsoHailey
Title: Operations Analyst,Public Services Division
Date: 1/20/2015 9:30:57 AM
Name: Washburnllonka
Title:Manager-Park Operations, Parks &Recreation
Date: 1/20/2015 10:14:32 AM
Name: WilliamsBarry
Title:Director-Parks&Recreation,Parks &Recreation
Date: 1/20/2015 1:23:24 PM
Name: TownsendAmanda
Title:Director-Operations Support, Public Services Division
Date: 1/20/2015 1:53:55 PM
Name: GreeneColleen
Title:Assistant County Attorney, CAO General Services
Date: 1/20/2015 2:49:58 PM
Name: CarnellSteve
Title:Administrator-Public Services,Public Services Division
Date: 1/20/2015 5:18:03 PM
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Name: GreeneColleen
Title: Assistant County Attorney, CAO General Services
Date: 1/21/2015 9:05:06 AM
Name: KlatzkowJeff
Title: County Attorney,
Date: 1/21/2015 9:55:20 AM
Name: FinnEd
Title:Management/Budget Analyst, Senior,Transportation Engineering&Construction Management
Date: 1/21/2015 11:33:10 AM
Name: OchsLeo
Title: County Manager, County Managers Office
Date: 1/21/2015 12:25:08 PM
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c°`'� �` '4,. Parks and Recreational
Parks Fee Study
p
,ecreatron
Pfd ce"Refl "wet Executive Summary of Preliminary Findings
Scope:
Public Resources Management Group, Inc. ("PRMG") was tasked with preparing a Parks and
Recreational Fee Study on behalf of the Collier County ("County") Parks and Recreation
Department("Department") in order to:
• Evaluate the existing level of cost recovery from current fees;
• Prepare a Comparison to Neighboring Jurisdictions; and
• Summarize Findings, Observations and Provide Recommendations.
The analysis was prepared in order to provide Department staff, County Administration and
ultimately the Board of County Commissioners ("BOCC") and residents with a better
understanding of the sources of program funding and level of cost recovery from fees. The
analysis performed by PRMG included an evaluation of the Departments detailed operating
budgets, fixed asset records, patron and billing statistics as well as performance of staff
interviews to gain a detailed understanding of facilities, costs and services offered by the County.
PRMG also prepared a detailed fee comparison with several other comparable Florida Parks and
Recreational Programs, including a survey of the sources of revenues funding the respective
programs.
Background:
The County offers a variety of recreational facilities, programs and amenities serving a
population of approximately 340,000 residents. The County has capital investments of over $82
million in infrastructure to support the Department's various programs including, but not limited
to:
- Public Beach and Marina Access;
- National Field Sporting Events;
- Various Indoor and Outdoor Adult and Youth Organized Sports Leagues;
- Regional Water Park/Aquatics, Gymnasiums and Fitness Facilities;
- Spring/ Summer Camps, Pre-k and After School Child Care Services;
- Various Instructional, Educational, Artistic and Fitness Classes;
- Special Community Events such as Dances, July 4th, Snow Fest, Christmas Around the
World, etc.;
- Therapeutic Programs for the Disabled; and
- Access to various Community Parks throughout the County providing open green space,
basketball, tennis, skate, lake and other amenity access.
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The County's Park and Recreational Fee Programs are primarily funded through general fund
transfers from property taxes, user/rental fees and other income. The annual operating expenses
for the Fiscal Year 2015 are budgeted at approximately $21.5 million (excluding Conservation
Collier and Sea Turtle Monitoring at approximately $1.5 million). The majority or approximately
83% of the operating expenses are related to Personnel, Utilities, Maintenance and Contracted
Services (Personnel accounts for 57% of expenses). The Department has recognized
approximately $8 million in fee and other revenues representing an approximately 37% cost
recovery. For comparison purposes,the following illustrates the cost recovery of the other Florida
Parks and Recreational Fee Programs surveyed:
City of Cape Coral = 48%of Costs (excludes maintenance expense)from User Fees/Other Rev.
Lee County = 19%of Costs from User Fees/Other Revenues
Palm Beach County = 27%of Costs from User Fees/Other Revenues
As can be seen above, the cost recovery from user fees or other revenues for the County are
comparable to or greater than others surveyed,which indicates a strong level of cost recovery.
Approach/Methodolo2v:
As previously discussed, PRMG relied upon the adopted Fiscal Year 2015 operating budget,
current fixed asset records, reported patronage/billing statistics and interviews with staff in order
to allocate costs to the various facilities and programs. The cost allocation was performed by
examining each line item of the manager's level detail for the operating budget and allocated to
the following cost categories:
Facility Cost Categories for Allocation:
- Aquatics, Fitness, Indoor / Recreation, Outdoor Fields, BMX, Skate Park, Community
Parks, Beach/Marina and Conservation Collier
Specific Program Cost Categories for Allocation:
- Childcare, Summer Camps, Special Events, Athletic Leagues, Instructional Classes and
Water Ski / Sailing
Expenses were allocated to the above cost categories by first determining if the expense was
directly allocable to a specific category of cost(e.g.,Aquatics Instructors=Instructional,life guard
uniforms = Aquatics, Field Rollers = Fields, Events Permits = Special Events, etc.). Personnel
expenses were given additional consideration through a review with Department staff of each
individual budgeted employees function relative to the aforementioned cost categories. It should
be noted that the allocation of budgeted personnel expenses are significant recognizing that such
expenses represent the majority or approximately 57% of the total budgeted operating expenses.
For those expenses which were not directly identified to a particular program (e.g., common area
maintenance, information technology,fleet,etc.)were generally allocated to programs based upon
the nature of the cost center (e.g., Golden Gate Community Center offers Child Care, Summer
Camp, BMX/Skate, Special Events, etc.) and then allocated the programs based on weighting of
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the program specific cost allocation.Indirect costs were also allocated to the various programs and
services, including administrative, front desk and therapeutic services.
Allocated costs were then compared relative to specific program revenues generated from existing
fees in order to identify the sufficiency of such fees in funding the full cost of operation. It should
be noted that certain operating costs that are not associated with parks fee based programs (e.g.,
neighborhood parks, school field maintenance, Freedom Park operations, Conservation Collier)
were excluded from the fee sufficiency evaluation.
Fee
Revenue Allocated
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yes
Service
Fee sdiret
Preliminary Observations and Findings:
The following table provides a summary of the cost allocation and cost recovery coverage from
existing fees and other revenues:
Fiscal Year 2015 Budgeted Cost Allocation and Fee Revenue Coverage 111
Fiscal Year 2015 Budget
Allocated Existing Rev.as%of
Description Expenses [2] Revenues Expenses
Athletic Leagues $2,998,052 $1,021,580 34%
Aquatics Facilities 2,889,070 1,645,800 57%
Beach/Marina Parking 3,232,756 1,854,200 57%
BMX/Skate Parks 242,793 19,836 8%
Childcare—VPK,Aftercare,etc. 1,721,157 949,262 55%
Fitness Facility(No Classes) 770,046 563,631 73%
Instructional Classes 883,652 513,603 58%
Summer Camps 1,383,080 1,063,844 77%
Special Events 337,729 147,895 44%
Waterski/Sailing 564,795 40,400 7%
Unassigned Facility&Other Costs [3] 6,366,332 74,900 N/A
Total $21,389,464 $7,894,502 37%
[I]Amounts shown derived from Table 1.May not add due to rounding.
[2]Includes direct and indirect operating expenses and excludes capital costs.It should also be noted that therapeutic services for
disabled persons were assumed as an indirect cost.
[3]Amounts shown include neighborhood parks,school field maintenance,other field maintenance,freedom park,eagle lakes,
associated allocable indirect costs and other unassigned costs.
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As can be seen above,the cost recovery varies by program and is contingent upon assumptions of
cost allocation, however in general the County recovers approximately 37% of annual operating
expenses from existing fees and other revenues. The cost recovery is contingent upon a variety of
factors recognizing: i) certain services or facilities are offered at no charge to residents, which
lowers the cost recovery and may reflect that the service is generally viewed as providing a greater
community benefit (e.g., free access to neighborhood and community parks); and ii) services
which provide a greater benefit to the individual, which is marketable, such as the County's Sun
N Fun water park,summer camp and fitness facility programs,generated the highest cost recovery.
The County charges more than 300 fees for various programs(excluding concession fees)with the
majority being primarily for various instructional based classes. However, such fees only account
for approximately 6.5%of the total fee based revenues.Based on discussion with Department staff,
it was identified that such fees are likely to change based on patron participation,contract labor or
other factors. This results in an administrative burden relative to the revenue generation for such
fees and there is currently no defined policy which may assist or direct staff in calculating or
evaluating the sufficiency of such fees.
In order to provide a sense of the effect on fees from attempting to recover 100%or the"Full Cost"
from fees, the table on the following page provides a sample of increases to certain typical fees
charged by the County (as noted in Table 1):
Sample Increases to Typical Fees-Existing[1]
Existing Full Cost
Description $ $ Increase
Athletic League Fee Sample:
League Fee-Soccer $15.00 $44.02 $29.02
League Fee-Softball Team $710.00 $2,083.65 $1,373.65
Aquatics Facilities-Sun N Fun
Daily Adult Entrance Fee $13.00 $13.17 $0.17
Annual Family Pass-Nonres. $232.00 $235.12 $3.12
Aquatics Facilities-Golden Gate
Daily Adult Entrance Fee $3.50 $25.30 $21.80
3 Month Pass $65.00 $469.95 $404.95
Aquatics Facilities-Immokalee
Daily Adult Entrance Fee $3.50 $66.87 $63.37
3 Month Pass $60.00 $1,146.33 $1,086.33
Beach and Marina Access
Daily Parking/Nonresident $8.00 $13.95 $5.95
Annual Permit/Nonresident $50.00 $87.17 $37.17
BMX/Skate Park-Adult Membership $15.00 $187.86 $172.86
Child Care-ASA Session(Jan-Jun) $500.00 $906.58 $406.58
Continued to following page.
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Sample Increases to Typical Fees—Existing[1]continued
Existing Full Cost
Description $ $ Increase
NCRP Fitness-Annual Fee $190.00 $217.75 $27.75
GG Fitness-Annual Fee-Includes Aquatics $190.00 $366.81 $176.81
Immokalee Fitness-Annual Fee-Includes
Aquatics $190.00 $208.48 $18.48
Max Hasse-Annual Fee-Includes Aquatics $190.00 $578.15 $388.15
Instructional Class-Fitness $7.00 $12.04 $5.04
Summer Camp-Full Summer Weekly $66.00 $85.81 $19.81
Learn to Sail(5 Lessons/2.5hrs) $125.00 $1,747.51 $1,622.51
Therapeutic Services—Aftercare Daily[2] $15.00 $31.85 $16.85
[1]Amounts shown derived from Table 1.
[2] As previously noted the cost allocation did assume therapeutic services would be
allocated indirectly to other cost centers. Amounts shown reflect a sample service offered
and adjusted based on the following relationship of identified costs and associated revenues
for services:
-FY15 Budget Annual Expenses Less Donations=$197,700
-FY15 Budget Fee Revenues=$93,100
-Difference=$104,600 or 112%as Percent of Revenues
As can be seen above, many of the existing fees require material increases in order to generate
sufficient revenues from fees to cover 100% of the allocated program expenses. The calculated
fees are based on the required percentage increase to offset any contribution of revenues to fund
the respective program from other sources including general fund subsidies. However, it should
be noted that in many'cases it is not the intent to recover full cost from user fees alone recognizing
that the services or facilities or both may provide a community oriented benefit. For example, it is
not typical to see admission charged to neighborhood parks, whereas it is common to see charges
for instructional classes.
(Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank)
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In order to provide additional information the following comparison of fees charged by the County
and several surveyed:
Parks and Recreational Fee Survey Summary Ill
City of Cape Palm Beach
Description County Coral Lee County County
Aquatics Fees Res./Nonres.
Adult Daily Pool Entrance $1.00-$2.50 $3.00/$4.50 $2.00 $0.93-$3.25
Swim Lessons(4 Hours of Instruction) $40.00 $50.00/$75.00 $50.00 $55.00
Fitness Class(1 Hour of Instruction) $7.00 $1.00/$3.50 $5.00 N/A
Water Park Adult Daily Entrance $12.00[2] $14.95/$17.95 N/A $10.30
Childcare Res./Nonres.
After School Care(Weekly) $25.00 $30.00/$30.00 $5.00 $10.00
No School Care(Daily) $15.00 $26.00/$39.00 $15.00-$20.00 $15.00 to$25.00
Camps Res./Nonres.
Summer Camp(Weekly) $66.00-$85.00 $89.00/$89.00 $75.00 $85.00-$95.00
Spring Break Camp(Weekly) $85.00 N/A $75.00 $100.00
Winter Break Camp(Weekly) $45.00-$60.00 $75.00/$75.00 N/A $60.00-$140.00
Fitness Facilities Res./Nonres.
Adult Membership(Monthly) [3] $15.83 N/A $10.00-$20.00 N/A
Fitness Class(1 Hour) $5.00-$7.00 $4.00/$8.00 $3.00-$8.75 $5.00-$8.00
Parking Beach/Marina
Beach Daily $8.00[4] N/A $5.00-$10.00 $16.00-$24.00[5]
Beach Annual Pass $50.00[4] $50.00 $60.00 $35.00
Marina Daily $10.00 $10.00 $5.00-$10.00 $10.00
[1]Amounts shown derived from Table 2.
[2]County provides a$2 discount to County residents with valid identification.
[3]For additional information a survey of private fitness facility membership fees was performed:
Planet Fitness=$15.00 Monthly;L.A.Fitness=$30 Monthly;and YMCA=$50 Monthly.
[4]Amounts shown for non-residents;County provides free access to County residents through permit application.
[5]Palm Beach County charges parking by hour.For comparison purposes amounts shown assume 8 hours for daily fee.
As can be seen above, the County's fees are generally reasonable or less than other entities
surveyed. However, a market based fee comparison alone is not sufficient to indicate a need to
increase a fee.Marketing of programs,as well as,program participation should also be considered
prior to making a determination for the increase in any fees.
Preliminary Recommendations or Considerations:
• The existing fees for the Department do not recover full program costs, however are
considered reasonable based on results of the fee survey. No changes to the existing fee
levels are currently recommended recognizing that consideration should be made towards
development of a cost recovery policy for user fees. The policy is intended to identify
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parameters for categorizing services among a range of cost recovery levels. Based on the
findings of a survey of cost recovery policies by other parks and recreational departments
found a common methodology being to assign filters such as community benefit versus
individual benefit, demand and market conditions or other factors in evaluating cost
recovery for user fees. Attached to this report as Appendix A is a sample policy and
philosophy for cost recovery adopted by the City of Alexandria Virginia. Please reference
the printed page 5 -6 for an example of the classification of services among five(5)primary
cost recovery tiers.
• In order to provide Department staff with guidance concerning the formulation of fees and
recognizing the complexity in the allocation cost and design of fees, it is recommended
that a simplified methodology be recognized. In development of the fee methodology for
determining the full cost of service we would recommend the following cost identification
and fee development formula:
Identified direct cost of service (e.g., personnel, utility, materials supplies, insurance,
maintenance, hourly facility costs, etc.);
PLUS
Allowance for indirect costs(e.g.,Department Administration)determined by the ratio
of total Department indirect costs relative to total applicable Department costs. The
total applicable Department costs would exclude the indirect costs and other costs
funded through other dedicated revenues and contributions(i.e.,Conservation Collier).
SUM DIVIDED BY
Identified Billing Units measured as either participants, patrons, time or other unit of
measure assumed in the application of the fee.
QUOTIENT MULTIPLIED BY
Targeted cost recovery factor to adjust the fee based on market conditions, demand,
and program objective and/or other consideration as may be determined by Department
Administration or as may be set by cost recovery policy.
• Consider adoption of an automatic price index which may be annually applied to existing
fees to account for the general inflation in operating expenses. It is recommended that the
index be tied to year-over-year change in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for either
Miami-Dade or All South Urban Consumers or other representative inflation based index.
The automatic index is recommended to be capped at no less than 0% and no greater than
5%for a given year. The automatic index should also allow for discretion as to which fees
may be increased to provide consideration for the recommended fee formula or future cost
recovery policy.
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