Brandon Twp.- Township officials will soon make a pitch regarding an increased recreation fee to their counterparts in Groveland Township. But whether it will be a hit remains to be seen.
Township Supervisor Ron Lapp and the board of trustees plan to ask the Groveland Township Board to increase their $15,000 annual contribution to the Brandon Parks and Recreation Department to $42,000 annually.
‘I’m not trying to be vindictive,? said Lapp at the township’s board meeting Nov. 5. ‘But our township pays for Groveland kids to participate… It’s not even close. Equity should be our goal.?
Groveland Township Supervisor Bob DePalma doubts he and the Groveland board will be able to meet the request.
‘Our revenue has gone down like everyone else’s,? DePalma said. ‘Forty-two thousand dollars is more than we spend per year on gravelling the roads for the whole township.?
Lapp notes that what Groveland offers to pay for maintenance of the recreation department hasn’t been fair for awhile, but the township let it go because sports were being played on school fields. However, they will be played on fields at the new township park at Oakwood and Hadley roads when it officially opens May 17, 2008. The township board is considering how they will fund maintenance of the park, which Lapp estimates could be as much as $50,000 annually.
The $15,000 Groveland contributes annually is 7 percent of the $210,720 cost that Brandon pays to maintain the department, including salary, wages and benefits for employees. Yet, a recent participation study by Brandon found that from fall 2006 to fall 2007, Groveland had 388 residents participate in recreation programs, comprising 477 registrations, 20 percent of the total registrations (2,434).
‘It’s unfair that Brandon residents support the programs through their tax dollars and Groveland uses (recreation) for free,? said Lapp. ‘We run a very good recreation department and offer a lot of good opportunities. We’re building a first-class park and it’s time that (Groveland residents) pay an equitable amount to support recreation.?
Lapp said that if Groveland won’t give a flat rate of $42,000, another option may be a user fee for each participant. He suggested $89 annually in addition to the standard fee all participants pay for programs. Brandon Board Trustee Tom Stowell proposed allowing a $150 fee for families to buy into the system per year.
A sub-committee will discuss these options and give a recommendation to Lapp before giving a presentation to the Groveland board.
‘We welcome Groveland kids, but (Groveland officials) need to do the right thing and support services their residents use,? said Lapp. ‘Reasonable people will look at this and make reasonable decisions.?
DePalma said the per family participant fee might be an option.
‘We’ll certainly hear what they have to say,? he said. ‘Off hand, I don’t know what we can come up with. I understand what they’re asking. It’s their recreation department, not ours. They certainly have to make decisions regarding how to run it.?