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Council mulls dropping pool entrance fees

Posted 10/20/21

The Fayette City Council will entertain the idea of eliminating admission fees for the city pool.

The council discussed the matter during its regular meeting on Tuesday, October 12.

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Council mulls dropping pool entrance fees

Posted

The Fayette City Council will entertain the idea of eliminating admission fees for the city pool.

The council discussed the matter during its regular meeting on Tuesday, October 12.

 Initially, the parks department recommended a small increase in rates. But Northwest Ward Alderman Jeremey Dawson suggested the city eliminate them altogether to better partner with the free splash park currently being constructed adjacent to the pool. He suggested the city ask for donations from local businesses to make up for that revenue loss.

“I would like to look at making the pool free,” he said. “See what we would have to come up with in donations and pledges from area businesses.

“We’ve got one shot to do this splash park right, and to actually make it a draw in the Fayette park,” he said.

Dawson opined that a free pool would draw users from outside the community who would then frequent local businesses and even move to Fayette. “They like our free pool, our free park, they move their family here. It’s one of the few things that we have to offer as a town, as a city.”

Currently admission costs are $2.50 for adults and $2 for children. Family passes are $80 and 20-punch passes are $35. The parks department suggested a 50-cent increase on daily admissions and increases of $5 on passes. Several businesses sponsor yearly pool passes that are given out to low-income families each year.

Municipal pools traditionally lose money. Fayette lost $12,521 during the 2021 season, far less than previous years. In total, the city collected $6,207.64 in admission fees this year, and $1,592.45 in concessions revenues.

“If we make it free, we’re going to have to figure out how to make that up,” said Danny Dougherty, Fayette’s director of public works.

Dougherty called the maintenance and chemical costs for this year “outrageous.”

Dawson suggested, and the council agreed, to send the proposal to the parks board, which will weigh the consequences against revenues and expenditures, and other figures. Dawson volunteered and was appointed to the parks board.

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