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8 / Elk River Star ~,lews / Wednesday, September 3, 1997 Recreation Continued from page 1 the ra~e jump from $3.73 to $4.35 is because Zimmerman and Livonia ~' backed out." ~ Council Member Vern Heidner said, "But iY there's people back- ing out, you would think there Would be less work Jeff Asfahl for the people there to do. So you should get a percentage drop. '~rhere was a 12 percent drop in overall participation, yet there was a 6 percent increase," Heidner continued. "So, there's an 18 percent dif- ference. There's fewer people being served, yet they're rais- ing the rates." Wendel then made a motion to drop out of the program. Council Member Suzanne Ackerman seconded. Heidner commented that under the joint powers agree- ment, Otsego's tie to the pro- gram would be officially sev- ered only after a six-month notification period had elapsed. "If you look at the $23,000 that they want us to pay, I don't think we could do it any cheaper," Heidner said. "But at the same time only 14 per- cent of the participants in the program were from Otsego. But we're paying 18 percent or 22 percent of the total bill." Berning, who was the only council member to vote against dropping out of the program, said Elk River pays 58 percent. Heidner replied, "What it bells down to is Elk River and Otsego pay more than what their residents are using. Only 10 percent of our people are using it. Last year 800 .eople used it and it cost us 18,000. Now 610 people use it and it's costing us $23,000." Fournier said, "If we drop out our residents can still !~ar- ticipate in the activities, they would pay a higher fee though, but on the average it's about $9. What I like about that is that the users are pay- ing for the privilege to be in those programs rather than everyone paying. I support Otsego Parks and Recreation will discuss recreation program The Otsego City Council will meet with the Otsego Parks and Recreation Board to discuss Community Recreation at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Otsego City Hall. Otsego sent a letter to Cormnunity Recreation last week stating that it was dropping out Of the program due to the cost. users paying for things." Berning said as the repre- sentative to the group he wan~ed the council's concerns written down so that he could present them to the Community Recreation board. 'That's what Hassan Township did," Bernlng said. "From the indications I get they are going to stay im And you might reconsider your decision to drop out. You've got six months to think about it." Heidner said, '~V[y problem is that the per capita costs should be going down and the fees that the people pay should go up. I have no prob- leto that we should still stay part of it, if'we can stay in at a lower rate and raise the prices more. I'm also a firm believer in the user pays principle." Berning said the communi- ties pay for the administration fees associated with the activ- ities. Participants pay for the cost of the activity for which they register. Wendel withdrew her motion. She then made a motion to send a letter to Community Recreation stat- lng the council's intent to drop out of the program because of the high cost and to request a reduced rate. Ackerman sec- onded. "Whatever we do, if we are t~inking about it, we should notify them right away because that preserves some of' our rights so that we don't have to pay for another whole year," Heidner said. ~The orig- inal motion was more appro- priate." So Wendel withdrew her sec- ond motion and restated her firs.t motion te drop Out, which passed 4-1. Council members then unan- imously v°/ed to submit their concerns to the Community Recreation Board. "rhe board makes 'the deci-' sions on the costs," Asfahl said. "Otsego obvionsly didn't get any community input when they made this decision. The people in the community are the ones that benefit and we get good marks from them. "As far as the exact number of Otsego residents who are using the service is concerned, we're not investigators," he said. "We don't know for sure. Many Otsego residents have Elk River addresses. So, it's hard to tell. There could be many more O~sego residents using the program than the council thinks." HoJrrJ ren , Continued from page 1 will stay in it. We have to look at it." Holmgren said, "We want to keep them in the program but if they decide in six months they don't want to be in the pro- Holmgren gram, the Recreation Board will look at charging surcharges to com- munities who are not mem- bers of the Community Recreation system." The board will have this matter on the agenda. Otsego's decision is impor- tant because Zirnmerman and Livonia have dropped out of the program. Hassan Township has also indicated it wants to drop out after six months. This leaves only Rogers, Dayton and Elk River. Despite Zimmerman and Livonia's decision tn leave, the total number of young people registering is grow- lng. Zimmerman sponsored its own recreation program, spending $13,250 tJ~is year, compared to the $7,038 it would have been charged had it been a member of the Community Rec. Board. Zimmerman said it had lower fees and offered 11 more programs this summer than were offered last su~n- met by Community Recreation. Zirnmerman had 496 par- ticipants in its summer pro- The need for the recreation programs is not going away, said Holrngren. The funding mechanism may change, meaning people not in the program will have to pay more to use it.