Let me first say that, in general, I have no problem with funding public ventures with user fees as opposed to taxes. There are often perfectly good reasons to do so, and we probably could expand our use of user fees in several areas.
Take the oodles of fee increases proposed by Parks and Rec. Most of them are wholly reasonable, if occasionally regrettable. Lincolnites have insisted time and again that they don't want their taxes raised; charging an extra $5 for Parks and Rec summer camps as a result isn't such a terrible outcome.
The one fee increase that really concerns me -- and I'm sure it concerns a lot of folks -- is the proposed Pioneers Park Nature Center admission fee. The Nature Center is currently free. The new fee would "likely [be] in the $4 range". I don't necessarily mind charging a fee, but four bucks? Ouch! That's an awfully steep increase from free. I have a very difficult time imagining my family forking over $12 to go walk through the trees. We can do that for free at, say, Wilderness Park. And the educational opportunities? We have a zoo pass.
Which isn't to say that I don't understand the difficult position Parks and Rec is in. I just can't imagine many families forking over that kind of cash for what will be perceived by most people, I think, as an insufficient return on their investment. I think a $1 or $2 fee could fly. If they do stick with the $4 amount I suspect they will really need to work on making the experience worth the money. What will that entail? I'm not entirely certain. I'm fairly confident that the current amenities won't be considered "worth it" for most Lincolnites. Are they right? It doesn't matter. What matters is whether they show up in great enough numbers to cover the budget.
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I rarely go to Pioneers park, but I can guarantee I’d never go if a fee was charged. Perhaps they could charge a fee (like, .50 each) for some of the features- like the nature center, etc? And I don’t know if they do this already, but they could look at the fees they charge for events in the park. I know the columns are a popular wedding location.
I’ve been looking forward to biking down to pioneers park now that I live closer, but having to stop and pay a fee to get in - well, that would kind of spoil the experience.
Don’t confuse the Nature Center with Pioneers Park itself. The Nature Center is just a portion at the far side of the park. The rest of the park—the cross country course, the sled run, Smoke Signal, the playgrounds, etc.—would be free just like every other city park.
I agree with Mr. W. I am befuddled why you would raise a fee from free to $4 - surely that will keep people away more than anything. Small fees that can be absorbed by the average family should be considered to help pay for the things we love. All in all, I am a fan of user fees rather than taxes. Small fees, with large volume, will be better than huge fees with small volumes of users.
Of course, I would use the same logic with movie theaters. My kids saw a movie yesterday morning for $3, including popcorn. The theater was so full they added a second screen. You cannot tell me that theaters couldn’t increase their business by showing movies and selling snacks to more people for less money than they currently do. Wouldn’t a packed theater at $3 be better than one with 20 people in it paying full price?
oh, I missed that. Yeah, $4 seems really high for just the nature center. There was a similar one in the park where I lived in California, I believe they had a $1 admission fee when I went back (though it was voluntary, you put money in a box as you entered).
I don’t think movie theaters actually get to keep much of the money they charge- if they charged much less, they’d have to pay to show a film.
The plan Karin described seems much better to me.
Perhaps for the cost of the film, but you get raked over the coals for snacks and drinks. Can one live without? Absolutely. Sadly, in my household, it’s not a movie without popcorn.
Stiff me for the popcorn, or the soda, but not both. Put combo packages together. $10 for a matinee and a decent sized drink and popcorn. I’d do that all the time.
I have not bought snacks at a movie theater in years. It helps that I don’t like movie theater popcorn - it always makes me feel a little sick. We occasionally sneak in a candy bar, but generally just go without. We only go to maybe 4-5 movies a year, though.
I always reply in the wrong place. This was supposed to be in reply to Fletch above. 😛
Does the $4 fee just apply to the building or also to the trails across the road with the spice garden, suspension bridge, etc? Because if it encompasses the latter there is no way I’m going to fork over $4 to go run in there ever again.
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