The details
These discussions are still in the early stages but it was proposed that residents keep paying a $90 registration fee while nonresidents see a $10 increase. This would bring registration fees for nonresidents to $115 per individual.
Ray McDonald III, director of the city’s parks and recreation department, pitched the idea at the Oct. 17 meeting with Roanoke’s Parks and Recreation Board after it was brought up at a previous meeting. The city doesn’t have the space it needs to run the league in its recreation centers, so it rents facilities from local school districts, McDonald said.
He added that the city is hoping to recoup some of the costs of renting from the facilities by increasing participation fees for nonresidents. McDonald said 92% of the people who participate in the city leagues do not reside in Roanoke.
“Ultimately, our goal is we want to offer great programs and service, but we want to at least try to break even on those that we offer,” McDonald said during the meeting.
What they're saying
Some board members said such a change could make sense. McDonald said in an email he’s still looking into the proposed change but nothing has been approved yet.
“Upon speaking with the city manager regarding the proposed change, we agreed that further research and discussion would be needed at this time before any changes are made or recommended to council,” McDonald said. “I'm in the process of gathering more data and working with our finance director to see if it's even feasible.”
