County Parks Fees & Charges – Online Reservation System

TO: Human Resources Committee Margaret McAvoy, Administrator/Controller FROM: Sue Ann Kopmeyer, Parks & Recreation Director DAY/DATE: Wednesday – October 7, 2020 RE: County Parks Fees & Charges – Online Reservation System BACKGROUND Fees and charges are applied to utilize some of the park campgrounds, pavilions, beaches, boat launch and hiking trails. Three (3) of the eight (8) County Parks have fees and charges applied for camping and general park entry. Park fees are reviewed by the Isabella County Parks and Recreation Commission Board, each year. Last year, it was reviewed and approved by the Board of Commissioners to accept the proposal of the online reservation company, CivicPlus (aka CivicRec) to replace the existing PARCS program which is presently being used to make all reservations in person or via phone. This new online system will have an annual cost of ~$7,400 (2020 set up cost $15,000). This is a new expense and to assist with offsetting the annual online reservation cost and credit card fees we propose to have a $5 service fee charged for all reservations made through CivicPlus. At the October 2020 Parks Board Meeting the Parks Commission Board passed a motion to propose to the County Board of Commissioners to approve this service fee of $5. ALTERNATIVES Do not have this fee as part of the new online reservation system and not offset the online reservation costs. FINANCIAL IMPACT All revenues from the service fee will help offset the online cost and credit card fees associated for park campground reservations. RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Move to approve a service fee of $5 for all County Park online reservation effective November 1, 2020.

ATTACHMENTS

1. CivicPlus Contract

Isabella County Staff Report