Pool admission prices a bit chilling at first
For Warren County residents eagerly waiting to take their first dip in McMinnville’s new city pool, they better remember to bring their swimsuits — and their wallets.
Based on fees recommended Monday night by the Parks and Recreation Committee, adults who live outside McMinnville city limits will be paying $2 more to enter the pool than the last time it was open. Other rate increases include $1.50 more for children and seniors who live outside McMinnville city limits and $1 more for adults who live inside the city limits.
In other fee-raising action, city officials lowered the age requirements for children’s admission. Children 7-and-under used to be able to pay the child’s rate. Now, that age limit has been dropped to 5-and-under.
Another notable aspect of the fee schedule is the “processing fee” which now accompanies season pool passes. Anyone who wants to buy a pass for the entire summer now has to pay an extra fee city officials have affectionately dubbed a “processing fee.”
While pool prices may be in line with other forms of entertainment, they are still considerably higher than local residents are accustomed to paying to swim. It could be argued that a trip to the movies would cost a family of four close to $20, and now a trip to the city pool will be no different. It could be argued a trip to the skating rink is climbing up in price, and so should a trip to the pool.
However, the movie theater and local skating centers aren’t subsidized by taxpayer dollars. And it should also be noted Parks and Recreation shouldn’t confuse itself as a for-profit business. In actuality, it is more like a public service.
It’s true that when complete, McMinnville will have a dazzling new pool in which we can all be proud. But it’s also true a number of residents are going to roll their eyes when they learn the entry fees to that pool have soared.
Perhaps it’s the little things which are more bothersome than anything else. After all, a rate increase for the new pool was expected.
But few people figured their 6-year-old would now be expected to pay adult admission prices. Using the city’s logic, anyone old enough to attend the first grade is now an adult.
What’s just as unappealing is a $20 “processing fee.” If a family is going to fork over $275 for a summer pool pass, that $275 is their processing fee.
And what sort of work is done for that $20 processing fee? Our guess is a city worker — who is already sitting behind the Civic Center front desk in the first place — has to turn around and place your pool application in a three-ring binder. That’s hardly worth an extra $20.
Yes, the Civic Center is well on its way to having a very nice pool and as Mayor Royce Davenport put it, the city now has a much better product to sell. But the idea of a recreation department is not milking children for money, but rather providing them with worthwhile activities. Yes admission prices were expected to increase, but some of these moves appear to have the city’s financial interests ahead of the community’s interests.