September 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 52

MASTERING REVENUE

best price. We are very
low priced. But we do
cover expenses. "
Springfield-Greene County
does not have annual or monthly
passes but uses daily fees or charges
for special events. Fees haven't changed
that much, according to Adams, who says,
" We have a very diversely funded system, and
no area contributes an inordinate amount. By next year
we will be fully sustainable as far as operational costs. "

Maximize Usage
Some parks directors consider usage a key to successful fee-based systems.
Bill Beckner, NRPA research manager, formerly
headed up the Fairfax County, Virginia, parks department in the early 1990s when the population of
the Washington suburb had swollen to more than one
million. He recalls " honing fees and charges to the
'nth' degree. " He says, " One important thing I learned
is that, generally speaking, increasing participation is
more revenue positive than increasing fees. "
Usage is key in Springfield-Greene County, Adams says, noting, " Last year, 2.8 million people

came through the 72 cost collection points. "
" If managers are looking to increase revenues, " Beckner says, " it's
more effective to look at utilization of the
facilities to see what spaces are being used
to their optimum and then fi nd people to fill
those space. Thus, you increase either the annual
passes or daily passes, always looking to increase
the number of people coming through the door. "
When he started in Fairfax County, the system
was running at about a 66 percent revenue-to-cost
ratio. By conducting utilization studies and determining the market for services, the system cost recovery rose by more than 100 percent. For a number
of years, the county employed differential pricing-
dependent on time of entry. They dropped that practice because the facilities became so heavily used
it didn't matter when customers came-2 p.m. or 7
p.m.-they were always full, Beckner explains.
" It's not good to increase fees once introduced,
because every time you increase the fee, you will
see a reduction of participation, " Beckner says.
" Because we never raised fees, the fees never became a public issue. "

Think Big, Go Long
special NrPA summit will address the future of parks and recreation.
histoRY shoWs that innovation and new paradigms grow best
out of times of challenge and adversity. Recognizing the profound
impacts of the Great Recession on parks and recreation, nRPa
will hold a special roundtable september 27 in Washington, D.C.
nRPa has partnered with the highly respected urban institute
to convene this event in cooperation with the national association of Counties and the national league of Cities for this invitation-only roundtable. titled " Financing the Future: the Critical
Role of Parks in urban and Metropolitan infrastructure, " the
roundtable will bring together an influential group of decisionmakers, researchers, and practitioners to examine the role of
parks and recreation in urban and metropolitan infrastructure.
among the goals of this roundtable summit are to create an
agenda for research to lead the way for developing and maintaining long-term sustainable funding sources for public parks. Discussion sessions at this working roundtable will cover:
■■ the critical role of parks and recreation facilities as a component of urban and metropolitan infrastructure;
■■ the challenges and opportunities created by demographic,
economic, and policy trends sweeping the country; and

50 Parks & Recreation

SEPTEMBER 2011

www.NRPA .ORG

the best emerging strategies for funding and managing
parks in a time of tight fiscal constraints.
" this roundtable summit comes at a critical time for public
parks and recreation, " says barbara tulipane, nRPa Ceo. " the
very future of parks and recreation depends on answers sought
from this problem-solving discussion. "
the conference stresses multi-disciplinary points of view. Participants have been invited from the fields of public health, real estate
and development, urban planning, social equity, youth development,
commercial business entrepreneurs, parks and recreation, environment and conservation, public infrastructure, finance and tax policy,
education, foundations, and elected officials. Former Washington,
D.C., Mayor anthony Williams will deliver the opening remarks.
Following the summit, nRPa and the urban institute will look
to create a " field-building " agenda for research to guide local,
state, and federal policy decisions for investments in parks and
recreation in an era of population growth, demographic change,
and severe fiscal constraints. Depending on results, nRPa and
the urban institute may plan a full summit in 2013 or early 2014.
For more information on the summit, visit www.nrpa.org.

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September 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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