The fees for admission and options for passes at Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) facilities have recently changed.
At the Aug. 19 meeting, the RDCK Board of Directors approved new charges for drop-in, single-use, punch passes, and time-based memberships. Thes changes will be reflected at the local Creston & District Community Complex.
Increase in admission fees
As of Sept. 7, a single admission for adults under 75 is $7, youth ages five to 18 costs $3.50, and children under five get in free along with those 75 and up. Family units pay $14.
At a discounted price, there are also options to buy passes for one to six months or 10 single admissions. For an adult, it costs $63 for 10 single admissions, $47.25 for one month, $160.65 for three months, or $283.50 for six months.
A one-year membership pass is not available at this time, but RDCK staff is said to be reworking the pass for the future.
“These new fees have been calculated to be consistent for recreation facilities and services across the district, providing greater transparency and ability to evaluate the financial performance of services so we can deliver better value and better experiences,” said Joe Chirico, RDCK General Manager of Community Services.
“Recreation services at the RDCK are funded through a combination of user fees and taxation, so that recreation is subsidized by the community for the benefit of the community. User fees allow us to recover some of the cost of providing the services that our communities value.”
The fees were calculated by RDCK staff based upon 2017 actual financial performance. Within those calculations, the average base cost of recreation services is $14 per individual per use of aquatic, fitness, and arena drop-in programming per day.
User fees recover part of that cost, while the remainder is paid for by the community through taxation.
Cost recovery rates differ for each age category. For preschool children under five years old and for seniors over age 75, there is no cost recovery, which means recreation is 100 per cent supported by the community. The cost recovery rate for youth aged five to 18 is 25 per cent, with 75 per cent community support. For adults aged 19 to 74, the recovery rate is 50 per cent.
Two previous fee categories, student and senior, have now been combined with the youth and adult categories.
Lowered costs for children and seniors
To continue with the RDCK’s goal of reducing barriers to children and youth for recreation, the fees are now lower across all services for those age ranges.
“Eliminating the fee for children under five takes some of the burden off young families to participate in recreation, and redistributes cost recovery in a way that is fair and equitable,” said Chirico.
The “Golden Guest” category has also been lowered from 80 to 75 years, providing more individuals with fully subsidized admission.
To view the new fees and charges, visit the “Policies & Procedures” page at www.rdck.ca/recreation.
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