Users of Greater Vernon's recreation facilities were hit by an unexpected hike in fees Thursday. Greater Vernon Services Commission members voted to increase 2006/07 fees and charges by five per cent, although staff had only been recommending 3.5 per cent. "By going five per cent rather than 3.5 per cent in most instances, we will see an improvement in the financial situation," said director Barry Beardsell. Beardsell lobbied for staff's recommendation to be abandoned because he felt it didn't address projected increases in inflation or the financial impact of providing services. "Have we gone high enough because if we haven't, it's another year of being behind the eight-ball," he said. "It's finally time to set a direction where we go more than the inflation rate. We're not gaining ground." While the general rate hike for 2006/07 will be five per cent, there are some exceptions. Fees at the arenas will climb three per cent as part of GVSC's contract with Recreation Excellence, while field user fees will go from $12 to $15 an hour per field for adults and $5 to $6 for youth. As part of the budget process, staff looked at other communities and their recreation fees. "With the arenas, we're close to average, parks we're probably high and with pools, we're average," said Al McNiven, parks and recreation administrator. "We shouldn't be tying our fees to someone else's coat tails. Other communities don't do the same things we do," said director Cliff Kanester.
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