Cordova council members back 25% nonprofit fee for city pool and ball fields

Cordova City Council members agreed Thursday to propose charging nonprofits 25% of the cost of exclusive use of city facilities starting in 2027, with the city covering the other 75%. It would be the first fee the Iceworm Swim Team and Cordova Little League have paid to use the pool and ball fields.

The council took no formal vote at the work session. The rate would still need to go into the 2027 fee schedule, which the council sets each year before the budget.

The council took up the question Oct. 21, when staff laid out a snapshot of about $45,000 a year in free nonprofit use of city facilities and offered options that included phasing a fee in over three years. Members on Thursday settled on a flat rate instead.

Discussion lasted more than an hour, with proposals from 10% to 75%. Council member Kasey Kinsman proposed splitting costs 50-50. "I would say full pass and 35% of the cost," council member Aaron Hansen said. Another member backed the 50-50 split. A third called that too high, citing last year's fishing season and local prices, and offered 25% as a ceiling.

One council member opposed charging the two groups at all, saying they serve most of Cordova's children and the city should subsidize them. She said she did not support the 25% rate.

Kinsman said the rate would apply to all nonprofits, not only youth groups, and said the city's 75% share falls to "the taxpayers of our community." He said any break for youth programs would need criteria set later.

Members also agreed swimmers would no longer need an annual pool pass to join the swim team. The city's 2026 fee schedule lists an annual recreation pass including pool entry at $702 and a $5 daily pool pass.

City staff estimated Iceworm's use in its most recent season at $38,880 in rental fees, based on six days a week before the pool closed, and Little League's use this year at $6,644. Kinsman called the swim figure "the top end" and said use will be lower now because the pool lacks staff and the team may not have the same demand. "We know it's not going to be $40,000," he said.

Under the 2026 fee schedule, verified nonprofits may rent facilities "at a discounted rate of 25% of the standard" rate. Two council members described that Thursday as a 25% discount, with nonprofits paying 75%, the high end of Thursday's proposals. Kinsman said the council set it aside after later discussions, and neither group has paid. Members said the new rate will be revisited each year with the fee schedule.