Cordova council weighs charging nonprofits for city recreation facilities

The Cordova City Council on Wednesday weighed whether to charge nonprofits for using city parks and recreation facilities, use that Parks and Recreation Director Samantha Hagerthy-Schneider puts at about $45,000 in a typical year. The council made no decision. The outcome will help set Cordova's 2027 fee schedule.

The city's 2026 fee schedule lets verified nonprofits rent facilities at 25% of the standard rate, but that fee is on hold for reevaluation. Hagerthy-Schneider's memo lays out three options: keep nonprofit use free, have nonprofits pay a share the council sets, or phase in a contribution from 2027 through 2029.

Mayor Kristin Smith said the figure could reach $55,000 if the city adds staff and hours. She and City Manager Sam Greenwood said it leaves out permanent staff and indirect costs such as insurance.

Staffing is already tight at the pool. It has $25,000 budgeted this year for temporary staff, enough for about 1,033 hours, the memo says. Keeping its current reduced schedule through 2027 would take about 3,926 hours. The high school swim team's practices have been cut from six days a week to three. The pool's hours had already hit the limit of its temporary staff budget, Alaska News reported Sept. 29.

Hagerthy-Schneider said she emailed the Little League board three times after the council asked in April for a meeting, and has not heard back. "The intent was to have a meeting prior to budget so that we knew what we were doing," said Council Member Aaron Hansen.

Council Member Mike Mickelson suggested an in-kind match, such as the Ice Worm swim team providing a lifeguard. Hagerthy-Schneider said the city began staffing its own lifeguards for the team and school swimmers around 2022 because of "some incidents that were not good." She said she would train volunteer lifeguards who complete the city's onboarding, which includes drug testing and a background check.

Council Member David Zastrow said any in-kind arrangement would have to be managed as strictly as money. "Consistency is huge," he said, adding that he leans toward phasing in a contribution.

The Ice Worm team usually starts in November, but Smith and Greenwood said the city doesn't have the staff for that this year. Hagerthy-Schneider said no one had asked yet for pool hours.

The council takes up the question again at its Oct. 29 work session.