Why We Have Park Entrance Fees

There has been a lot of discussion over the last 2 years about park fees, and why we have them.  Some wrongly assume that this is just a money grab by the County.

This is an important discussion to have.  The simple answer to why we have park fees is, park fees enable us to fund our parks in a sustainable way.  I am not a big fan of having park fees, but understanding how they protect our parks is critical.

My Background in Valuing Parks
To understand why I value parks, you need to look at my childhood, and a couple of key experiences.

1. I grew up in Greendale, a community that was designed by Eleanor Roosevelt.  When it was designed, she embedded a system of parks into the very fabric of the community.  She designed it to be a small rural community, with four small housing sections.  Each section was divided from the others by a small parkway, most with walking paths, and the entire original village was surrounded by a ring of trees.  As the village grew, the County embedded several parks into the growing community, including the Root River Parkway, Scout Lake, the Wehr Nature Center, Whitnall Park, and the Boerner Botanical Gardens.  Those parks were an essential part of my childhood.  Scout Lake was within walking distance of my home, and I often explored the park during summer vacation.

2. I also grew up with family trips to Muskego Park every year.  We would go once or twice a year.  Admittedly, I am going from memory (and my memory as a child) but I recall us buying a daily pass each time we went.  Muskego Park is part of the Waukesha County Park System, which has for decades had park entrance fees.  Those park fees enable them to sustain and grow their parks.  Muskego Park had a great beach with lifeguards, a beach that would be packed on hot summer weekends (with people who all paid the park fee).  It also had camping, hiking and horse trails, and various picnic areas.  Muskego Park was and still is a destination in Waukesha County, as are many of the county's other parks. 

How Do We Fund Our Parks?

Right now, we really have 2 ways to fund our parks.

1. Tax levy
2. Park Fees

Funding our parks through the tax levy is becoming inherently risky.  Each year we are cutting more than a million dollars from our budget.  Parks are a non-mandated service, meaning we don't have to have parks (though I believe we should have parks).  Mandated services are increasingly eating up more and more of our budget.  Funding the parks through the tax levy makes it easy for the parks to be cut entirely from the budget, and I don't want that.  Parks are essential to a thriving community.

Funding the parks through entrance fees is a proven model for ensuring that we continue to have parks.  It does require us to invest in our parks with amenities that people are willing to pay for.  So far, we have put in a wedding barn at Glacier Hills, a dog park at Homestead Hollow, and a new disc golf course at Sandy Knoll.  The dog park and wedding barn have proven to be particularly well-utilized.  We are currently looking at adding another wedding barn and dog park, and long term would like to add a campground and other high-demand amenities to our park system.  Following this model, funding for our parks will never be in doubt.

Milwaukee has been discussing how to fund their parks, and whether or not to sell off major parks.  https://www.cbs58.com/news/group-posts-for-sale-signs-posted-in-milwaukee-county-parks.  While we have sold off some land that had been designated for future parks, we want to protect our priority parks.  Park fees enable us to do that.

The reality is, good parks are worth paying for, and park fees ensure the future of our parks.  While park fees are not popular, while I wish we didn't need them, and while they are new in Washington County, preserving our parks is critical.  I am open to any other alternatives for funding our parks, but I understand the unsustainability and danger that comes with relying on the tax levy.