Memo - OverPass Skate Park Rates
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'.
Facilities Division
Memo
To:
From:
Honorable. Mayor.and Members. of the City Council
Jay Strachota,.. Facilities Director
Steve Mielke,.. City Manager
Steve Stadler, Public Works Director
KathleenTaber, Depot/Overpass Manager
03/22/01
Overpass. Skate Park Rates 2001
cc:
Date:
Re:
During the Council's discussion of the reciprocal. rate agreement with S1. Louis Park
forthe Overpass Skate Park at the February 6, 2001 council meeting, council
members expressedconcemabout the cost of admission to the Skate Park.. Since
that meeting staff has reviewed. the admission rates history, . how rates are currently
meeting the financial needs of the Skate Park, how rates and . attendance. will affect
the Skate Park in the future. This memo will detail the information from these
discussions and outline the strategies for the 2001 season and .an admissions. rate
adjustment option forthe City Council to consider.
Backaround
The original Overpass. Skate Park rates were recommended and approved by both
the .Park Board. and. the.. City Council in April. of 2000. The. recommended rates .were
the results of work by a task force and staff. The taskforce induded a representative
from the Hopkins/Minnetonka.. Recreation Department, Park. Board Members, . city
staff and several areayouth~The task force reviewed . local rates of skate park
. facilities, considered projected. attendance figures and estimated facility. expenses to
arrive at the recommended rates. Attendance, expenses, and revenues all came in
very close to projections for the 2000 season.
In April of 2000, the City Council also approved the Overpass Skate Park as an
Enterprise Fund. Costs of operation where projected to be offset by the revenues
produced from sales of memberships,. daily. admissions and concessions.
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Current rates and Skate Park financial needs
The. Skate Park budget for 2001 projects excess in revenues over expenses of
$2,164.
The revenue projection is based on an attendance increase of 150AJ, and a $10.00
increase in the annual membership fee (daily admissions rate unchanged).
In general, attendance during. the "prime time" hours was at. a manageable level
during the 2000 season. Many participants would stay for 6 hours or more, and visit
the park up t07 days a week. Estimated capacity of the park is about 80 participants
at anyone time. At 80 participants and below, skaters are able to move about the
park safely and are able to use the equipment without having to spend much time
waiting. There is capacity to increase participation by 15% during prime time hours.
The expense side of the budget includes the addition of an on site drinking fountain,
storage lockers for skater's belongings, a computer for admissions record keeping,
and a drop safe for keeping of daily admission fees. These are necessary
improvements for safety and to lower administrative costs.
Future attendance and rates
The first year of operation for the Skate Park was. an exciting year that created a
Ilbuzz" on the street as the Skate Park received a tremendous amount of publicity in
metro wide publications and broadcast media. The Overpass. Skate Park is one.of a
kind and this is the message that people received. Without a dollar spent on
advertising the Skate Park. attracted people from throughout the metro area and
beyond.
This · also raised the attention of other . community officials. Staff receives regular
inquiries from other communities exploring the possibility of building a Tier 2 park for
skaters in. their. community. Numerous. communities (including Minnetonka) are
installing tier t skating areas in their parks.
Competition will increase and free publicity will decline, as skate parks become more
commonplace. In speaking with the Facility Manager of the John Rose Oval, he
stated that their skate park facilities have felt the impact. of increased competition in
the past few years. With less than a year of Overpass operations completed,
competition on the horizon, and only $2, 164 in excess . revenues budgeted, staff
believes it is best to stay with the current rate structure as established by the skate
park task force. Any discounting of rates should be implemented in the current rate
format. .
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. Strateqies for the 2001 Skate Park season.
Informational Meeting
Staff plans to engage the public by inviting Hopkins residents to an "Overpass Skate
Park Informational meeting". The. meeting will take. place at the Depot Coffee House.
The agenda will include: '
Summer 2001 - Summary of opening date, special events, forms completion.
Rates
.
.
Railroad crossing update
Park etiquette
Volunteer program
The meeting will be advertised. by a direct.. mailing to. Hopkins residents on.. our
admissions records, Sun Sailor, Cable TV . Bulletin board, etc. Participants, parents,
Park Board, Council, Jaycees, HPD, will all be invited to attend. The goal of the
meeting is to . hear concerns and communicate important Skate. Park information to
the parents, participants and vested parties. Those who cannot attend the meeting
wiH be encouraged to write or telephone in their input.
End of Day Rate Discount
A half price admission discount will be available to those who want to enter the park
two. . and one-half hours before. closing. The closing. time varies ... with the time. of
sunset. . This rate discount was. implemented last season by. staff to be fair to those
who entered the park late in the day.
Volunteer Program
This program is.. to assist the. skate park attendants in supervising the park.
Volunteers will monitor and report certain activities, to pick up litter, and assist with
the orderly operation of the Skate Park. By working two shifts a week volunteers
receive a free membership and unlimited free skating privileges.
Suggestion Box and periodic distribution of participant questionnaires
A suggestion box will be installed at the Skate Park to encourage input from the
participants.
Staff will distribute questionnaires to all. visitors on specific days during the season.
The goal of this questionnaire will be to gather information on participant and parental
opinion on safety, rates, hours of operation, customer service,etc.
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Admissions rate adiustment ootion
Knowing it is the. desire of the City Council to make the Skate Park more affordable
the following options are available:
Keep membership. cost at $30.00, instead of increasing membership cost to
$40.00.
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There were 152 memberships sold in 2000. The $10.00 increase translates into
$1,520 in additional membership.fees. There is room under the projected excess
revenues to not increase membership rates and absorb the lost revenue.
. Create a Resident Non-Member category in the rate schedule. This rate
would be $7.00 per visit.
Rate Schedule
Resident member $5.00. per visit
Non-Resident Member $6.00 per visit
*Resident Non-Member $7.00 per visit
Non-ResidentNon-Member $9.00 per visit
* New category
Using the 2000 season figures of $52,000 in. gross admissions revenues, and an
average admission rate of $7.00,we calculate that there were approximately
7,400 paid admissions last season. A$1.00 across the board reduction in fees
would result in a decrease in gross revenues of approximately $7,400. Demand
may increase as costs go down I but each $1.00decrease in rates across the
board has potentialJor a significant impact to revenues.
In contrast, because Hopkins residents makeup approximately 10 % of the .
users, each $1.00 reduction in the Non-Member rate to these users represents
approximately a $1,000 reduction in gross revenues (assuming Hopkinsresidents
have more visits per user). A $2,000 reduction in revenues can be absorbed into
the budget with cost reduction measures.
Cost reduction measures:.... Do not purchase computer for on site registration
administration. Staff would continue using printouts from off sight registration
processing. Cost savings $1,500.
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