Denver Direct: ” I’ll do it my way” – Denver Parks and Rec forges ahead

Received by email from Michael Smilanic of ParksAreForPeople.org

The Twitter account of Denver Parks and Recreation jumped the gun by posting that the “fees set for admission based events- The Denver City Council has recently set the fees and charges…” but the odd thing is it was posted on December 29, 2010. City Council had not even decided at that point, and did not until January 3, 2011.

The fee structure that passed Council runs the risk of a serious negative reaction from some of Denver’s largest non-profit organizations because of this particular feature of this precedent setting ordinance. Never before has a fee structure been implemented by Denver Parks and Recreation which charges a percentage of the revenue from an event. This will have ominous implications for some of the largest revenue producing activities, such as pet events, walks, and runs in Denver parks. None of these implications have been explored or examined before Council Committee or the Advisory Board.

The Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board was not given an opportunity to completely vett the efficacy of the fee structure, as they should have.