How do you think the City of Courtenay should set user fees for Courtenay Recreation facilities, programs and services?
This fee structure is under review, and the City is inviting the public and user groups to provide input. Recreation programs and services help meet the social, physical, and mental health needs of the community. The goal is to ensure fees for using these important community services are fair, practical, and consistent, while ensuring that the process for establishing these fees is transparent.
Last fall, under the guidance of City Council, the City of Courtenay retained the services of RC Strategies to conduct a recreation fees and charges study. The intent is to develop a policy that aligns fees and subsidy levels with the amount of benefit the community and individuals receive from the services. This is known as a “benefits-based approach”.
Initially, public engagement was to occur in March 2020, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public consultation process was postponed until all involved were more prepared to engage. Organizations who use Courtenay Recreation facilities will be consulted separately through a User Group Survey. Courtenay Recreation facilities were closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff are working on a gradual phased reopening of programs and facilities.
Please share your thoughts about recreation fees and charges by completing this survey by August 31, 2020. There will be opportunity to provide feedback on a draft report before the review process is finalized. This will likely occur in fall 2020.
For any questions regarding the project, please feel free to contact the City of Courtenay Recreation and Cultural Services Department at rcs@courtenay.ca. If you have any questions or technical issues with the survey, please contact Ryan Schwartz (RC Strategies+PERC) at schwartz@rcstrategies.ca.