After last week’s meeting about Vashon Park District’s user fees, the commissioner who led the meeting says any increase in fees he will seek will be nominal and that he may also seek to lower some fees or provide additional services.

About 50 people filled the Ober Park performance room last Wednesday, when commissioner Scott Harvey presided over a meeting to collect input on a range of fee-related  issues. Several of those who attended weighed in, expressing support for the district creating a reserve, but also expressing the need to keep fees as affordable as possible and that any fees paid be fair across the board.

Harvey promised such a meeting last summer when he chaired a district finance committee that suggested raising user fees to help bolster the district’s finances. He said he was pleased with the number of people who attended and spoke up.

“We gathered a lot of information. I was excited about how diverse the group was,” he said. “Youth sports — they did not have more people than anyone else. It drove home here the importance of multiple constituents and that no one constituent should drive the bus.”

Commissioners Doug Ostrom and Bill Ameling also attended the meeting. While Ostrom agreed with Harvey, Ameling repeatedly disagreed with Harvey’s position that fees be raised to help build a financial reserve.

“You don’t balance your budget on the backs of those least able to pay,” Ameling said. “That’s not going to happen as long as I am sitting here.”

Moreover, Ameling said, he believes the park district is in good financial shape now, and it will continue to improve over the next two years, with higher tax receipts and the retiring of a  bond, which will free up $100,000 a year.

“I could show everyone here in simple math that in the year 2016, we could put $100,000 in reserve and have no user fees and balance the budget,” he said.

In preparation for the meeting, Harvey created a spreadsheet that shows the amount of income different park facilities generated with user fees this year compared to the park district’s expenses for them.

There was a wide range, with Burton Adventure Recreation Center paying just 7 percent of its costs, which were less than $5,000, Paradise Ridge fees accounting for 38 percent of costs there and Ober Park renters paying 208 percent of related costs. Field and gym fees brought in 16 and 17 percent of their costs respectively, and swim fees covered  72 percent of costs at the Vashon Pool.

Harvey would like to get rid of this kind of disparity, he said, and have all users pay within just a few percentage points of one another. At Ober Park, instead of lowering fees, he might like to propose those who rent the building get additional services provided.

Some members of the public, however, raised questions about how to determine what is fair, saying that what sounds fair on paper might not be fair in actuality, as the facilities vary widely and some user groups may end up paying little, while others may pay a lot.

Former commissioner and longtime soccer coach David Hackett also attended and spoke out for the need for fairness, indicating that some user groups do not pay user fees because of special arrangements with the district. But overall, he said, he does not believe the current system is broken, so there is no need to fix it.

“We just need to move forward as a park district and get the levy passed and stop trying to stick it to whichever group is not your favorite,” he said. “I think it is especially wrong to soak the kids for using our facilities.”

Vashon Park District board president Lu-Ann Branch was not able to attend the meeting, but said she had been briefed about it and planned to watch a recording of it.

The board will begin budget work later this month and will consider user fees as part of that process. Branch said she has requested more information from park district Executive Director Elaine Ott about the fees, as she believes the board needs more information, including potential increases in administrative costs to implement  any changes, before making any decisions.

“If increases cost too much to put into effect, is it worth it?” she asked. “The board needs to go through a discernment process, getting more information and finding out what bang for the buck we would get.”

She added that she knows some people are concerned that fee increases could price some out of offering activities or taking part them.

“What is the tipping point for people not to participate anymore?” she said. “I do not think any of the commissioners want to get to that point.”