The Great Bend City Council Monday night took an in-depth look at its fee schedule, the list of fees it charges for things ranging from admission into the Wetlands Waterpark to licensing contractors to the cost of moving buildings.

The city’s executive team desires to implement an annual review of all fees that the city charges to ensure that they remain current and relevant. Currently, those fees are disbursed throughout the Code of Ordinances, obscuring them, and significantly hampering the team’s ability to adequately review them, City Administrator Kendal Francis said.

'Best practice is to compile all fees into a master fee schedule resolution, which allows for ease of review and adjustment,” he said. 

On Dec. 6, 2021, the council adopted an ordinance authorizing the city administration to create a master fee schedule. Council members were OK with the idea of the listing, but wanted to take a closer look at the individual fees. 

In its proposal, the administration had suggested a handful of fee adjustments, but the council didn’t want to approve them without examination.  Discussions continued on Dec. 20, at which time the work session was set.

Key among the council’s concerns was the admission to the waterpark, where fees have remained unchanged since 2005. The recommendation was to raise the single-day price by $1 and the pass price by $10.

Although the pool will still not make money, “our biggest concern is the ability to retain staff,” Francis said. The hike would help bump up wages at the pool.

Currently, the city transfers about $80,000 each year from the general fund to the pool. The increase would lessen this.

Based on last year’s attendance, the increase would have netted about $17,000. Numbers have been down at the pool over the past two years due to COVID-19, but the facility saw over 20,000 visitors in 2019.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Jolene, though, was concerned about low-income families and the waterpark being a major source of entertainment. Besides, she said, there is no charge for the Brit Spaugh Zoo, which also loses money annually.

“It is a quality of life issue,” Francis said, agreeing with Biggs.

It was the consensus of the council to leave the charge the same. Since there will be an annual review, it can be examined again.

In a related matter, the city administration recommended charging $25 for zoo programs (when zoo staff visit area schools) for schools outside of Barton County. There will be no charge to schools within the county.

Other fees

The council was OK with a host of changes to fees charged for contractor licensing and certifications, rezoning and building permits. 

Building Inspector Logan Burns said many of these had not been adjusted since 1994, and he and city staff crafted a new method of calculating these.

They looked at 28 surrounding communities, balanced staff time spent on the work with the burden on those seeking permits, and the possible impact on economic development with higher fees potentially hampering growth.

It is a simplified system, he said. It does generate more revenue, but still doesn’t cover the total expenses to the city. 

In general, the fees will increase. But, there are a lot of variables, such as the type of licence sought and the size of the building being permitted.

“It does help regain some of that cost,” Burns said. But, “we’re not trying to make money here.”

“Everybody is getting their cut out there.” Mayor Cody Schmidt said. “It makes sense to me.”

The fee schedule

The proposed schedule outlines all fees, and with the exception of those discussed Monday night, there were no concerns. Some will remain the same and some will be increased.

All the fees will be reviewed every December.

Since the discussion came during a work session, no binding vote could be taken. Following the talks, a few more tweaks will be made, and the list will come before the council for vote at a later meeting.