2026-10-8 Recreation and Parks Commission Meeting

The City of Alameda Recreation and Parks Commission met on October 8, 2026. Its main business item was a workshop on the proposed 2027 user-fee schedule; no vote was taken on the fees, and staff will return with recommendations and additional analysis. The department reported an approximately $16 million budget and about $5 million in annual program and facility revenue. Proposed fee increases were described as modest, including a continuing $1-per-hour annual increase for sports-field rentals and selected increases for aquatics and facility use. Commissioners discussed affordability, cost recovery, inflation, and the distribution of increases among resident, nonresident, youth, and senior users. Staff said a new reservation-system vendor, identified in the transcript as Rect Tech, was selected through an RFP and is now in contract negotiations to replace ActiveNet; online transaction fees are expected to be passed on to users, typically at about 3.5%. No contract value was stated.

Staff also gave construction and facilities updates: Estuary Park remains closed while the contractor completes punch-list work and a maintenance period; the Emma Hood pool renovation is progressing, and the aquatic center project has begun test-pile work. Residents urged the city to address a projected shortage of sports fields and consider pursuing Thompson Field through the surplus-land process, but no acquisition action was taken. The commission approved the September 10 meeting minutes and unanimously re-elected the chair and vice chair for one-year terms. The next fee-schedule discussion is planned for November.