June 14, 2017 – Washington Co., WI – This week the Washington County Board approved the Parks Fiscal Sustainability Plan.
The plan aims to operate County Parks and Trails independent of the Property Tax Levy and sets course to achieve this over the next three years in order to maintain and improve parks for current and future generations of park users.
A major component of the plan includes new user fees in 2018 – daily entrance fees or annual park entrance stickers for County Parks to include the following parks: • Glacier Hills Park; • Ackerman’s Grove Park; • Heritage Trails Park; • Sandy Knoll Park; • Leonard J. Yahr Park; and • Homestead Hollow Park
“We will be encouraging park and trail users and non-users to consider purchasing annual park stickers to support park maintenance and improvements,” said Central Services Director Jamie Ludovic.
“Parks and trails offer many economic and social benefits to our community that we intend to pay for through new and innovative revenue streams. We plan to structure this in a way that transparently demonstrates that money collected for parks and trails stays with parks and trails.”
Eisenbahn Trail users will be encouraged to support the parks and trails by purchasing annual stickers.
However, the fee is planned to be assessed per vehicle entering the parks and no charge will be enforced for walkers, ATVs, snowmobiles or bikers at this time.
“We’re still hopeful that these user groups will support our system by purchasing the stickers,” Ludovic added.
Fee prices will be authorized as part of the County’s 2018 budget but are being recommended as follows: Washington County Planning and Parks Department Public Agency Center – 333 East Washington St., Suite 2300, PO Box 2003, West Bend, WI 53
New and exciting changes are coming too. The Parks Division is actively pursuing partnerships and sponsorships for existing and future park projects and amenities. Below are just a few of the new amenities underway. Other possibilities like beer gardens, campgrounds, and improved lake access opportunities are under discussions and being explored.
Is this is a one time fee for all parks if you pay the annual fee or is it an annual fee per park?
Every year you will have to buy a new $30 sticker just like for state parks!
So it works for all of the parks then. Great. I have never bought any park stickers before so wanted to check. Thanks 🙂
Hate this idea. Now you are making parks only for people who can afford it.
I know a family with several children we like to spend time at the park with the kids. Good family time and it was one actively they could afford. They are very low income -This will be something we won’t be able to do any more. Such a bad idea!!!
I think this is sad!!! Thirty dollars a year or $5 a visit is a lot to a lot of people. Now some people will have to limit if not give up their family visits to our parks. Like taxes aren’t high enough now this, sad very very sad!!!!! People from other counties will also be less likely to visit when charged!!! It isn’t a money maker it is a poor blocker!!!!
How about the elected officials take a measly 1% pay cut to pay for this! Making the already overburdened taxpayers pay more to use their own parks is asinine! I can think of many useless things this county wastes money on. BAD IDEA !!!
Absolutely terrible idea
It is just another tax added to burden the average citizen. Wisconsin is already in the top 5 highest taxed state in the country.
Why wasn’t this put up for a referendum vote?
Because it never would have passed..
Let’s clean up the waste in county government before hitting up the tax payers for more revenue to pump in an already bloated and inefficient bureaucracy
Does “boat launch” mean dragging your kayak or canoe down to the water at Yahr?
I will purchase an annual sticker, as I do walk my dog daily at several parks within Washington County. I will also complain when the trails are not taken care of properly, for example at Heritage Hills there is no maintenance to the trails that run along the disc golf area. If I am paying for usage of the park, I expect that the entire park be available for activities.
This is a terrible idea. I rarely go to the county parks nowadays and I surely won’t go at all when they are making me pay for it. These elected officials are so out of touch.
This is a lame-brained idea in so many ways.
Sandy Knoll is nearly deserted as it is now. We go to the park nearly every day with our dog
and yes we are diligent about cleaning up after him and we’ll see zero to six people even on nice weekends in the entire park. Are they going to charge the joggers, hikers and bicyclists who just want to get off the busy road? How, by having a gated and guarded perimeter and entrances, roving patrols and oh yeah build a wall $$$ to keep out the great unwashed.
Just shut it down and sell it off to a tax supporting commercial venture. Privatization is the way.
QOL be damned.
So low income people don’t deserve the same privilege as those that can pay? That is very cold harted. Shame on you Washington County. I truly believe with out of the box thinking there could have been a better solution. How many people reside in Washington County? I am sure one of them could have helped you with a better idea. I will be sure to vote the only way left and that is by NOT going to any of these parks. For your backwards Victorian thinking I hope others do the same since money ( or lack of) is the only thing that you will listen to!
Another terrible idea by greedy politicians and the DNR( DEPT. of NO RESULTS) This bad idea will definitely backfire on all involved!!!
Terrible idea. Who needs to be voted out of office?
I cannot say I was too happy about seeing the requirements for access to one of my favorite places to visit and walk my dog. But w/ that being said, even if you visit once a week it is only less than .58 cents per visit…
I think it is ridiculous the sticker costs more than a state park sticker. Thank god ridge run and the eisenbahn are not affected. I won’t be buying one of these. Just went to yahr for the first time today. It aint no Mauthe tho. Less than .5 miles of trails. 5 or 6 small parks for 30$? 28$ gets you ALL THE YUGE STATE PARKS. Sad. They made a very poor decision.
the cost of setting up the collection of fees & maintain the collections system will be more than the amt. collected….this will keep many people and our kids out of the parks when we need everyone to get out and get healthy…..our county leadership and politicians all deserve to be kicked out of their jobs for this very stupid way to collect a very small amt. of money…..the fees for state parks are cheaper & they offer much more…..our quality of life continues to diminish and the taxes saved are little….we need to cut staff from the highway dept. and others where the results are worse and the time workers spend working is less and less and whatever they can get away with….fire the supervisors first and then hire people who wanna work on all levels under new management….current managers spend their time finding out how to do less than how to do more with less and are afraid to demand the help to do more than just putting in time.