UKIAH, CA., 7/2/26 — The Ukiah City Council on Wednesday unanimously carried a motion to increase fees for several city community services including youth sports, the Grace Hudson Museum and the pool.
Community Services Director Jake Bridges and Daniel Spence, community services supervisor, gave the presentation for the annual review of the city’s community services fees. These fees include those for the city’s sports fields, recreation programs, the conference center, the Grace Hudson museum and the pool.
Bridges said the review is a result of several tools of analysis. He said this includes reviewing what other programs or facilities around the county are charging as well as what industry partners charge, such as the Santa Rosa Recreation and Parks Department plus the town and city of Windsor and Novato.
According to Bridges, there is also an “in-depth process” with the finance department to ensure cost recovery is on target. This looks at what the department is charging for fees compared to expenses like purchasing balls and t-shirts as well as paying staff, he said.
Bridges said the community services department offers low-income discounts for those who can’t afford community services programs, specifically youth sports. There are discounts for youth basketball, softball and swim lessons as well as a “plethora of other programs,” Bridges said. Bridges noted that low-income discounts for swim lessons are prioritized as teaching children to swim is a safety measure.
Bridges also mentioned that local businesses contribute significantly to youth sports by sponsoring teams.
There are also several free events that are not changing, such as Sundays in the Park and upcoming free movie nights at the city pool, Bridges said.
I was just wondering if those things have been losing money. You don’t really hit on that when you wrote this article. If they’re raising prices at all of those places then I’m sure that most people would like to know why and where the extra money is going. I think you could have done a better before putting his article on paper and on the internet. It kind of says that some people are making up for what other people can’t afford to pay and my incorrect about that? I do understand programs and having them for families that may not be able to afford to pay for them. It’s a wonderful thing and it should be continued but I also know that there are grants that they get if the leaders actually check into those that will help pay for the added expense. Are there grants they have all checked into and that they are receiving? Or does all the expense fall on the people of Mendocino County? I just would like to see a little bit more to this article maybe you could check into it more. Thank you so much for what you wrote though
Lame.