HomeMy WebLinkAbout120125 email 2026 Budget - Rec CenterALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Dear County Commissioners,
I know this budget challenge must be keeping you all up at night and I have heard members of the commissioners have offered to take a pay cut. I have not been following the budget so
I have big questions like what budgets have had significant growth or are there revenue sources that are newly missing in 2026? I know property taxes haven't gone down.
I am writing to implore you to prioritize the kids in our community. I have looked up the Parks and Rec department and it covers a vast number of parks and facilities. No small feat
to maintain and the department has been doing a great job with what they have. I was actually planning on writing to ask that the Rec Center hours for kids get expanded as it currently
isn't open at all on the weekends and our kids need safe/healthy places to hang out & play. Now I have heard that the Rec could be on the chopping block! This can not happen. Our
community likes to talk about the loss of the skating rink and bowling alley but these were private businesses that didn't make it... and the latter wasn't really a place for kids in
my memory. But the Rec Center is a publicly funded program and facility.... if it fails it's on all of us. The Rec Center and just as importantly, the youth sports programs are vital
for our community and the health of our children. If the county can no longer support the facility (it has gotten more and more neglected) and the programs that Chris and Sam are
running then we must find a way for it to get transferred to another entity to run and maintain. Is that the City? Is that some other special parks department like what was being
proposed for a new pool? Memorial Field should also be considered in this conversation as maintenance has been lacking as well as accessibility for school sports and events. Is PTSD
an option for taking over Memorial Field?
I don't have the answer but cutting the budget of the Rec Center/Department is not an option. In my opinion it needs more investment. We need to invest in our future and make sure
we're making the youngest citizens of Jefferson County a priority.
Thank you,
Abbie Little