By Mark Hrywna
Regional Editor
The Board of Chosen Freeholders has proposed the second fee increase in the county park system within the last year. Freeholders last spring ratified a hike in various fees at the county's golf courses and horseback riding and boarding at the Watchung Stables in Mountainside.
Now the board is considering another increase in green fees and horseback riding in addition to hikes at the Warinanco Skating Center in Elizabeth, swimming lessons at county pools and programs at the planetarium at Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside.
The freeholder board is expected to approve the fee hikes in an ordinance scheduled for public hearing and final adoption Feb. 15. Prior to last year's fee hike, there was no increase in fees in five years, according to Director of Parks and Recreation Charles Sigmund Jr.
The increases were recommended by the Department of Parks and Recreation, Freeholder Alexander Mirabella said, "to be more in line with other counties. We'd like to keep it as affordable as possible."
Union County is at the lower end of golf fees compared to other counties "given the county's investment in its golf courses the last several years and the quality of play," Sigmund said. Union County golf courses have undergone several million dollars worth of renovations in recent years.
"Other counties really haven't brought their 2001 fees to the table."
Last year several fees at the golf courses and the stables jumped by $2 across the board. Green fees rose by $2 for weekday and weekend play, senior citizens, county residents and non-county residents. If the new ordinance is approved, it would cost $18 for county residents to play on the weekends. Last year at this time it would have cost $12. The proposed $2 .increases again affect fees across the board at the golf courses.
Fees for weekday outings at golf courses will rise from $21 to $24 and outings with a shotgun start will increase from $30 to $40.
Out-of-county players will pay an additional $4 in 2001, and out-of-state duffers will pay $100 on the weekends versus the $50 they paid last year. Green fees for weekday play will remain $50 for out-of-staters.
The revenue generated from the fee hike, like all golf revenue Sigmund said, will depend on weather conditions. "This time last year people were playing golf," he said, but this year the courses have been snow covered since the New Year. He estimated the increases could generate anywhere from $200,000 to $300,000.
One hour of horseback riding will cost $22 on the weekends as opposed to $20 last year for a county resident and $14 for a half-hour versus $12 in 2000. The only increase at the stables for out-of-county residents is the half-hour riding time on weekdays, which is proposed to rise from $16 to $18.
Out-of-county residents will be hit with the only increases in boarding horses, with monthly fees proposed at $510, up from 485, and $385 for a tie stall, up from $370.
Summer riding camp will cost $20 more this summer and last, $240 for county residents. Weekly horse rentals, mount troops - both junior and senior, and spring and fall - are expected to go up, as are troop horse shows and private instruction.
The fee hikes at the skating center affect skate rental, reserved ice time and school 50/50 programs.
Renting skates would cost $3 instead of $2. A $25 increase, from $175 per hour to $200 per hour, has been increased for reserved ice time and from $65 per hour to $70 per hour for school ice hockey programs weekdays from 5 to 9 a.m. Out of county programs would pay $75 per hour and $250 per hour, respectively.
Four high school hockey teams - Summit, Arthur L. Johnson, Cranford and Westfield - play their home games at Warinanco in addition to Kean University "to a lesser extent" and as many has half a dozen local traveling hockey club teams. Several hundred youngsters use the rink for practice and games on one or both weekend days, Sigmund said.
Instead of $0.50, admission and skate rental would be $1 each for school 50/50 programs, which run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on school days only.
Swimming lessons at the county pools will rise by $5 for group lessons and private lessons to $55 and $30 per person, respectively. Red Cross lifesaving classes, CPR and First Aid, are proposed to increase from $200 per person to $225 per person while the refresher course would rise from $35 per person to $50 per person.
Fees at Trailside Nature and Science Museum would rise for programs for pre-first graders by $5, from $20 to $25, and $2 for Scouts, from $20 to $22 and from $25 to $27 for geology classes. General admission to the planetarium would see an across-the-board increase of $0.25. The adults speaker fee would rise by $5 from $50 to $55.
Group room rentals at Trailside also are expected to go up.
Courtesy of: Echo Leader - February 8, 2001 issue
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