West Hartford's 2023 Fee Schedule For Leisure Services, What You Need To Know

WEST HARTFORD, CT — When the mercury subsides and it's time to tee off in West Hartford, it will cost a bit more to play 9 or 18, but it won't cost much more, if at all, to take a dip or go ice skating.

According to town officials, the latest fee schedule for golf, swimming and ice rink usage approved by the West Hartford Town Council balances the leisure budget amid inflation and mandated wage hikes.

Last week, the council unanimously approved a new, comprehensive leisure services fee schedule, with particular attention paid to both town golf courses, the town's ice rink and the aquatics center.

West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith and West Hartford Director of Social and Leisure Services Helen Rubino-Turco both said inflationary economic challenges are fueling the new fees.

"We look at our fees and compare them to what is happening in neighboring communities. When we are recommending increases, this is something we do take seriously," Ledwith said at last week's council meeting.

"Without question, as we all know, inflation has had a tremendous impact on our ability to maintain the excellent facilities and offerings we provide to our residents and to those who visit from outside of the town."

"We analyzed all of our regional competitors and we're well within the range of a competitive price," said Rubino-Turco. "Overall we're just looking to adjust some rates at three facilities that operate within the leisure services fund and that's a business model where we charge enough fees to cover our expenses."

According to the fee revisions, rates will go up a bit at Rockledge Golf Course, with green fees for nine and 18 holes going up by about a $1.

The seasonal residential golf pass fees at Rockledge are also going up by $90 a year for regular members; $140 for senior citizens; and $100 for partial privileges.

Fees for non-resident members are going up by a similar margin as well.

Town officials estimate the fee increases at Rockledge will add $53,000 to that golf course's budget.

Meanwhile, fees at the Buena Vista Golf Course are expected to remain unchanged, for the most part, with small increases for some services there.

Most Veterans Memorial Skating Rink fees, such as admission and skate rentals, will remain the same, with some increases in ice rentals at the facility.

At the town's Cornerstone Aquatics Center, swim fees will, for the most part, remain unchanged for residential members, but small increases are being sought for non-resident admission.

Councilperson Debra Polun, chair of the council's human & community services committee, said her group easily endorsed the fees and urged council passage.

"We are really proud of the recreational facilities that we have here in town and offer to our residents as well as non-residents alike," Polun said. "And we feel that these fee increasees are reasonable and I would recommend that we adopt this new structure."
In addition to inflation fueling the need to up fees, West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor also pointed out the state's minimum wage hike also prompted the town to increase pay for workers involved in leisure services.

Many part-time, seasonal recreation employees are young people working their first jobs and the minimum wage in Connecticut is now $15 an hour, requiring a corresponding increase.

"A lot of our summer work comes from our minimum wage workers and that has also impacted the scale of our fees," Cantor said. "All of those things have an impact on how our facilities function, so we need to make the adjustments necessary."

For the minutes of the Jan. 24 West Hartford Town Council meeting, click on this link.

For a comprehensive look at all fees in leisure services, click on this link and scroll to Page 52.

For more information on the West Hartford Department of Leisure Services and its facilities, click on this link.

From Jan. 10: 'Some West Hartford Rec Fees Will Go Up, Others Won't'