Columbus Parks Board Meeting: March 12, 2026 – Financial Update, Fee Approvals, and Partnership Discussions
Columbus Parks Board Meeting – March 12, 2026
The Columbus Parks Board met on March 12, 2026, to discuss financial updates, approve park user fees and donations, receive a director's report on hiring and master plans, address parking concerns from a recent tournament, and hear a public comment regarding a potential partnership with the AI Fitness Center. All motions presented were approved unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from February 12, 2026 meeting (moved, seconded, carries).
- Park user fees (Attachment 4) approved, including adjustments for turf fields, farmers market vendor fees, golf course concessions, and nexus field house pricing. The fees reflect changes for spring and winter seasons, with a focus on staying competitive while covering costs. No opposition noted.
- Claims and payrolls request approved.
- Acceptance of a donation: a truck bed from an individual for a park vehicle, accepted by motion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Scott (Shape Well / group fitness classes): Presented a proposal to partner with the AI Fitness Center. He noted that his organization, representing group fitness classes, wishes to sublet a renovated space in the fitness center for seven classes. He stated that 10-25% of his membership would use an open gym, expanding AI Fitness Center membership, and that their members could activate child watch services. He requested a one-year initial partnership and further discussions. The Parks Director acknowledged the request and indicated willingness to discuss operational alignment.
Discussion Items
- Financial Update: Staff reported that general fund revenues are stabilizing, cash balances are growing, and a five-year capital plan is being developed. Subsidies for Nexis Field House are being requested as needed; the 2026 revenues shown are from fees only. The subsidy budgeted for 2026 is lower than initially projected. Questions were raised about timing of subsidy requests and cash balance drivers.
- Park User Fees (detailed discussion): Changes include new class additions/strikes at Columbus Gymnastics Center, price increases for turf materials (new track expected end of April), farmers market fee benchmarking, and updates to golf course concessions and rounds. Field house pricing varies by season (winter vs. spring) and tournament vs. public rates. Hub rental fee is $800 half-day / $1,200 full day. No fee is currently charged for corridor spaces. Staff noted that programming will be added to activate underutilized spaces. A board member expressed concern about vendor solicitation at tournaments and suggested the department negotiate a cut of vendor revenue; it was clarified that tournament directors contract with vendors separately.
- Acceptance of Donations (Policy Discussion): The board discussed the process for accepting donations, particularly for equipment and property. It was noted that legal and security reviews are conducted. For future donations, a checklist or protocol may be developed. The donation of a truck bed was accepted; a future donation of combat cages for the field house is pending agreement.
- Director’s Report:
- Hiring: Fitness, Health, and Wellness Manager interviews underway (strong candidate pool). Recreation (CGC) manager interviews also underway. Athletic labor position filled internally. Full-time trail position hiring in progress. Goal to fill positions by end of April.
- Strategic Plans: Five-year strategic master plan scope finalized, contract signed. Kickoff with stakeholder and public involvement planned after April summit. Donner Aquatic Center Master Plan and Mill Race Master Plan (seeking commission funding) will proceed with Bonnie Bell Russell as project manager.
- Fitness Center Expansion: Two remaining shell spaces will be built out funded by AEI/Angie May donation. One space for youth sports performance (heavy lifting, supporting IU athletics), one for traditional equipment (yoga, Pilates, etc.). Cost estimates being obtained.
- Track & Field House Updates: New turf at Hamilton being laid, completion expected end of April. Field house construction wrapping up. Chiller system now operational. Cost overrun for a project returned to Taylor Brothers for redesign to meet Sentinels League minimum requirements.
- Wrestling Tournament Parking Issues: Folk wrestling event was successful but RVs parked in lot occupied multiple spots. Board discussed enforcement, communication with tournament sponsors, and potential designated RV parking area. Staff will explore legal options to prevent recurrence.
- Foundation Collaboration: Amy Hersell, president of Columbus Park Foundation, introduced. Plans to align department and foundation goals, including annual goal-setting and quarterly reviews. Foundation will help fund initiatives and inform annual appeal.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Minutes (2/12/2026), Park user fees (Attachment 4), Claims and payrolls, Acceptance of truck bed donation.
- Tabled: Teaching kitchen update to next month.
- Parking Enforcement: Staff directed to develop and communicate a policy on RV parking during events to prevent loss of parking spaces.
- Partnership Proposal: Director will follow up with Scott to discuss the operational fit of the proposed partnership.
- Next Steps: Hiring processes continue; master plan kickoffs in April; cost estimates for fitness center build-out and track redesign to be presented; foundation meeting scheduled offline.
Meeting Transcript
So all right, so next order of business would be the financial update. General fund out revenues are settling down at the individual amounts for each one of those fall. Um, everything is is starting to move in groove. Now this is February. So that's another thing to kind of keep in mind. So starting to look at past few years' averages and kind of seeing these trends, seeing what's going, what's not going. Um, our programmers starting to look at all those budgeting processes. You can kind of see what is being used for capital. Um we had a decent amount that was encumbered. So if you see the twenty six, it um, yeah. So just look at have our uh cash balances that are still growing. We have a lot of big projects looking forward. 26 it um it is um yeah so just look have our uh cash balances that are still growing we have a lot of big projects looking forward um through different master plans this year have those uh those scopes come forwards we need to have money to back some of those um we do uh um a lot a lot of the uh amenities we have amazing amenities that we have and with those amenities uh money to support every one of them so looking through everything that we have and when things need to be updated um things like that we uh are looking to see what can be supported through our capital through the city and also we look at when so movement um a lot of things are sitting on everything we're gonna be moving in the future what I think was uh also did in his update looking at uh for our capital we're looking at also coming out having that five year plan so looking at where uh all of our larger facilities are looking at these revenue streams streams and looking at cash balances is something that uh to see how to fund everything in the future obviously you can't determine when something is going to break or need a repair right away but some of those larger items um we can look at see how can we creatively fund with the money that we have revenue we have coming in looking at nexus field house and kind of looking at the years the revenues um so we're up compared to last year so we're down I think that that's because we got a big subsidy in 24 yeah we get another year right yeah that's I I figured that was um but we we still have a subsidy 25 subsidy in 26 as well but that's not gonna hit the timing as to when they came in because these are basically January and depends on time I guess I'm just surprised that if we were doing the subsidy why wouldn't that hit at the same time this year so from what I was told we only request the money when we need it so last year in 2025 we did not go into the rate until like June and so that's when we made the request and we have the money in July but in 24 we started so we have the right to begin another year beginning of the year it's the cash balance which drives the request yes so like so the revenue all the 2026 revenue you see in there right now that's all from fee there's no subsidy in there yet yep and then for this we have a subsidy budgeted but we're not gonna pull those funds until we need it we need it were some way to make it like through the year like we wouldn't even request it yep we what is the subsidy for the 2000 which is low lower than what we had originally projected out to ask for um and we started at 500 okay uh on the common side revenues are down they're up from 24 they're down so that one I know that there was lease payments that did not make it into Munis so this is what is reflected as to recorded it was in the bank account but not reflected into Munis so that's more it's just timing overseas when when the rent hit the account yeah it's when when they it's a whole process as to the tenants are notified and the poll everything well and two months that's easy those those little timing things have so yeah but when I I look at the you know percentage differences and it's like okay well is that that a thing or is that not a thing so not a flag there any other questions relating to the financial reports is there a motion on the floor approve this yeah yeah we're good it's just report I was like you can extract anyway you can extra vet them if you would like I'm fine with that but we will move on to action items uh we do have the minutes from last meeting moved and seconded to approve the minutes from February 12th carries uh looks like teaching kitchen got pushed tabled to next month have any But we will move on to action items. We do have the minutes from last meeting. Moved and seconded to approve the minutes from February 12th. Looks like teaching kitchen got pushed. Tabled to next month. Have any discussion on it? It's related to incoming funding from CPR CRHF primary donor funding for that. Our fitness, health, and wellness manager in place to help our hiring for that. Yeah, so that that fitness health and wellness manager oversees the fitness center, the teaching kitchen, and the child watch, which is but um the yes, so that individual uh before before Irv took um took off, he was working on getting the teaching kitchen job description for the manager. We'd started to have some conversations vetting individuals for that. Um we've got a pretty well drafted uh business plan for that, but before we got that individual in the house, we needed to see what their qualifications were because that's gonna help drive what we need to fill the gap for that teaching kitchen manager, and so kind of putting the pause button on that, and some of that will then drive the budget. So it's better to just kind of hang tight for a minute on it. Okay, makes sense child watch. Next item is park user fees, which is on attachment four. So just a note on this uh couple things. So we had help Jess decided she needed to take some time off, whatever, and went to Mexico. So somebody else helped us print the packet. So the financials will be printed in um color next time. And then also just so that you know on here, typically you would see a lot of red indicating changes, but you're following along to the final column on the side here, which is gonna indicate for you the changes, and then you I think there's no if there's deleted, you might see a strike through for across the whole thing. So just an FYI. Keep tracking that right hand column. All right, there are quite a few pages in the spring and the fall. So this is the first request for um changes since um so these are these go out to our programmers, um, all the different areas, and these are keeping up with some additions, we have some removals, uh, they all reflect like program changes, and I would say to look for all the changes in red, but I'm just gonna go through. So here if you see something over here, this is change. Um we have a little bit on your pages or fine. Um, so we have some some changes over on on the right. Um a lot of these, uh, sometimes you'll um you'll see like plus sales tax of it. That there are some name changes. If you look under the header that says Columbus Gymnastics Center, and it gets down to classes, you'll see there was a strike through where it said fun walkers, and it's um, and then she just has some name changes if you see two spots where this middle section has gonna be new that's a new class because there's nothing in that middle column. So the description is all the way on the right. So there are a couple of new ones right there. Um couple of them that have the strike through where they are not running them. So they have looked at uh what the desire needed, and so they've really developed the classes to to fit the the desire of the clientel. I think it might be helpful just to call out some of like the big the biggest differences on these, and so tournament stuff. I think the tournament stuff you're seeing it go from natural to turf, so we're paying an increase in price for the turf materials now, which God willing will be done by the end of April. So maybe they're non-readances. Um the farmers market, uh Jacob did some extension extensive benchmarking.
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