David Medaris
Tenney Park Locks
Traveling between lakes through the Tenney Locks could get more expensive next year.
Summer fun could get more expensive in Dane County next year.
Under a draft proposal from the Dane County Parks department, it won’t matter if you’re hosting a park shelter party for 20 or 200: All groups reserving shelters would pay a flat $155 fee. Depending on the shelter and date reserved, the change would mean a price increase of $10 to $65 per rental for smaller groups, which currently pay much less than large groups. Parks staff say there is a need for a flat fee because there has been a tendency for large groups to sign up for the small group rate and then show up with more people than staff is prepared for.
At an Aug. 9 meeting of the Parks Commission, parks department staffer Lael Pascual said that most shelter reservations are made for fewer than 100 people, “which is not accurate at all. The vast majority of our reservations are over 100 [people].... It’s very difficult when [staff] show up to a rental that says that it has less than 100, and there’s 200 people there and we can’t allocate staff appropriately.” Parks staff clean and prepare shelters, monitor and clear trash during large events, and clean up afterward.
Pascual said that smaller groups do not always require less staff effort, sharing an anecdote that in 2022, one toddler’s birthday party caused more damage to park facilities than a much larger techno concert the same year.
“It would be more valuable to our team to have an accurate head count than charge them a little more or less,” Dane County Parks director Joleen Stinson told the commission.
Fee changes if approved would take effect in 2024. Parks staff will revise their proposal based on commissioner feedback from the Aug. 9 meeting, then present it for community feedback at a Sept. 6 public hearing that will be held at the Lussier Family Heritage Center on Lake Farm Road. Then, commissioners will vote on the changes.
Parks staff is also proposing a 50% price hike for an annual pass for the Tenney Park Locks, from $30 to $45. The fee has not been raised since 2011. In a typical year, about 1,000 boaters buy an annual permit to use the locks, which allow boats to move between lakes Mendota and Monona, with hundreds more buying daily permits.
Costs for camping, horse trail permits and cross-country skiing permits would also tick up slightly. Using a metal detector in the parks would also now cost $10 per year. People using detectors now only need a free permit that lasts for three years.
“We did not change any fees throughout the pandemic, and honestly you’ll see many of these fees have not been changed for over a decade, but our cost to do business has continued to increase,” Stinson told commissioners.
Last year, the department added a discount for military veterans to purchase some permits; there are also discounts for seniors and people with disabilities. In 2024, the department is looking to expand those discounts to disc golf for the first time. “There were many requests in 2023 to add a discounted rate for this permit,” according to the proposal.
