(a) 
Fees shall be charged to the general public, individuals and groups to the extent reasonable to recover all or a portion of direct and/or indirect costs associated with the delivery of programs, services or events. Fees are to be evaluated from time to time and revised to remain competitive. User fees are intended to be equitably assessed. Fees for residents shall be kept to a minimum. Nonresidents may be required to pay a higher fee because of their non-resident status or because they do not own property within the city against which city ad valorem taxes may be assessed. The department shall have some flexibility in adding programs, increasing participation numbers for existing programs, and omitting programs throughout the year, pursuant to the cost recovery goal established herein.
(b) 
The purposes of fees shall be:
(1) 
To obtain revenue to supplement or completely replace maintenance and operational costs;
(2) 
To reduce the program impact on the general fund;
(3) 
To enable the department to provide facilities or programs for which funds might not otherwise be available; and
(4) 
To provide sufficient revenue to cover costs and provide surplus revenue for expansion of programs and services, and amortize capital investments.
(c) 
Public funds will be used for basic services and to acquire, improve, and manage basic parkland and recreation facilities. Examples of basic services and use of facilities where fees would not be charged would include, but are not be limited to, the following:
(1) 
General park maintenance;
(2) 
Gardens, trails, and playgrounds; or
(3) 
Unreserved use of tennis courts, shelters, picnic units and athletic fields/open space.
(d) 
A fee would typically be charged if the following rationale prevails:
(1) 
The process requires the expenditure of administrative resources to create the benefit; or
(2) 
The patron(s) enjoys the added value of exclusive, reserved use of the park area or facility.
(Ordinance 2012-1121 adopted 3/13/12)
(a) 
Fees and charges are evaluated annually using the following process and then charges are presented to the city council for approval:
(1) 
Determine the service classification or cost recovery level;
(2) 
Determine the direct costs of providing the service;
(3) 
Compare the current market rate or fee being charged for a similar service and adjust accordingly;
(4) 
Determine the non-resident cost/fee, if any, which shall be not less than 20% higher of the resident rate or fee established for a program, activity.
(b) 
Fees charged for programs, facilities or activities will be placed in the following service classifications to help determine the level of cost recovery appropriate. The percentage of cost recovery within each tier/program classification will take into consideration the level of direct and indirect costs associated with each.
(1) 
Tier 1 (basic community benefit) 0% – 50% cost recovery.
(A) 
Tier 1 programs, facilities and services are those that are determined to benefit the community as a whole and can increase property values, provide safety, address social needs, and improve quality of life within the city. Tier 1 programs, facilities, or services may be provided free of charge and provide little or no instruction. The community generally pays for these basic services through ad valorem taxes assessed by the city. Examples of tier 1 programs, facilities and services may include, but not be limited to, health fairs, special events (festivals, movies in the park, photo contests, Easter egg hunt, etc.), environmental stewardship programs, and unreserved use of public parks and/or recreational facilities and the cost associated with their maintenance.
(B) 
Cost for special events classified as tier 1 will typically be subsidized by the city through expenditures from the city's general fund budget. While alternative methods of funding tier 1 special events may be aggressively pursued, the funding of tier 1 special events will not be dependant on alternative methods of funding. Careful planning of tier 1 special events with a high attendance of city residents is of primary importance. The funding of tier 1 special events shall be addressed through the city's budget process.
(2) 
Tier 2 (select programs) 51% – 100% cost recovery.
Tier 2 programs and services generally represent a basic level of leisure opportunity available to all residents and that contribute to quality of life in the city. Tier 2 programs and services are generally the more traditionally expected services and beginner instructional levels that are more self-paced and where everyone plays. These services may require considerable staff planning and supervision and benefit both the participant and the community due to their educational and/or safety value. Tier 2 programs and services provide beginning to intermediate levels of instruction and/or may address community-wide issues such as health/wellness, fine youth athletic leagues and programs, outdoor education programs, family and senior events and activities.
(3) 
Tier 3 (exclusive programs) 101% – 150% cost recovery.
Tier 3 programs and service are those where the individual participant or user group enjoys the exclusive benefits of the program or service. Tier 3 programs or services also provide advanced, high levels of personal instruction, are geared to developing personal skills and may require a person to have prerequisite skills in order to participate. Such programs include, but are not limited to, sports leagues, advanced instructional classes or sessions such as for golf or tennis, private facility rentals/reservations (pavilions/picnic shelters, fields, lighted fields, indoor facilities such as the Robert and Lee Duvall center), Senior All Star trips (casino, out of town, etc.), community education classes.
(Ordinance 2012-1121 adopted 3/13/12)
(a) 
Approved non-sponsored parks and recreation functions, activities or services shall be required to pay fees or enter into a facility use agreement with the city to provide for recovery of all direct and indirect city expenses associated with providing the program or service as determined by the department, utilizing normal and customary methods: criteria for approving non-sponsored parks and recreation functions are as follows:
(1) 
The function, activity, or service shall not conflict with city-sponsored programs;
(2) 
The function, activity, or service shall not restrict the public use of city-owned or city-leased facilities for unreasonable periods of time;
(3) 
The function, activity, or service should provide a positive public service and meet a legitimate public need;
(4) 
The function, activity, or service may not have any expressed or implied endorsement of commercial products, services or activities;
(5) 
Commercial functions, activities, or services may receive a special event permit and provide comprehensive general liability insurance as required by division 6 of this article;
(6) 
Sponsors of commercial functions, activities, or services may be charged a percentage of gross revenues and/or rents as deemed appropriate by the director.
(b) 
The department will not supplement non-sponsored functions, activities, or services with public funds.
(c) 
Special considerations in the form of reduced rates or free services may be given to non-city community-sponsored non-profit groups and organizations including but not limited to:
(1) 
Lewisville Independent School District;
(2) 
Highland Village Business Association;
(3) 
Highland Village Parks Foundation;
(4) 
Highland Village Parks and Recreation Board;
(5) 
Highland Village Lions Club;
(6) 
Highland Village Women's Club; and
(7) 
Other community-sponsored non-profit groups as approved by the city council.
(Ordinance 2012-1121 adopted 3/13/12)
(a) 
Refund for fees paid for classes, recreation programs, and athletic leagues shall be made or denied subject to the following:
(1) 
No refunds will be given for canceled transactions less than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the program start date.
(2) 
Cancellation of program participation and a request for a refund received more than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the program start time will receive a full refund less a 20% administrative fee.
(3) 
The portion of a fee constituting an online convenience fee is non-refundable and will not be added to calculate the refund authorized by subsection (2) above.
(4) 
No refund shall be granted for a call class or recreation program after the class or program has commenced. Except as provided in subsection (8) below, fees paid for classes or programs with multiple sessions will not be prorated for purposes of making any partial refunds after the first session has commenced.
(5) 
Failure to attend a class, program, or activity for which a person has registered will be considered a forfeiture of materials supplied and all fees paid.
(6) 
Requests for a refund must be made in writing by completing a refund request form provided by the department.
(7) 
No refunds will be issued for team fees after the league schedule is finalized.
(8) 
A refund will be granted on a prorated amount for the portion of a class or program if a doctor's letter is provided to the director stating that the person is medically unable to participate in the remainder of the class or program as the result of illness or injury. The amount to be prorated will be based on the date the department received written notice that the person cannot participate in the class or program, regardless of when the injury occurred.
(b) 
Refunds for fees paid for reservation of pavilions, athletic fields, and tennis-volleyball-hockey courts shall be subject to the following:
(1) 
Refund requests may be accepted because inclement weather prevented use of the reserved facility if made in writing and received by the department not later than one (1) week after the scheduled rental. Failure to timely submit a request for refund pursuant to this subsection (1) forfeits the refund.
(2) 
Subject to the availability of the field or facility originally reserved, the person or organization may reschedule the original event/game in lieu of obtaining a refund.
(3) 
The online convenience fee is non-refundable.
(c) 
Refunds for fees for use of the Robert and Lee DuVall Center and indoor rental spaces at Doubletree Ranch Park located in the concession/restroom "barn" facility shall be subject to the following:
(1) 
In order to receive a full refund of rental fee(s) and deposits(s) for rentals at the Robert and Lee DuVall Center and Doubletree Ranch Park facilities, written notification of cancellation must be received by the department no later than thirty (30) days prior to the event date. Notification of cancellation received by the department less than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the event will result in a forfeiture of the entire deposit.
(2) 
Notification of cancellation received by the department less than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the time the reservation was to commence will result in a forfeiture of the entire deposit and any rental fee paid to date.
(3) 
The online convenience fee is nonrefundable regardless of when the request for refund is received.
(d) 
Refunds of Pilot Knoll Campsite reservation fees shall be subject to the following:
(1) 
Full refunds will be given, less a $10.00 administrative service fee, for written cancellation requests received by the department more than seventy-two (72) hours before the commencement of the reserved session date.
(2) 
General change in plans, early departures, etc. do not constitute the grounds for receiving a refund.
(3) 
Refund requests must be in writing and submitted to the department addressed to the attention of the director. Requests for refunds must include the reservation receipt or a copy of the reservation receipt.
(4) 
The online convenience fee is non-refundable.
(Ordinance 2012-1121 adopted 3/13/12; Ordinance 2016-1202, sec. H, adopted 8/23/16)
Fees and charges for the reservation and use of the city's public parks and recreation facilities shall be adopted and amended from time to time by resolution of the city council and published in the city's official fee schedule maintained in the office of the city secretary. The fees adopted pursuant to this section may be reduced or waived by the city manager or designee with respect to special events and park and recreation programs with a community-wide interest which the city manager reasonably determines will have a significant economic benefit to the city.
(Ordinance 2015-1190 adopted 11/10/15)