The consultants hired by the city to conduct a comprehensive fee study, cost allocation plan and operational efficiency review of Great Falls Park and Recreation reviewed their findings so far during the Feb. 9 Park and Rec advisory board meeting.

In October, City Commissioners approved a $94,792 contract with Matrix Consulting for the study.

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The team conducted five mini-polls to gather public feedback in December and January, receiving about 5,000 responses in total, with each receiving 1,000 to 2,000.

City officials have been discussing the finances and fee structures within the Park and Rec department for years, an issue exacerbated by the operating deficit at Aim High Big Sky, the indoor aquatic and recreation facility that opened last summer.

Jessica Compton, interim Park and Rec director, is scheduled to provide an update to commissioners during their Feb. 17 work session.

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In June, the city issued a request for proposals for an assessment of the department’s fees, costs and operational efficiency. The review will include programming, membership, rentals, admission fees, maintenance and other service-related charges.

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The cost allocation plan is to develop a model “that accurately reflects and recovers both direct and indirect costs for the department and the city. The operational review will assess workflows, staffing structure and “opportunities for consolidation of maintenance and support functions. The goal is to enhance coordination, optimize resource utilization, and improve overall departmental efficiency,” according to the city.

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Allyson Brekke of Matrix Consulting said the team reviewed current facilities and conducted stakeholder interviews with city leadership, adopt a park volunteers, the Montana Veterans Memorial, the River’s Edge Trail Foundation board, Park and Rec advisory board, tennis and pickle ball groups, tourism, downtown and other groups.

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The study isn’t just about the city’s new Aim High Big Sky aquatic and recreation center, but concerns have been raised about that facility’s operations and amenities through the study process, Brekke said.

There’s a question of whether it can be fairly compared to other private facilities in the community, she said.

Brekke said there’s always a theme with parks and recreation studies that people believe everything should be free and community members often have a hard time assigning a dollar amount toward that benefit.

The study isn’t looking at the city’s two municipal golf courses, which are currently managed by CourseCo under an agreement with the city.

But there’s a cost to providing those amenities and services, she said, and they’ve been hearing public comment about the city’s park maintenance district funds and how they’ve been used.

Brekke said a “very big trend we’re seeing” nationwide is that trust in local government is “pretty low right now.”

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Great Falls has “truly historic parks, Brekke said, but it’s costly and difficult to maintain those facilities, much like roads and utilities, a common theme for municipalities nationwide.

Communication and marketing were other key themes from their initial stakeholder interviews, Brekke said, and it appeared the city might now be realizing different ways to marketing Aim High, as well as other Park and Rec amenities.

Cassidy Burns, of SCJ Alliance, which is part of the consultant team, walked the Park and Rec board through some key take aways from the mini polls.

She said of those who took the poll, about 85 percent were Great Falls residents, with the River’s Edge Trail being the highest valued asset and 61 percent of respondents said they visit the trail weekly or monthly.

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Facilities of concern included Aim High, with 54 percent of respondents having never visited; 88 percent said they’d never visited the skate park and 49 percent said they never visited outdoor pools.

For facility conditions, 35 percent of respondents said the Electric City Water Park could use work or was in poor condition.

Some respondents described current Park and Rec maintenance as reactive rather than preventive, Burns said.

Survey respondents were split on their perception of fees, with about 9 percent saying they’re unaffordable and 62 percent saying they didn’t purchase any passes or memberships in 2025.

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If fee increases were implemented, 28 percent of respondents said they’d prefer those funds to be used for maintenance of existing facilities with some saying facility upgrades.

For top investment priorities:

• 24 percent said restroom upgrades
• 18 percent said increased indoor options
• 18 percent said new or improved trail connections

Lauren Schubring, a project manager with SCJ Alliance, walked the Park and Rec board through a planning exercise, considering what other segments of the community they needed to engage, critical priorities, tradeoffs and what they want to see in five years.

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Critical priorities were funding for the current Park and Rec system, stabilizing the budget to absorb surprises, understanding the city budget, marketing and education, partnerships with nonprofit groups that may not already utilize Park and Rec facilities, and transportation for kids.

Potential trade-offs, the group said, could include closing neighborhood pools due to the lifeguard shortage, selling underdeveloped parks, having the Montana Department of Transportation cover the cost of Park and Rec maintaining their medians and other properties; and thoughtful “rewilding” of unused parks.