City of TD looks at $192k in Sprinkles tonight; Parks would take back some revenue with agreement
The City of The Dalles Water Department charges nearly $192,000 annually for water used to irrigate local parks. Councilors will consider whether to absorb those costs at tonight’s meeting.
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., March 24, 2025 — You gotta have the cash if you want that green grass.
The Dalles City Council is set to consider permanently funding the cost of water to irrigate local parks and fields at their regular meeting tonight, March 23 at 5:30 p.m.
Council will consider authorizing City Manager Matthew Klebes to enter Intergovernmental Funding Agreements ss with Wasco County and the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District.
The agreements would provide city funding to cover water service costs for the county's Kramer Fields and the district's parks, totaling $192,000.
That in turn, would free up funds for other park services for both the Park District and Wasco County.
The decision looks to be a bit of a wack-a-mole.
The proposed agreements follow the council's November 2024 decision to amend the city's transient lodging tax policy, taking back direct payments to the parks district.
Before the decision, Parks & Rec. received 18.75 percent of the lodging tax - roughly $320,000 annually of the total $1.8 million collected.
The money was relied on pays for basic maintenance at local parks, said Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation Director Scott Baker last September. And its potential loss could lead to having to cut services.
The lodging money wass used for maintenance of the park system in The Dalles which includes 8 different parks and other recreation facilities - City Park, Firehouse Park, Howe Park, Kiwanis Park, Riverfront Park, Sorosis Park, The Dalles Skate Park, Thompson Park, Mountain Bike Skills Park, Riverfront Trail and The Dalles Aquatic Center.
No matter how you slice it, taxpayers end up footing the bill either in park costs or utility costs. The question is who wins and who loses in the final budget tally or each agency and how are park and city services impacted respectively?
Discourse at tonight’s meeting could lay those details bare.
In the City Council background information, city staff emphasize that while the funding for water supports park maintenance, approving the funding could lead to similar funding requests from other entities.
In addition to the funding agreements, the council will discuss a new emergency services mapping tool called "Perimeter," consider a resolution on nuisance abatement costs at 1290 West 8th Street, and review a legal settlement agreement involving the City of Laurel, Mississippi v. Cintas Corporation No. 2.
Click here for all of the background information and meeting agenda.
Public comments are welcome, and citizens can attend in person or view the meeting via livestream. Registration for online participation is available through the city clerk’s office by noon on Monday.
The council is also scheduled to enter an executive session for labor negotiations, with any decisions announced upon reconvening.
For more details, visit the city's website at thedalles.org.
