City Council to Consider Public Hearing on Proposed Shoshone Park Fee Hike
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)-The Twin Falls City Council will hear a request to schedule a public hearing on the proposal to increase the entry fee at Shoshone Falls Park and Dierkes Lake.
The Parks and Recreations Department has recommended the entry fee, charged between April and September, be raised from $3 to $5 per vehicle while leaving the unlimited access permits at $25, the bus entry at $20 and coupon booklets at $30.
The commission made the recommendation to boost revenue for several maintenance items need at the lake and to the road into the park. According to city documents, visitors were charged a $1 fee beginning in 1980, it went up in 1990 to $2 and then in 1998 it was set at $3 per vehicle and hasn't changed since.
The city has always allowed free access to people on foot and those riding bicycles. The fees are used to offset the cost of maintenance and operation of the park. One estimate in the proposal figures the fee increase would generate $187,911 more in revenue. The fee increase would also allow the city to charge credit cards at the entry booth. City council will hear the request at tonight's meeting starting at 5 p.m. at City Hall.
Check out this video of Shoshone Falls from a few years ago: