Letter: It’s not nickels and dimes anymore

I recently attended my son’s hockey scrimmage in Vail and just paid $20 to get out of the parking structure. We still have another two hours left, but I had to go find parking somewhere else in the town of Vail to not pay $40 or $50 to watch my kid play hockey for a couple of hours. I would like to propose a cap on how much the town of Vail charges when our kids play with the Vail Recreation District.

We are families from up and down the valley that are supporting youth programs that are available. The town of Vail is the only location where parents are concerned about the additional fees to watch their kid play a sport. I don’t have this cost in Eagle, Glenwood Springs, Summit County, Steamboat, and many other places. This may also restrict what sports my son plays because I can’t afford the additional funds on top of the program fees I already pay for him to be in the activity.

I hope the Town Council will consider this at the next meeting. After thinking a bit more, I thought how much would it cost to attend the Vail skimo race on the same day. Entry: $40. Parking for 3-4 hours: $30-$40 depending on how fast you are going up and if you want to attend the awards ceremony.

That’s almost $100 to attend a town-sponsored event! I believe the town should extend the olive branch and say, “Hey, we want you to attend our event and we’re going to help by including parking.”

Joe Shankland
Edwards