The Boulder Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Sept. 28 voted against recommending the city manager’s proposed 2027 budget for the Parks and Recreation Department, citing cuts to services and the possible closure of Spruce Pool in 2028.
Board chair Andrew Bernstein said the 5-2 vote was the first time since he joined the board in 2023 that members had declined to recommend the department’s proposed budget. The advisory vote does not block the budget’s passage. The Boulder City Council advanced the city’s overall spending plan on Oct. 1, with final approval expected Oct. 15.
Proposed changes in the 2027 budget include one-time funding to keep Spruce Pool in the Whittier neighborhood open next year, but no ongoing funding for the pool beyond 2027. Other changes include no longer offering free access to recreation centers for low-income residents, reducing fitness classes and eliminating child care services at the East Boulder Community Center.
City officials came before the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, or PRAB, seeking its support for the department’s proposed 2027 budget. The board’s refusal sends a signal to the city council about the impact of the proposed cuts.
At the end of the meeting, board members passed a resolution directed to the Boulder City Council explaining the majority’s position, according to Bernstein.
“This budget contains meaningful and difficult cuts that will negatively impact a large number of Boulderites,” the statement reads. “It also presages even more consequential implications for the 2028 and future budgets.”
Bernstein said Spruce Pool’s uncertain future was a core objection.
“The city manager’s recommended budget removes Spruce from the operations budget for 2027, which means that if a solution is not found for 2028, the pool will not operate,” he said.
Bernstein said he was concerned that unless the city addresses flattening revenue, other recreation services could face similar cuts. He said the department is already underfunded in areas such as park operations, asset management and subsidies for low-income families or residents with disabilities.
Another board member, Kyra Siegel, voted to recommend the budget, while sharing concerns about the service cuts. She said she voted in support because city staff had found funding for Spruce Pool for 2027, and she hoped a solution would be found for 2028 and beyond.
She said cutting programming is not a viable long-term solution, as recreational facilities risk losing their status as community hubs, leading to further declines in revenue.
“We are in a situation where the department has been forced to make cuts to key programs our community values,” she said. “It feels like death by a thousand cuts.”
Earlier this week, Councilmember Tina Marquis said in a hotline post that she was concerned Spruce Pool was flagged at risk of closure in 2028 despite its minimal operating cost compared with the city’s roughly $550 million overall budget.
The city manager’s recommended 2027 Parks and Recreation budget is $42.1 million, according to the Sept. 28 presentation and memo. Around $15 million is allocated for recreation operations. One-time funding of around $134,000 from the city’s sugar-sweetened beverage tax will cover Spruce Pool’s operating expenses for 2027. Staff estimate that $140,000 would be required to fund the pool in 2028.
The city has struggled to manage the pool in recent years. In 2025, Spruce closed weeks early as the city cut spending. The pool’s operating costs have also outpaced its revenue since 2023 due to rising expenses for utilities, labor and pool cleaning chemicals. In 2024, the gap between revenue and cost was $83,000, which had to be covered by subsidies from elsewhere in the Parks and Recreation budget.
A $6.3 million shortfall is projected in the city’s General Fund for 2027. City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde has instructed each department to reduce costs by 4%.
Service reductions have been forecast for Parks and Recreation for years. Projections dating to 2014 showed revenue flattening as costs for staffing, equipment and utilities increased. The department has also seen greater use of subsidized programs without a dedicated funding source.
Ali Rhodes, director of Parks and Recreation, previously told Boulder Reporting Lab that the department has exhausted its options for cuts that do not directly affect services. Previous efforts to reduce costs and raise revenue have included removing positions, increasing visitation fees, eliminating the youth swim team and contracting out specialty programs in tennis, sports and camps. Keeping Spruce Pool open beyond 2027 would require cuts to other services, according to city officials.
Lynn Stein, who has visited Spruce Pool for more than 30 years, has been rallying local swimmers in an attempt to keep the pool open. Spruce draws fewer crowds than Scott Carpenter, making it a better option for less competitive swimmers, seniors and residents with disabilities, she said.
“For a bunch of us who cannot swim at Scott, it’s not just a preference to swim at Spruce. Swimming at Spruce is the only thing that works,” Stein said. Swimming outside, she said, is not the same as indoor swimming. “It’s a different activity, just like spin class is different from riding outside.”
She also questioned the city manager’s approach of requiring all departments to cut spending by 4%, instead of focusing on reducing costs in some departments more than others, arguing that Parks and Recreation already receives limited support.
Stein and other Spruce Pool advocates have been attending city meetings to raise awareness and express their concerns. They are also speaking with Parks and Recreation staff about ways to increase revenue, both through the department and independent fundraising, find more lifeguards and keep Spruce Pool open.
“If the pool sits unused for a year, it’s likely to be very hard to reopen,” Stein said.
Also this week, the Open Space Board of Trustees narrowly voted 3-2 to recommend the city’s proposed 2027 budget for Open Space and Mountain Parks. The dissenting members cited the city’s use of open space tax revenue to cover administrative services.
The votes from the two advisory boards come as the city’s spending and financial management have become issues in this fall’s city council election. A ballot measure allowing the city to take on $400 million in debt, paid off with new property taxes, has fueled skepticism.
The Boulder City Council voted 7-1 to advance the 2027 budget on first reading Oct. 1, with Councilmember Taishya Adams casting the sole no vote. The budget is expected to receive final approval following a public hearing on Oct. 15.
