Fort Worth Botanic Garden wants to charge admission, but it needs $550,000 first
Residents continued to decry a plan to charge admission to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, even as the city council voted Tuesday to spend half a million dollars to ready the garden for ticketed entry.
The garden needs as much as $17 million in immediate needs, plus another $1.2 million annually to fill a budget hole. To meet that, a task force recommended the city introduce fees at the Botanic Garden, which for years has been one of the last free venues in Fort Worth.
In November, the council approved instituting fees but directed staff to revisit the proposed costs and provide more options for free or reduced entry. An update on those options may be available by late spring.
The idea of fees was met immediately with community pushback, largely from residents who worry the cost will make the garden inaccessible to low-income residents. An online petition gained more than 1,200 signatures, and more than 30 people spoke at the November meeting, largely against any fee structure.
Only three people spoke Tuesday, but their concerns were much the same.
“Fort Worth residents should not be charged a fixed rate, since they are already paying for the garden through taxes,” said Bruce Miller, who suggested only out-of-towners pay.
The council on Tuesday approved spending $550,000 to ready the garden to process fees. The transfer would bring the garden’s revenue fund to the minimum reserve requirement and is equal to two months’ operating costs.
That money will be used to construct a fence separating free areas from those that require admission, build a new welcome desk in the Deborah Beggs Moncrief Garden Center to handle the additional admission traffic and renovate part of the conservation greenhouse so that admission can be collected from the Interstate 30 parking area.
Though the city council directed city staff to reassess the fees, those plans remain vague.
The suggested fees in November were $12 for adults and $6 for children between ages 6 and 15. Those older than 65 would pay $10. An annual family pass, which would cover two adults and all children in the household, would be available for $100.
These price points might change in June, when city employees say they’ll be ready to present other options, which may include free or reduce entry for students and residents, an admission-free day or hour, and other pass options.
Providing free hours didn’t sit well with Jeralynn Cox, who said that still limited low-income residents who work minimum wage and part-time jobs.
“I want to be able to go to the gardens and see people of all economic backgrounds,” she said.
Several options for visitors to receive free admission have already been accepted:
▪ About 4,500 family passes will be distributed to local nonprofits that work with low-income residents to distribute to families.
▪ The MusePass will allow families to check out passes from the Fort Worth Public Library in a similar way to e-books.
▪ Under the Blue Star program, military members and their families can visit for free between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
▪ The Botanic Garden will offer sponsored field trips to all third-grade classes in the Fort Worth school district. Each student will receive a pass to bring their family back on another day. Currently, those on field trips can show up unannounced, potentially creating a problem for garden staff.
▪ Those on the SNAP or WIC assistance programs can visit for $1 per adult. Children will be allowed in at no cost. A family pass will also be available for $30.
The council’s November vote also authorized the the city to find a nonprofit to operate the garden, similar to the Fort Worth Zoo.
Garden director Bob Byers has said the venue is in dire need of funding. Admission is one part of a multifaceted funding plan meant to find between $15 million and $17 million for deferred maintenance at the garden and fill the more-than-$1 million gap in its annual budget.
The 30-year-old Rain Forest Conservatory remains closed as the glass roof is structurally unsound. A moon visit, an old favorite of visitors to the Japanese Garden, is also closed in lieu of repairs. Across the park, water features, infrastructures, utilities and amenities all need repair.
“We can’t look the other way like we have for the last 20 years,” Byers said in November. “If we do that, we won’t have the garden.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Fort Worth Botanic Garden wants to charge admission, but it needs $550,000 first."
