Last week, the Kenai City Council passed a resolution to begin charging an annual fee of $120 for the use of city-owned lockers at the Kenai Recreation Center.
According to the resolution (2024-44), previously, lockers had been used on a permanent basis without a fee, and there were several that had remained unattended for some time. “A growing number of lockers have been permanently occupied by users for extended periods, limiting access for others,” the resolution said.
“After we renovated the floor and before the renovation, we had a number of lockers that we put notices on because we removed the lockers from facilities and then put them back in when we were redoing the floor,” said Tyler Best, Kenai Parks and Recreation Director. “We found a lot of locks that were just kept there because it was kind of a free-for-all beforehand, and people weren’t pulling their stuff out of there.”
“I think that this resolution makes sense. It sounds like you had a lot of abuse of the lockers. Basically, they’re being used, and maybe people that have moved on, for that matter, with lockers being locked up and not being available to the public. So, I think this will–it should–solve that.”
Day-use lockers will still be available free of charge, but if anyone wishes to keep a locker permanently with their equipment locked inside, they will need to pay the annual fee.