Camping at Monmouth’s Citizens Lake will get more expensive starting in the spring of 2025 — at the suggestion of campers themselves.
The Monmouth City Council has approved increasing the rates for RV camping by the day, week, and month, while the tent rate remains the same at $15per night.
City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher tells WGIL he doesn’t see the increases as being that much of a problem.
“I still think we’ll probably be very competitive with other campground facilities,” said Steinbrecher. “But, it will also allow us to increase our revenue to help offset the cost of operation and maintaining that facility.”
Steinbrecher says, however, that some of the costs of the campground are not their own separate parts of the city budget, so it’s hard to say if the increases will help make money.
“We don’t budget the campground as an independent cost center,” said Steinbrecher. “While there are certain costs that we do charge directly the campground, there’s a lot of maintenance activities like lawn mowing, general maintenance in and around the Citizens Lake area…those costs are not set against the revenue side.”
Steinbrecher says the campground essentially gets free water and electric from the city, for example.
Two aldermen who are regular campers suggested the increases, thinking camping rates at Citizens Lake were just too low.
Resolution 24-004 for Campground Rental Rates 2024 by WGIL Radio on Scribd
