The La Jolla Rec Center’s advisory group will send suggested times to the city of San Diego, hoping to influence the budget-related reduction in hours.

With the start of the new fiscal year approaching, a looming modification of La Jolla Recreation Center hours is yet to be determined and Rec Center staff is planning to operate as normal for now.

The La Jolla Rec Center’s hours will be reduced from 60 to 40 hours weekly, per city of San Diego budget discussions that first proposed a full closure for the Rec Center, prompting community backlash leading to a restoration of most hours.

Currently, the hours of operation are 9 am to 8 pm Mondays through Thursdays; 9 am to 7 pm Fridays; and 9 am to 3 pm Saturdays.

The approved city budget becomes effective at the start of Fiscal Year 2027, which begins Wednesday, July 1.

But the city has not provided Rec Center leadership with guidance on when new hours would begin, San Diego Parks & Recreation Department area manager Juliette Suleiman said June 25 at the La Jolla Community Recreation Group meeting.

“I know everybody’s eager to find out where we’re at as far as what the hours are going to look like when the reduction comes, and I honestly do not have an answer for you,” she said.

Until then, Rec Center director Nick Volpe is continuing to plan and run summer camps and regular programming and events.

“We’re just going to continue the status quo until we hear otherwise,” Volpe said.

Discussions have begun, Suleiman said, about “would best serve the La Jolla community,” noting that of the many San Diego rec centers having to cut hours, each new schedule “will be tailored to each center.”

Site operating hours will account for busier times to decrease neighborhood impact, she said.

Civic and other groups that use the Rec Center for monthly meetings could still operate outside normal hours, Suleiman said, but they would have to pay an increased permit fee to cover staff wages and other associated costs.

Through informal conversations with Volpe about activity patterns at the La Jolla Rec Center, CRG Chair Alan Dulgeroff proposed a 40-hour schedule: Noon to 4 pm Mondays; 10 am to 6 pm Tuesdays through Thursdays; 10 am to 5 pm Fridays; and 10 am to 3 pm Saturdays.

Suleiman and Volpe stated they are unsure how much input they or CRG can have with the city on the new schedule but agreed a letter from CRG might be useful.

After discussion, the CRG unanimously approved Dulgeroff’s motion to ask the city to consider, with Rec Center staff input, the above-proposed schedule.