As of January 1, 2024 the separate fee for entry into The Lookout at the Community Center was ended. The previous flat fee of $3 was established in 2016 for all children aged one and above, and has not been modified since. There was no differentiation based on residency as there is with most other fees, and the fee included sales tax so the city was only receiving $2.77 per entry (with the balance being paid to the state). With the elimination of this separate entry fee users of The Lookout either needed to purchase a membership for full year-round access or a day pass for full daily access resulting in a new fee of $6 for residents and $11 for non-residents.

Upon City Council request, staff have reevaluated the fee structure and are recommending a modification to the fee schedule. The new recommendation is a $4 admission fee to The Lookout for residents and $6 for non-residents. These figures do include sales tax ($3.69 and $5.54 without), reflect a slight increase in fees for the first time in eight years (overall increase of $1.00 for residents, $3.00 for non-residents), and provides a differentiation for residents of Shakopee and those that visit from other communities which is in line with most other city fees.

As was the case before the January 1, 2024 change: there will remain no fee for parents, this fee relates to daily users only (members have this included in their membership), and those utilizing The Lookout that later wish to visit other areas of the building would need to pay the difference in daily fees before utilizing other parts of the facility.