An annual senior membership would go from $340 to $414, a 22% increase.

These proposed increases are part of fee restructuring the City Council asked for in lieu of closing the fitness center outright as a way to make up for lost revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June, City Administrator Decker Ploehn suggested closing the center as one of a dozen recommendations to pare $2 million to $4 million from the 2020-21 budget. Closure would have resulted in a $150,000 annual cost savings, he said.

But loyal fitness center members turned out to say they would be willing to pay more to keep the center open, citing advantages over other fitness options in the community. 

The council decided to delay a final decision on the center until October and meantime directed staff to prepare a fee schedule with 25% increases across the board.

At Monday’s committee-of-the-whole meeting, Ploehn said that in some categories, a 25% increase would have put the life fitness center “significantly above the market” and since he did not think that was the the council’s intention, staff instead came up with a mix of increases ranging from 10% to 25%.

All told, the changes would raise an additional $112,000 from the center, barring another virus-related closure, Ploehn said.

In addition, Ploehn said staff will look at further opportunities to decrease expenses and increase revenues to “try to narrow this gap,” or the amount the city subsidizes the center over what it takes in as fees.

The proposed schedule breaks out 84 different use categories, including year-long memberships, one-month memberships, daily admission, tennis and swim lessons, fitness classes, personal training and rentals.

It also compares proposed increases to fees charged by the Rock Island Fitness and Activity Center and the Scott County Family Y.

By delaying a decision on the fitness center until October, council members said they will have a better idea where the city stands financially, especially in regard to sales tax revenue, and they will know whether the city will receive a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant to help with the hiring of six more fire fighters.

The council is committed to hiring three more firefighters in October and three in January.

Hiring additional fire fighters has been a priority for a long time; six additional personnel means that the Surrey Heights station serving the northeast part of the city will be fully staffed 24/7. And, because of that, the city’s other stations will be fully staffed, too. Under the current setup, if the downtown station has to respond to a call in the northeast, for example, then the downtown becomes uncovered.