HOW WE SEE IT

Wellness Center Fee Situation Needs Answer

Rogers’ Adult Wellness Center is a centerpiece of life for adults, many of them in their senior years, who have joined since it opened in 2006. The facility is an outstanding part of the social, physical and mental health of the community.

The temptation is to get such facilities up and running then leave them to function even after it’s possible to more clearly evaluate policies and use based on reality. If it’s working, why mess with it, right?

can fford such an attitude.

That’s why there’s movement in Rogers to consider whether the Adult Wellness Center is operated as fi scally sound as it can be.

Rogers’ taxpayers subsidize the facility to the tune of nearly $600,000 a year while the membership fee has remained at an artificially low $25 a year. Yes, per year.

Some city oft cials have questioned whether that’s fair, but the 2013 city budget maintains the current funding structure. Mayor Greg Hines said the city will survey the center’s 10,000 active members in January to see how a fee hike might be received.

Even without a survey, one can assert with reason that $25 a year is too low for a center that oftcer “state-of-the-art” fitness equipment, a track, a lounge, a full-size gymnasium, an activity pool, a warm therapy pool, a library and computer lab, an arts and crafts room, game rooms, meeting rooms and a dining room.

This facility has served its purpose well. City oftcial have talked about the fees for more than a year but it seems nobody wants to do an unpopular but right thing: create a reasonable fee schedule to deal with rising costs.

The low annual fee has made the place overcrowded and the hours are not long enough.

People living in Rogers should pay less than those who live elsewhere, but it’s fair to ask all to pay more. The question to be answered is how much more.

We think that’s a legitimate question to ask and answer sooner rather than later.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 11/09/2012

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