“Do they know,” the boss asked me, “what a wet willy is?”
All I could do was shrug my shoulders, shake my head and reply something like, “Surely they do. Surely.”
This discussion occurred after we were told the new aquatic center was going to be called “Wet Willy.”
Instead, the Rogers Aquatic Center at Dock Wheeler Park — seriously, that’s the official name — apparently has a theme. Wait for it. Yep, you guessed it: Wet Willy.
My reaction to this? Did a 9-year-old-boy come up with this theme? Every 9-year-old boy knows what a wet willy is and are experts in the art of a wet willy.
For the uninitiated, I am going to have to define the term. There is no delicate way to phrase this. A wet willy involves sticking one’s fingers into one’s mouth then sticking said finger into another person’s ear and twisting.
Why does someone do this? I do not know. Ask a 9-year-old boy. Or some of the grown men I know who find this incredibly entertaining.
Actually, there appears be a “wet willie” and a “wet willy.” Google shows wet willy to be the finger thing. Wet Willie’s is a franchise bar and restaurant and a band. Wet Willy is the name of water parks elsewhere in the country.
Spelling — it makes such a difference.
So, I asked our reporter John Gore who at the city came up with this Wet Willy theme? No one, he said, acknowledges they are responsible; it was the result of a group sitting around “brainstorming.”
Whatever the theme, the center looks fun – from a distance. I would have gone to the Saturday open house except someone scheduled it on Mother’s Day weekend.
Weighing a visit with Mom or staying home and going to the aquatic center open house, a visit with Mom is going to win every time.
I did, however, drive by and look at it. The parking lots were blocked so I couldn’t tell much about the details. If, however, I didn’t have two bionic knees — and looked better in a swimsuit— I’d go.
Going has been controversial due to the cost. It’s kind of a complicated scheduled so here is a link if you want the details: www.rogersarkansas.com/PARKS/aquaticsCenter.asp.
Suffice to say a single visit for Rogers residents or business people would be $12, or $8 dollars if you are 4 feet tall or less. It’s $15 and $10 for non-Rogers residents.
Is that high? Yep. Is it too high for what you are getting? No.
The problem is, the city has never operated a pool more complicated than the one at Lake Atalanta. Memories aside, the city should have been paying people to swim there.
They don’t have a clue about operation costs, and what it will take to cover costs.
Apparently, they also didn’t have a clue as to the storm they were going to kick up with this fee schedule.
Honestly, I think it would have been better to offer lower prices the first year, then raise them in subsequent years should operational costs be higher than anticipated. It would have garnered good will, gotten people comfortable with the prices and gotten them addicted to going.
But no. That didn’t happen. And the city didn’t offer a season ticket, which might have made the rates more acceptable.
Instead, they blundered merrily along with a rate structure they should have known would have angered people. It did, and they reacted. Rogers Taxpayers for Fair Rogers Aquatic Center Pricing established a Facebook page, which, earlier this week, had 801 members. That’s pretty impressive.
Of course, that does not mean 801 people object to the admission costs; it just means 801 people are interested in the situation.
City officials then decided to offer a limited-time only, half-price 10-punch pass. They say it had nothing to do with the uproar over admission costs.
Maybe, maybe not. Whatever the reason, it was a good idea. The half-price passes sold like hot cakes at the open house, we have been told.
Maybe there is a bigger lesson here, one every level of government should learn: listen to the people.
They really do know best.
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LEEANNA WALKER IS LOCAL EDITOR OF THE ROGERS MORNING NEWS AND THE SPRINGDALE MORNING NEWS. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER AT WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWALEEANNA