ROGERS — It’s official. The Rogers Adult Wellness Center membership fee will increase in 90 days.
Greg Hines, Rogers mayor, announced Tuesday night during the City Council meeting the membership fees will double beginning Aug. 1.
A resident will pay $50 and nonresidents will pay $60 per year to join the Wellness Center. The membership fee may increase $5 every five years depending on the inflation rate and expenses, Hines said.
“As I’ve said in the past, the center was not expected to be self-supporting and this increase will not balance the income and the cost. This will help with the increasing maintenance and capital costs we are beginning to incur as the facility and the equipment ages,” Hines said.
At A Glance
Council Action
Rogers' City Council met Tuesday and approved:
• Redemption of the remaining principal, $3.8 million on a 1995 series Rogers Water Utility sewer bond prior to maturity, saving rate payers interest payments.
• A $350,000 contract with Ole Bear for 37.63 acres adjacent to the city recycling center on Arkansas St.
• A $117,535 contract with R.A. Wiedemann & Associates to design and construct an apron project at the Rogers Municipal Airport.
• A $29,607 amended contract with Franklin & Sons for roofing the annex building at the Rogers Police Department.
Source: Staff Report
The increase is expected to raise an additional $332,573 in revenue this year. The 2013 budget projects expenditures for the year will be $877,573. The revenue for the year, including the price increase, is estimated to be $545,000 reducing the deficit cost to $332,573, according to documents produced by Lesli Ossenfort, center director.
The center opened in 2006 with a $25 per year membership fee for residents and nonresidents. Earlier this month Ossenfort told aldermen, during a committee of the whole meeting, the center had about 19,000 members with 10,000 active members.
Aldermen agreed during the committee meeting the fee should be raised and residents should pay less than nonresidents. Aldermen declined to set the fees, saying they believed it was an administration decision best made by Hines and Ossenfort.
Ossenfort did a survey last year to determine what center members thought about a rate increase and how much the increase should be.
More than 80 percent of the members participating in the survey said they would be in favor of a membership rate increase, but there was no general consensus on how much the fee should increase.
Some members said they wouldn’t mind paying $100 per year, noting that’s less that $10 per month and still a great bargain. Other members were concerned those living on a tight budget might not be able to afford the increased fees.
“We have a scholarship program at the center. We have bake sales, other fund raisers and members often donate to the scholarship fund, so no one is turned away from the center,” Ossenfort said.
She added she's considering allowing members who might not be able to afford $50 in a lump sum to make two payments of $25.
“We’ve never had a payment plan before, but I will see if we might work something out for those who need help,” Ossenfort said.
The increase rate become effective on Aug. 1, but it’s not retroactive.
“If you paid for your membership last month it’s still good for one year. Memberships expiring after Aug. 1 will pay the higher rate,” Ossenfort said.
“When I’ve talked to people about raising the center membership fee, everyone said they thought $50 a year was reasonable,” said Marge Wolf, alderwoman.
“This is exactly want we needed,” said Betsy Reithemeyer, alderwoman.
“What I want to know is, if I pay my $50 fee can I get the benefit of exercise and good health without working out,” Reithemeyer joked.