BENTONVILLE -- Community Center patrons will soon have new fitness equipment to break in as the city is looking to trade in the gear it has.
The City Council approved 7-0 Tuesday to spend $177,335 on new equipment from Technogym. Council member Tim Robinson was absent. There was no discussion about the purchase during the meeting.
Council action
The Bentonville City Council met Tuesday and approved the following:
• The appointment of Steven Baker and the reappointment of Jerris Palmer to the Public Art Advisory Committee.
• The appointment of Tregg Brown and the reappointment of Richard Ham to the Airport Advisory Board.
• The appointment of Aubrey Patterson to the Traffic, Safety and Signage Committee.
• A $40,000 budget adjustment for on-call construction inspection services.
• To hire Tri Star Contractors for no more than $379,005 for the second phase of the municipal airport’s west terminal apron.
• A waiver of bid to purchase 20 ballistic vests for the Police Department for $17,629.
Source: Staff report
Only $150,622 of that will come from this year's budget. The remaining balance, which is for service agreements, will be paid out over the next two years, according to Lee Farmer, recreation services manager.
The purchase will include 12 treadmills and two stair climbers, which the center currently doesn't have, Parks and Recreation officials said. It also includes a full range of free weights and dumbbells.
Technogym is the same manufacturer of the center's current lineup of cardio and strength equipment.
The industry-standard life span for commercial treadmills is three years or 20,000 miles, according to Farmer's memo to the council. The center's three-year anniversary was in June. Its treadmills are averaging about 24,000 miles.
"The ability to move forward and replace this equipment, as opposed to this being a 2019 budget item, puts us in a position that the most recent equipment will be available for our patrons during the busy winter season," Farmer said.
Center usage has exceeded city officials' expectations. It needed 3,300 members to recover its costs, but there are closer to 5,500 members, said Mayor Bob McCaslin in an interview outside Tuesday's meeting.
"The usage has really been phenomenal," he said. "I think the usage today is approaching 1,300 to 1,400 a day. Many of them are there for this equipment."
The machines still have a good trade-in value, which was also taken into consideration to replace them this year instead of waiting until next year's budget, McCaslin said.
Council also approved a $158,747 budget adjustment to buy the equipment this year.
The increased revenue from the increased patronage will cover the cost, officials said.
"There is no negative impact on the city for doing this," McCaslin said.
The 84,000-square-foot center opened June 6, 2015, on 35 acres at 1101 S.W. Citizens Circle.
It includes meeting spaces, a gym, fitness area, weight-lifting area, indoor track, a competitive pool with eight lanes and three diving boards, and a leisure pool with a zero-depth entry, water slides, an "adventure river," playground and basketball hoops.
Fitness classes range from Zumba to pilates to strength and core conditioning to water aerobics. There are classes geared toward seniors and others for children.
There is also a child-watch center, a senior lounge and a mini branch of the public library.
Citizens Park, the acreage around the building has multipurpose fields, a one-mile hard surface trail, a pavilion, and tennis courts are under construction.
NW News on 09/26/2018