Puslinch councillors are not ready to offer discount deals for a gym proposal at the Optimist Recreation Centre here.
On Oct. 2, council accepted and supported the recommendation of its recreation administrative assistant Erin Wallace, “That the township supports the use of the Optimist Recreation Centre to ‘Gym Class’ through the Township’s current program and fee structure.”
Council also supported the inclusion of a $1,500 community assessment as part of next year’s budget process.
Gym Class is a fitness company established in October 2012 that offers exercise programs, personal training and group fitness classes.
The business expressed interest in leasing the Optimist Recreation Centre for a year – Monday to Friday from 6am to 7pm and Saturday from 7am to 2pm – to offer exercise programs suitable for all ages in the community; activities such as personal training, group fitness classes and possibly children’s programs and recreational programming.
Following a review by staff, it was noted that while “Gym Class” proposed a one-year lease of the facilities at a cost of $30,000 – based on the amount of time requested and using the township’s hourly rates, the total rent would actually amount to $458,640.
“The difference between the proposed rent and potential revenue based on full utilization is $428,600 ($458,640 – $30,000),” Wallace said in her report.
In addition, the proposal requests that the township purchase mats and assembling bars on the walls and construct a storage facility within the existing equipment room.
While there was the offer of revenue splitting, estimates based on bookings suggested that would only generate $37,808.
That amount plus the lease would still fall short of the $69,106 generated in 2012.
The other concern raised was that allowing a single user to book the facility for six days a week would significantly limit rentals to other community groups.
The proposal also requests booking the facility outside of the regular hours of operation, which would require additional staff resources.
Councillor Wayne Stokley said he was amazed at the gap in the revenues generated between the gym and the outdoor arena.
In some cases, it is double or even quadruple, Stokley said. He asked whether the needs assessment could look at how to better utilize the gym and market it better to the local communities.
In respect to the rates, Stokley said the municipality is only charging $26 per hour.
He hoped a staff review should determine whether that is a functional rate, or whether it should be increased.
“The gym is a great facility and you have to wonder when the ice pad which is basically just a concrete pad in the summer … is getting more revenue that the gym which could be more functional,” said Stokley.
Councillor Susan Fielding said everyone at the recreation committee level agreed that the assessment study should be done. She said when the rates were established, they were competitive.
CAO Karen Landry noted that will be part of the annual fee bylaw review and the report to council will show similar fees across Wellington County [and adjacent municipalities] for comparison.
Councillor Jerry Schmidt expressed a number of concerns about the financial aspect of what Gym Class had proposed.
“Why would we consider giving up 80% of our realistic income for $60,000? As I understand the municipality is expected to pay the expenses out of that too.
“We could essentially end up with a loss which makes no sense to me at all,” said Schmidt.
Mayor Dennis Lever said that is what staff had suggested as well. He noted the original Optimist proposal was simply for a covered ice pad – but the proposal grew as a result of additional funds made available through the infrastructure program.
“Now we have a much bigger and better facility, but are still learning how to maximize it,” Lever said.
