The Town of Queen Creek on Oct. 15 received a six-month operations report on its new Recreation and Aquatic Center from Adam Robinson, director of parks and recreation.

Robinson told the council the facility sold more than 32,000 day passes and recorded just under 3,000 memberships across monthly, three-month and annual plans in the center’s first six months. Through September the center had generated about $1.1 million in revenue; annual passes accounted for roughly one-third of that total.

The update matters because the center represents a multiyear capital investment and ongoing operating costs for the town. Robinson summarized attendance, staffing, expenses and early program performance that the council can use to guide programming, scheduling and minor budget adjustments.

Robinson described visitation trends and program mix. The center’s busiest week after opening drew nearly 1,700 visitors, summer peaks were higher and fall weeks have normalized to approximately 3,500–3,900 weekly visitors. The facility’s stated pool capacity is 800; the highest day of counted attendance reached about 542 (about 68% of capacity). Staff reported total household members represented by memberships at nearly 9,000 people.

Program highlights included a popular Riverwalk (a lazy-river fitness/walking activity) that peaked at 85 participants on a night, sold-out culinary classes, and sustained growth in senior fitness and pickleball. Child watch logged more than 9,000 check-ins in six months; fitness classes recorded more than 7,600 attendances.

Robinson outlined staffing and training outcomes: the town hired more than 200 part-time seasonal employees (over half lifeguards). Many lifeguards and swim instructors were first-time hires who received in-water training; retention and improved instructor performance were reported as early successes.

On finance and budgeting, Robinson said the town’s fiscal-year 2026 full-year operating budget for the facility is about $7 million, which the town intends to use to cover staff, supplies, utilities and other operating costs. In Robinson’s view program-generated revenues are tracking close to the assumptions used to build that budget.

Council questions and staff clarifications focused on three operational problems: HVAC, roof leaks and the gym floor. Robinson said the HVAC system experienced early commissioning issues but has been fully commissioned in recent weeks and is performing well. The roof showed leak points during the rainy season; the town engaged a forensic roofing specialist and the contractor submitted a repair plan this month. Robinson said those repairs are underway.

On the gym floor, Robinson said the current surface has workmanship and installation-related issues that require a full replacement. He said the replacement will be covered under the original construction contract and warranty at no cost to the town but will require about eight to nine weeks of gym closure for removal, adhesive remediation and reinstallation.

Councilmember McClure asked whether the replacement floor is the same material. Robinson said the town will use the same Ecore product family but with a different vinyl top from another manufacturer and that the vendor is providing the striping contractor; staff cited similar floors in other Valley facilities as positive examples.

Councilmember Padilla asked whether the town would seek compensation for lost revenue while the gym is closed. Dave (project manager) told council that the issues are being handled under the original construction contract and retention is being held; warranty and contract remedies will be pursued as appropriate, but the town expects the replacement and related repairs to be completed at contractor expense.

Robinson described program adjustments staff will pursue to close service gaps identified in the first six months. The most-cited operational gap is programming for 9–12-year-olds; staff proposed creating a smaller “preteen” hangout modeled on the teen room (move-in/move-out equipment and supervised hours), adjusting open-hours based on usage data and shifting staff schedules to meet peak demand periods. Robinson also discussed expanding evening family swim hours where feasible and adding year-round aqua fitness offerings.

Robinson said the town’s marketing and outreach will be increased after an earlier, cautious approach to social promotion; staff believe improved outreach will help convert short-term (three-month) pool users into annual members and will increase program and rental usage.

Councilmembers praised staff for the facility’s early performance and for addressing warranty items. Councilmember Oliphant said residents report delight at discovering new amenities; Councilmember Benning and others thanked front-line staff and volunteers.

Looking ahead, staff will schedule the gym floor replacement with an emphasis on minimizing program disruption, continue roof and HVAC remediation, refine hours and age-targeted programming based on the usage data collected, and report back on progress. Robinson said staff will continue to analyze attendance and revenue metrics to fine-tune operations.

Robinson, Joey (aquatic supervisor) and Andrew (aquatic coordinator) were cited in the presentation as key staff leaders for lifeguard hiring and swim-instruction training.