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Medina committee approves $2 day-pass increase at recreation center; staff projects $100,000 more revenue
Summary
Finance committee approved an amendment to MCRC day-pass rates after staff said a $2 increase for regular day passes (and $1 for some special passes) would align prices with area facilities and could yield about $100,000 based on attendance projections.
Finance committee members approved an amendment to MCRC day-pass rates after recreation staff recommended modest increases aimed at aligning the facility’s single-visit pricing with neighboring providers.
Christy, recreation staff, told the committee, "if we raise our day pass rates by $2, and our ... special circumstances day pass rates by $1, we could potentially see an additional $100,000 in revenue based on the attendance projections that Christy and the staff have worked up." She said the increase is timed to be effective when schools resume.
The staff presentation included usage and revenue figures: "our day pass visitors in 2024 were approximately 42,700 entrances, and year to date, already this year, we're at 31,601," Christy said, citing continued growth. Staff emphasized they sought to avoid raising membership costs and viewed a day-pass increase as a targeted way to capture more visitor revenue without affecting regular members.
Committee members asked how low-income residents would be affected and what accommodations exist. Christy and Michelle Kwiatkowski, office manager, described existing options: organizations can sponsor five-visit punch cards sold to community partners at a reduced rate; there is a 50% reduced-membership option that requires documentation and vetting; and staff refer callers to internal staff who help collect required paperwork. As Christy put it, for sponsored passes "we sell those to individuals, that are sponsored by an organization. So they just need to call us, and we'll sell it to them." She also said outreach has included advertising in Feeding Medina County take-home bags to reach families who may need assistance.
Staff noted the day-pass proposal would be the recreation center’s second increase since the COVID-19 pandemic and that outdoor pool pricing is handled separately: "this is not going to affect the outdoor pool right now," Christy said. Committee members recommended a targeted communications push so residents can buy multi-visit punch cards before the increase and to encourage frequent day-pass users—particularly high school students—to convert to memberships.
Action: The finance committee moved to approve the item (25 1 37, amend ordinance 74-24 regarding MCRC day-pass rates). The motion carried in committee; the record shows "All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries." No roll-call vote tally was recorded in the finance committee segment of the transcript.
Staff did not set an exact effective date in the committee discussion beyond saying the timing is intended to align with the start of school; council-level adoption and effective-date specifics were not recorded in the committee discussion.
