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Commission backs starting specialty-room access with punch cards and drop-ins, not immediate mass memberships
Summary
After discussion of tradeoffs between memberships, punch cards and drop-in fees for Radcliffe Center specialty rooms, the commission endorsed piloting punch cards and drop-in pricing first while leaving open full family or facility memberships for later.
Garden City Parks and Recreation commissioners discussed membership structures for specialty rooms at the Radcliffe Center and agreed to begin with punch cards and drop-in pricing, reserving full membership packages as a later option.
Staff described current trials in the Spaceport program and noted administrative advantages to punch cards and electronic scanning. A staff member said punch cards reduce desk time and allow online purchase; when scanned, a punch is deducted from a participant's account. The commission agreed that punch cards and drop-ins would let staff gather usage data before committing to recurring memberships that would require City Council approval.
Commissioners weighed benefits and downsides. One commissioner who supports memberships said some families that use Spaceport every day find a monthly membership reasonable; another commissioner said punch cards let families test participation without monthly commitment and avoid recurring charges for intermittent users. Commissioners discussed options including family household memberships, per-person memberships and program-specific passes. Staff noted enforcing household membership limits is administratively difficult and recommended describing memberships as “per household” with reasonable trust.
Staff proposed a hybrid path: offer a family or household monthly membership for broad access while using punch cards for individual specialty rooms (Spaceport, teen game room, fitness room) so parents can choose what fits their usage. Commissioners favored launching with punch cards and drop-ins to collect data; staff will report usage and return with membership-price recommendations if demand supports it.
Staff said the Radcliffe Center uses barcode/QR access cards for members and will enable scanning for specialty rooms so memberships and punch cards can be administered electronically. The commission did not take a formal vote on a fee schedule for memberships at this meeting; the direction to pilot punch cards and drop-ins was recorded as the commission's consensus.
The commission's discussion will inform future fee-schedule items to go to City Council if staff proposes recurring membership products.
