Hampton Township council delays recreation fee changes as staff outlines new community center rates and equipment lease plan

Hampton Township officials reviewed proposed changes to recreation fees on Oct. 8, including an increase in community center membership rates, consolidation of some day-pass categories and a plan to enter a five-year lease for new fitness equipment.

Town staff said membership rates at the Hampton Community Center have not kept pace with costs: the last membership increase was in 2017 and staff noted a roughly 32% increase in the consumer price index since then. Melanie Martino, who presented the memo to council, said the fee adjustments are modest compared with CPI changes and intended to help cover operating expenses and to free revenue for a planned five-year lease with G and G Fitness for new equipment.

Martino told council the proposed fitness membership rate would be $80 a year for an adult and that staff plan to switch from owning aging equipment outright to leasing new equipment beginning in the 2026 budget cycle. The proposed lease is $50,000 per year for five years, or roughly $250,000 total. Staff estimated that the fee changes would increase annual revenue by about $10,963 from prior membership rates (fitness-only) and about $19,380 across fitness and community-center fees, which staff said would help offset but not fully cover the annual lease cost.

Staff also proposed simplifying day passes by combining community, fitness and open-gym daily passes into a single $5 community-center day pass, raising the indoor family swim fee from $4 to $5 to cover lifeguard costs, eliminating the shared after-hours outdoor pool rental and raising the exclusive after-hours pool rental to $550, and increasing the after-hours community-center rental fee to $50 per hour plus custodian costs for any rental outside regular hours. Staff additionally recommended raising the recreational-group pool rental fee to better reflect increased staffing wages since 2017.

Council members asked about the composition of memberships (youth and college memberships were small) and how often college students hold memberships (22 in 2022). Facilities director JR Young described which machines are most expensive and explained the benefits of leasing motorized equipment to include maintenance agreements. Council members also asked whether G and G Fitness had been competitively priced; staff responded that G and G participates in government purchasing programs and is widely used by neighboring community centers but that staff can seek additional quotes.

No fee change was adopted Oct. 8. Council members agreed to carry the item forward for further review and to schedule the fee-schedule ordinance for council consideration in November so that absent council member Bethany Blackburn can review the proposal. Staff emphasized that any fee changes would take effect in 2026 if adopted.

Clarifying details from the meeting: staff cited a 32% increase in CPI since the last membership increase, a proposed adult fitness membership of $80 per year, an estimated annual lease cost of $50,000 (five-year term), an estimated additional membership revenue of $10,963 (fitness-only) or $19,380 (fitness plus community center), and recommended rental fee adjustments (exclusive after-hours pool rental proposed at $550; after-hours community-center rental proposed at $50/hr plus custodian costs). The parks and recreation fee schedule used for reference was identified in the council packet as Ordinance No. 841.