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Council discusses gyms, covered pool and pickleball plans; seeks outside funding
Summary
Council members and staff reviewed progress on two new gym complexes, plans for a covered swimming pool, pickleball court proposals and funding options including county help and school‑district support.
Hurricane City council members spent a significant portion of their April 15 meeting on recreation projects, reviewing construction progress, fundraising prospects and operating models for the new gym facilities and a planned swimming pool.
Staff presented progress: a four‑court gym is under construction and staff said it is on track to be ready around August–September; beams were up and the exterior framing was beginning. Council members emphasized maximizing tournament and rental revenue and discussed whether to hire staff to actively market tournaments and events.
The council discussed funding for an indoor, covered swimming pool. Staff said engineers are working and the city has roughly $3.4 million in savings and plans to use bond revenues and impact fees; staff asked the county for $2,000,000 assistance and said they would return to the county in April for further discussion. Council members also reported meeting with the school district; the transcript records a staff comment that the district signaled a possible contribution "maybe... a hundred thousand dollars a year for 10 years" during initial conversations.
Pickleball court planning was a discrete item. Staff told the council they currently have about $580,000 available toward pickleball courts and parks. The council heard competing cost estimates: one engineering estimate the council had seen was approximately $1.3 million for eight courts, but local contractors contacted by city staff said competitive bids would likely come in well under that figure — possibly below $700,000 depending on configuration and concrete costs. Staff recommended going to competitive bid rather than adopting the higher figure from the engineering memo.
Council members also discussed Veterans Memorial Park fundraising and thanked volunteer donors; the transcript shows a $15,000 private contribution and a $387,000 cumulative amount raised (donations and fund accounts referenced in meeting remarks).
On pricing and revenue, council members asked staff to consider resident and non‑resident fee structures: staff proposed charging residents a lower rate and non‑residents a higher rate for gym, pool and golf facilities and said they would prepare pricing proposals for the council. Golf course staff reported roughly $4,000,000 in cash on hand and strong annual revenues for the Sky Mountain Golf Course; councilmembers discussed modest visitor‑rate increases to capture more non‑resident revenue without discouraging play.
Staff pledged to return with specific funding options, resident/non‑resident pricing proposals and a refined cost estimate for pickleball courts before construction procurement.
