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Marion updates aquatic center operational plan; steering committee to review pricing and bond timing
Summary
Staff presented two operational options for a proposed aquatic center (Option 1: ~110,000 annual visits; Option 2 with wave pool: ~120,000), staffing estimates, and a steering-committee timetable; council flagged resident pricing, equity, and bond scheduling (presentation Sept. 4, bond-language deadline Sept. 18, possible referendum Nov. 4).
City recreation staff updated council on the aquatic-center business plan at the Aug. 5 work session and asked for direction as the project moves toward steering-committee review, survey analysis and bond-language decisions. The presentation compared two facility options, used Cascade Falls (Ankeny) as a benchmark and included operational, staffing and estimated revenue/expenditure breakdowns.
Staff reported estimated annual attendance of about 110,000 for Option 1 and about 120,000 for Option 2 (the wave-pool option). The plan shows staffing needs of roughly 22 lifeguards for Option 1 and 30 for Option 2, and projected seasonal staffing of 80'100 employees; last year Willowwood drew about 17,000 visitors. From a revenue standpoint, staff modeled day passes, season passes and rentals and used comparable ratios from Ankeny to estimate revenues and program fees.
Seth (recreation staff) said the steering committee will meet Aug. 18 to review survey and pricing scenarios and that staff will return Sept. 4 with recommendations; he emphasized a bond-language decision point on Sept. 4 and a county bond-language deadline of Sept. 18 if pursuing a referendum, with a potential bond vote on Nov. 4.
Council raised concerns about resident discounts and equity (that Marion taxpayers could underwrite a facility heavily used by nonresidents). Staff said they can run models for resident vs. nonresident pricing, discounts for day passes, and other pricing permutations before presenting final bond language. Council members also asked about recruitment and wage competitiveness with nearby providers; staff said wage assumptions were modeled to be competitive with Cedar Rapids.
Next steps: steering committee review Aug. 18; council briefings Sept. 2 and Sept. 4; bond-language deadline Sept. 18 and potential referendum Nov. 4. Council will weigh pricing scenarios and whether to include resident discounts or other protections in bond and fee decisions.
