Needham Council on Aging debates fitness room model after six-figure shortfall

At a Council on Aging meeting, town staff reported that the fitness room had recorded $124,715 in expenditures and $25,160 in combined revenue from the fitness room and personal training for July through December. Staff and board members said membership currently fluctuates between about 80 and 95 paid members, while daily headcounts sometimes exceed 50.

Town staff stressed that the reported revenue figure includes personal-training receipts as well as fitness-room membership fees. "The number I gave you for revenue is both fitness room and personal training revenue," staff said, noting the membership count can fluctuate and that several programs overall produce small surpluses while the fitness room runs at a loss.

Board members argued for preserving a supervised personal-trainer presence in the room, citing safety incidents such as falls and blood-pressure events. "It scares me. We've had falls," one board member said, arguing that staff supervision justifies program costs. Other members said the current trainer-on-site model is expensive and suggested several options: targeted fundraising, raising membership fees, adjusting hours, or recruiting professional fundraisers to support the Friends group.

Staff noted legal constraints on direct solicitation by public employees: while staff can describe program successes and needs, the formal ask for donations should come from outside the public staff role. The Friends group reported prior fundraising experience and boutique revenue but also said community fundraising has been limited since COVID.

Next steps included directing staff to prepare a fuller financial and participation report for the next meeting, and the Board asked program staff and volunteers to propose one to three recommendations (cost-saving or revenue-generating) for consideration.