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Council approves revised Tennis & Swim Center fee schedule, directing staff to report back on member impacts
Summary
After a Matrix Consulting presentation showing a multi-million-dollar baseline subsidy and a phased two-year fee plan, the council adopted a new fee schedule 4-1 and required staff to return in three months with membership-impact data and to adopt Appendix A of the report as the operative schedule.
The Calabasas City Council voted 4-1 on Dec. 3 to adopt a revised fee schedule for the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center after a cost-of-service study by Matrix Consulting Group and an extended council debate over timing and magnitude of increases. The motion included two specific elements: the resolution will reference Appendix A of the Matrix report as the operative fee schedule and staff will return in three months with a report on membership changes, new sign-ups and any unanticipated impacts.
Matrix vice president Trisha Wingala told the council the analysis modeled full staffing, departmental overhead and capital costs and estimated a large baseline subsidy when all cost components are included. "There's approximately about a $4,600,000 subsidy," she said, noting that the subsidy figure included capital needs that have not yet been funded. Matrix recommended a two-year phase-in of new rates to move fees closer to identified cost-recovery goals; staff estimated the first year of the phased schedule would increase revenues by roughly $1.3 million.
The presentation and subsequent questions detailed several policy choices: the consultant proposed simplifying membership tiers into two primary categories (fitness access and full access) and phasing in changes to senior, adult, family and couple rates. Council members and members of the public pressed staff on the scale of increases for family and couple memberships, the administrative burden of many tiers, and protections for lower-income or senior residents. Councilmember objections centered on the steep percentage increases for some household tiers; one member proposed a three-year rollout but the council settled on the two-year plan with a pledge to monitor outcomes.
Tennis & Swim management provided membership data during deliberations: approximately 7,100 current members, about 41% of whom are Calabasas residents, and combined waiting lists totaling roughly 8,000 names (staff said lists include duplicates across categories). Council and staff framed the changes as necessary to ensure the facility operates as an enterprise fund and to finance immediate capital work identified in the facility's capital-improvement list (electrical panels, main water line, HVAC, upper pool deck and roofing projects).
The council vote carried 4-1, with Mayor Pro Tem Bazagian recorded as the lone no. The motion asked staff to attach Appendix A (pages 12–14 of the Matrix report) to the resolution and to return with a three-month membership-impact update showing members lost and gained, revenue realized and any recommended adjustments.
