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Airway Heights recreation center reports membership gains and a lower 2024 general-fund subsidy
Summary
Parks & Recreation Director J.C. Kennedy told the Airway Heights Parks Advisory Board that the Airway Heights Recreation Center saw membership and visit increases in January 2025 and that the center's 2024 general-fund subsidy fell to $360,268.98, down $214,005.06 from 2023. The board received benchmarking context from the NRPA report.
Parks & Recreation Director J.C. Kennedy reported to the Airway Heights Parks Advisory Board on Feb. 6 that the Airway Heights Recreation Center welcomed 19,254 visits in January 2025, an increase of 1,893 visits compared with January 2024. "In January 2025 we welcomed 19,254 members into the facility; an increase of 1,893 guests compared to January 2024," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said membership tracking showed December 2024 membership at 1,067 and January 2025 membership at 1,169. He reported that January 2025 produced an 18.77% increase versus January 2024, narrowly missing the department's monthly goal of 20% by about 1.23%.
Presenting the department's 2024 Agency Performance Review, Kennedy said the recreation center recorded 175,923 visits in 2024, an increase of 2,427 visits from 2023. He reported total AHRC revenue for 2024 was $1,801,912.51 and expenditures were $2,162,181.49, for a 2024 cost-recovery rate of 83.34%.
Kennedy told the board the 2024 general-fund subsidy for the recreation center was $360,268.98, which the minutes record as $214,005.06 less than the 2023 subsidy of $574,274.04. He noted that operating the recreation center in 2024 cost taxpayers $22,448.03 less than the estimated cost of operating without the rec center.
The minutes summarize benchmarking from the National Recreation & Park Association's 2024 Agency Performance Review to provide context on staffing and cost recovery. The record notes staffing as the department's single largest expenditure and reports cumulative wage increases since opening: a 20.75% increase to full-time equivalent wages and a 36.07% increase to part-time wages.
The board did not take formal action on the performance review at the meeting. The meeting record shows routine procedural business (agenda and minutes approved) and adjournment at 6:02 PM. The board received the performance data and benchmarking information and did not vote on budget changes during this session.
