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Director says 2023 brought strong AHRC revenue but COVID-era shortfalls still left a subsidy
Summary
Parks & Recreation Director J.C. Kennedy told the Park Advisory Board that the Airway Heights Recreation Center exceeded revenue targets in 2023 but — after pandemic impacts and mandated COLA considerations — still required a general-fund subsidy; a modeled no-COVID scenario would have nearly eliminated the subsidy.
Parks & Recreation Director J.C. Kennedy told the Park Advisory Board on Jan. 11 that the Airway Heights Recreation Center (AHRC) exceeded its 2023 revenue target but continued to rely on a general-fund subsidy.
Kennedy reported membership growth from 1,086 on Dec. 29, 2022, to 1,261 on Dec. 28, 2023, and said the center recorded 173,496 paid-member entries during 2023. He said the facility realized 120.3% of anticipated revenue for the year, $257,297.48 over budget.
The director provided year-to-date figures showing AHRC revenue at $1,517,420.80 and expenditures at $2,073,683.72, leaving a subsidy of $556,262.92 and a cost-recovery rate of 73.18%. For full-year 2023 data he listed total revenues of $1,527,109.67 and expenditures of $2,086,308.74, yielding an operating subsidy of $559,199.07 and membership revenues of $1,239,378.
Kennedy applied a 32.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) — the amount intended to offset part-time staff increases under the center’s operating model — to membership revenues. He said that adjustment would add $406,515.98 to membership income, raising modeled total revenue to $1,933,625.65 and producing a 98.68% cost-recovery rate. Under that modeled, no-COVID scenario, Kennedy said the subsidy requirement would fall to $152,683.09.
Kennedy cited Ballard King & Associates’ 2018 operations study and earlier City Council discussions as the basis for the center’s operating goals and the expectation that membership-rate adjustments would move the facility toward full cost recovery.
The board received the report and discussed the implications for the Parks operating budget and future rate-setting; no formal action on fees or subsidy levels was recorded at the meeting.
