MEDINA, Ohio – As renovation work continues on the old Memorial Park pool, city officials are discussing admission rates, programming and potential rentals.
Under a request for City Council action presented to the Public Properties Committee on Tuesday, daily admissions rates for people ages 3 to 59 would be $7.
The daily rate back in 2012, when the outdoor pool closed, was $3.
Proposed rates – which still need to be approved by City Council – include:
* Daily individual rate, ages 3 to 59 — $7
* Senior daily individual rate, ages 60 and up — $4
* Daily admission rate for children on the federal school lunch program — $4
* Camp/group rate daily admission — $4
* Children ages 2 and younger – Free
Season passes would also be sold. The individual season rate would be $100 and the family season pass (up to five members) would be $200. There would be an extra fee of $20 per person over five family members.
Seasonal rates for individuals and families on the lunch program would be offered at half price.
Medina Community Recreation Center Aquatics Manager Darlene Donkin surveyed the admission rates for 10 outdoor public pools in Ohio. The highest daily rate was $13 per person and the lowest was $3. The average was $7.30.
For example, Ledge Pool in the Cleveland Metroparks’ Hinckley Reservation charges $7 for adults and $6 for children. Seniors swim for free. Wadsworth’s rate for adults and seniors is $8; children are admitted for $6.
Individual seasonal rates ranged from $61 to $395 at the pools surveyed. Ledge Pool charges $75 for individuals and $120 for families. Individuals in Wadsworth pay $130, families $300 and seniors $115.
Donkin said she thinks Medina’s proposed rates would cover most operational costs for the outdoor pool while still being affordable.
“Our goal is to get as many people buying the seasonal rate as possible,” said Christy Moats, finance assistant at the recreation center.
“My personal goal is to raise as much as we spend,” she said.
That has been one of the main issues of concern for City Council members as they have discussed and finally agreed to go ahead with reopening the pool.
Total expenses to operate the pool, including staff, were $76,770 in its final summer. But revenues from daily and season passes and concessions totaled just $26,290, leaving the city to come up with the remainder.
Moats has projected the cost of operating the outdoor pool this summer at $84,944. She said she expects the new rates to cover most of that cost.
Moats is also proposing a number of promotional rates to help spur interest in the new and improved pool, which is expected to be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the summer.
These include offering a daily pass punch card for five visits for $25. One person could use the pass for five separate days, or a group of five kids or a family could use it for one day, she said.
She is also considering offering an early bird sale for season passes at no more than 25 percent off. (For example, sign up before June and get 15 percent off.)
Also under consideration is a mid-season special rate of up to half off of season pass rates, beginning in late July, to help boost historically slow patronage in the month of August.
Moats said promotional rates could help fill the pool during slow times.
“I don’t want to see it empty,” Moats said.
And the pool might offer “Facebook flash sales” on days when attendance is low due to cool or cloudy weather. The staff would post on Facebook those days that the daily rate has been dropped to $4 to encourage people to head over to the pool.
“It’s a way to motivate people who wouldn’t normally come out,” said Parks Director Jansen Wehrley.
Programming such as lifeguard training, a babysitter class, outdoor swim lessons and drop-in exercise classes could also bring in revenue, as will the concession stand.
The Parks Department and recreation center are also studying rental revenue options for after-hours parties and events, as well as reservations for the grassy picnic area within the pool fence.
MCRC Director Mike Wright praised Wehrley and his staff for keeping the pool renovation on track and under its $800,000 budget.
“They just did a great job,” Wright said.
The original pool, which was built in 1955, had deteriorated so badly that the city had to close it after the 2012 season.
The renovation follows the footprint of the old pool, with the northwest corner turned into a zero-depth entry that slopes to 3.6 feet in the middle and 5.5 feet at the eastern end, where there are plans to replace the slide.
Murray and Susan Van Epp have donated a mushroom-shaped spray feature for the shallow end.
Wehrley said work is going along swimmingly. The new concrete pool floor has been poured, stainless steel walls and gutters installed, and old piping replaced.
The zero-depth entry and water feature have been plumbed, and back filling around the pool is complete. Workers are getting ready to start the rough grading for the decking, he said.
Inside the pool house, several non-load-bearing concrete walls have been removed to provide a more open floor plan. Most of the painting has been done, toilets are being installed and half of the flooring has been replaced.
Workers are doing some electrical upgrades and adding a new roof to the bath house after discovering a leak.
Now it’s a matter of waiting for the weather to improve before starting additional outdoor work.
“We’re ahead of the game, which is a good thing. I don’t see why we wouldn’t be ready to open in time for the 2017 season,” Wehrley said.
Ward 2 Councilman Dennie Simpson, who has long been a proponent of renovating and reopening the pool, said he thinks it will be successful.
“The first two years will be the test. It’s all dependent on the weather. We get that. But you’ve given it every chance to be successful,” he said.
“People are excited already, just seeing the progress that’s been made,” he said.
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