City drops prices to stimulate use of aquatic center

By Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The city's efforts to stimulate sluggish attendance at Gallup's new aquatic center with lower prices are working. But it seems unlikely that those prices will stick around.

Back in October, responding to public demand, Gallup Recreation Director Esco Chavez recommended that the city and county school district, which formed a special board to run the center, bring its fees in line with the city's other, cheaper pool: Harold Runnels.

"We were getting a lot of people saying the prices are too high," he said.

Compared to Harold Runnels' $3 for adults and $2 for children and seniors, the Aquatic Center was charging $5 and $3 respectively. For a family of four with two children, that's a difference of $6 for two hours of swimming.

The board agreed to give it a try, but only on a limited basis. Picking from among the slowest days of the week, it settled on Thursdays and Saturdays.

According to Chavez, attendance at the Aquatic Center held its own against Harold Runnels this past summer despite the price difference. And although city officials knew the numbers would fall in the winter, they weren't expecting them to fall quite so low.

"Attendance is a little bit less than we had anticipated," conceded Assistant City Manager Larry Binkley, who sits on the board. "We (lowered prices ) in order to stimulate a little more activity on those two days."

According to Chavez, it's working. The center's two slowest days are now its busiest.

"Thursdays and Saturdays are pretty good," he said. "A lot of people look for those days and come for those days."

When the board reconvenes next month, Binkley said it will likely want to see a report on exactly how the discount days are doing. Chavez said he'd like to recommend that the board match Harold Runnel's prices every day of the week.

He conceded that comparing the two facilities posed a bit of an apples and oranges problem.

"They're both swimming pools, but they're different," he said.

Unlike the Aquatic Center, Harold Runnels has a weight room and a steam room. When the city and school district were planning the Aquatic Center, they were thinking about what Harold Runnels didn't have. As a result, it ended up with a wading pool, lazy river and water slide. It also has the city's only competition certified laps.

Still, Chavez thinks the public should have access to both for the same prices.

Binkley thinks that's unlikely to happen.

"I think we'll always see a little difference between the new pool and Harold Runnels just because of the difference in facilities," he said.

It's more likely, he added, that the board will end up setting the Aquatic Center's Thursday and Saturday fees back to where they were as the more popular summer months near.

It's not that the city is expecting the Aquatic Center to break even, not even with its higher fees. Binkley's last prediction was that annual revenues would fall short of operating expenses by $59,000 at best. Even so, the city and school district, which agreed to cover any shortfalls on an 80/20 split respectively, don't want to fall too far behind. A public recreation facility is considered to be doing well, Chavez said, if it manages to cover even half its costs.

The city opened the $8 million Aquatic Center in July. When deciding what to charge, it took a look at what other municipalities in the Four Corners were asking for access to their own pools. The Aquatic Center's fees don't top the list, put sit near the top.

Those expecting Harold Runnels' fees to stay put shouldn't hold their breaths either. As with anything, Binkley said, city fees can't ignore inflationary pressures forever. He said the city might consider raising the pool's fees as soon as July, especially if it decides to invest in upgrades to the aging facility.