MOUNT VERNON — The city’s water park historically operates at a loss, but Jerry Clinger, city recreation director, told council members that the 2017 loss was substantial. Council heard the news during a Parks and Lands Committee meeting on Monday.
Clinger said the operating deficit of $163,400 last year was primarily due to new pool equipment and equipment maintenance, which included a new sound system and sealing and patching of the parking lot. For the past five years, the annual operating loss has ranged from $50,866 to $108,608, with an average of around $76,000. He also said wages and supplies costs continue to increase.
“Weather-wise, last summer wasn’t great,” he said, adding that the park closed more than average with a lot of early closings due to new temperature guidelines. “If [the temperature] hasn’t reached 70 by noon, we shut down for the day because we know it would be a losing day. We still have to pay for chemicals for the pool, but at least we save money on the staff.”
The $268,294 in revenue came from admission/memberships ($219,094), concessions ($46,089) and state sales tax ($3,111). Auditor Terry Scott said memberships account for 50 to 55 percent of admission revenue, adding that a significant amount of memberships come in during the early preseason price break.
Families who live in the city get a $20 discount compared to nonresidents; last year household memberships were $180 and $200, respectively.
“A few people have contacted us about the $20 discount for families who live in the city,” said Clinger. “There have been some disgruntled people who live outside the school district, so they are not entitled to the discount, but they work here.”
He did not know what the membership numbers might be if the city extended the discount to those who live outside of but work in the city. He did not think offering half-price admission during fair week had much impact.
Clinger said Mount Vernon’s fees are lower than surrounding communities, including Coshocton, Newark and Marion. The recreation board recommends raising the price of memberships. Councilwoman Nancy Vail said she’s concerned about raising fees because the city provides the pool as a community service, just as it provides ball fields and other recreational activities.
“How much is too much to lose?” asked Councilman Chris Menapace. “Is there a cutoff?”
Scott said the city knew it would not be able to cover operational costs and the debt service on the water park, but the design is to get operations covered.
Councilman and committee chairman Matt Starr wants to create a focus group, similar to the group Mayor Richard Mavis established to study the city’s finances, to come up with a plan. He believes he can have a plan in two or three weeks.
“If the weather had cooperated last year, changes implemented by the recreation board would have cut into the deficit,” he said. “Now with some of the big-ticket items out of the way, I think it’s feasible to make a dent in the deficit.”
Starr does want to move forward on increasing the membership fees so that pool brochures can be available before the end of March.
The pool will open this year on June 2 and close Wednesday, Aug. 15. In previous years, the pool closed the day before school started, and then reopened for the weekends through Labor Day. This year, the pool will not reopen for those weekends.
