MOUNT VERNON — As part of the effort to reduce the operating deficit at Hiawatha Water Park, admission rates will increase in 2018. Concession pricing will not change.
Councilman Matt Starr, chairman of the Parks and Lands Committee, told council members on Monday that he, along with members of the city’s recreation board and city administration, compared Hiawatha’s admission rates to those in Heath, Coshocton, and Marion.
“We are in the ballpark, if on the low side,” he said of the comparison.
In 2018, family memberships at Hiawatha were $80 to $220; Heath charged $230-$270, Coshocton $270-$470, and Marion $199. Hiawatha’s individual memberships were $85-$110; Heath was $110-$130 and Marion $105.
The new 2018 pricing structure for Hiawatha Water Park is as follows:
Memberships
- Household: $200 in the Mount Vernon City School District, $220 outside MVCSD through April 30. May 1-Aug. 15, $220 in MVCSD and $240 outside MVCSD
- Individual: $95 and $110; May 1-Aug. 15, $105 and $120
- Youth (1-5): $50 and $65; May 1-Aug. 15, $60 and $75
- Senior (60 and older): $55 and $70; May 1-Aug. 15, $65 and $80
- Lap swim: $35; May 1-Aug. 15, $35
Day Rates
- Individuals (age 6-59) $8 noon to 5 pm; $6 after 5 pm
- Children (age 1-5) $5 noon to 5 pm; $4 after 5 pm
- Seniors (60 & older) $7 noon to 5 pm; $5 after 5 pm
- Children under 1 year are free
Jerry Clinger, city recreation director, said the recreation board supports the price increase. “The pool admission price has only gone up twice since we opened, but expenses keep increasing,” he said. “To get away from that deficit we have to raise rates and close early.”
The park has operated at a loss every year since it opened in 2007. Between 2012 and 2016, the loss ranged from $50,866 to $108,608, with an average of around $76,000. Last year’s deficit was $163,400 and due primarily to new pool equipment and equipment maintenance.
A heater will have to be replaced in 2019 at a cost of $44,000. Because the heater has to be separate from the pool’s mechanical rooms, the city will build a small addition onto the back of the pump room this year, and then buy the heater next year.
Starr said that in 2017, based on 85 days of operation, it cost just over $5,000 a day to keep the doors open. “Where we really began to hemorrhage was after school started,” he said.
The pool will open on June 2 and close on 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, thus saving about two weeks worth of maintenance costs.
Starr said that the recreation board is exploring other ways to reduce the deficit such as increasing memberships and day walk-ins, holding special events and finding new markets.
