December 4, 2023 |
Photo – Hanna recreation center – Bigfoot99 file photo
A call to change the hours of the Hanna Recreation Center was met with pushback from the community.
The Hanna town council has made it very clear that the town’s recreation center, built during the coal boom, is too expensive to operate. According to documents provided by the town, the Hanna Recreation Center costs upwards of $260,000 a year to run. During the 2022 2023 fiscal year, the town allocated nearly $190,000 towards the rec center. Membership sales only accounted for roughly 10% of the rec center’s overall budget, with the rest of the shortfall being made up of impact assistance money.
At the November 14th Hanna town council meeting, Mayor Jon Ostling introduced Resolution 2023-594 to change the times and dates the rec center is open. Mayor Ostling said the proposed new hours will save on heating costs over the winter.
Currently, the Hanna Recreation Center is open from 8:00 am to noon, and again from 4:00 to 8:00pm during most weekdays.
Mayor Ostling said the current schedule doesn’t give the facility’s heating system a chance to cycle down, costing the town a lot of money. Documents provided by the town show that it cost over $65,000 to heat the rec center during the previous fiscal year.
Town Treasurer Ann Calvert said the altered schedule will have the added benefit of making the rec center more available to residents.
A resident requested the council delay their vote on the new recreation center hours until the public could weigh in during the citizen’s participation portion of the meeting. Councilman Roger Hawks motioned to table Resolution 2023-594.
Councilman Bill Dys seconded and the motion passed.
Later in the meeting, the Hanna town council opened the floor to public comment. Fire Chief Mark Kostovny said as a long serving member of the town’s recreation board, he doesn’t think the new hours will save any money.
Kostovny said the rec center uses hot water to heat the facility. The fire chief said the town will see little to no savings by turning the hot water heating system on and off.
Treasurer Calvert said the schedule change is also meant to increase attendance at the rec center. Kostovny said later opening hours won’t attract new members. However, the fire chief said not opening the rec center until 1:00 pm will alienate the town’s important senior population.
Kostovny said the schedule change will also put more stress on Recreation Director Kim Connolly. The fire chief said Connolly, who is the only full-time employee at the recreation center, may not want to work so late in the evening.
Treasurer Calvert said residents have asked for the rec center to be open later. Calvert said the schedule change is simply a way for the town to attract more members. Mayor Ostling said the rec center only has around 30 paid memberships and brings in a little over $300 a month.
Kostovny suggested raising the price of a membership. Councilman Sam Sikes said the town would need to collect $54 from every Hanna resident to break even. Kostovny said the rec center was built as a service to the residents of Hanna, not to make money. Mayor Ostling said the rec center monopolizes too much of the town’s dwindling budget.
Other members of the public also spoke up to say the schedule change will prevent seniors from using the recreation facility.
The council chose not to vote on Resolution 2023-594 during the November 14th meeting. The matter is likely to be brought up again at the next Hanna town council meeting on December 12th.
