RiverWinds Fee Increase Passes First Reading

Fees for use of the RiverWinds Community Center are likely to increase in the not-too-distant future.

The first reading of an ordinance that would increase membership fees along a sliding scale passed a West Deptford Township Committee vote by a majority at the Thursday meeting.

If approved at subsequent readings, the measure could raise some $81,365 in additional revenues for the financially beleagured facility.

The range of proposed fees presented to the Comittee by the RiverWinds Advisory Board (R.W.A.B.), which was introduced at its March 2013 meeting, ranged from a 2-percent, across-the-board increase, which would generate $28,963 in revenues, to a 10 percent flat increase that would raise $144,816 in revenues.

The final recommendation from R.W.A.B., which was approved by the Committee, introduced a 5.49- to 6.95-percent, scaled increase:

Resident Plan

Current Fee

New Fee

Fee Increase

Monthly Increase

Percentage Increase (%)

Family

$474

$500

$26

$2.17

5.49

Individual

$237

$250

$13

$1.08

5.49

Senior

$93.50

$100

$6.50

$0.54

6.95

Senior (Head of Household)

$156

$165

$9

$0.75

5.77

Youth

$158

$167

$9

$0.75

5.70

The impact on non-resident members at those same rates would be as follows: 

Non-Resident Plan

Current Fee

New Fee

Fee Increase

Monthly Increase

Percentage Increase (%)

Family

$948

$1000

$52

$4.33

5.49

Individual

$474

$500

$26

$2.17

5.49

Senior

$187

$200

$13

$1.08

6.95

Senior (Head of Household)

$312

$330

$18

$1.50

5.77

Youth

$316

$334

$18

$1.50

5.70

Case statement

In comparison with other local fitness facilities— L.A. Fitness, Giant Fitness and the Y.M.C.A.—RiverWinds does not have an initiation fee, which the others do. The only comparable facility to beat the RiverWinds on family dues, said R.W.A.B. chairman Jeff Hansen, is Y.M.C.A., “and RiverWinds has a lot more to offer than that.”

Hansen said that fees had not been raised in five years, and that the facility also has some “extensive repairs” that must be addressed.

In addition to the across-the-board fee increase, the ordinance amended the age at which a member of the community center would be eligible for a senior discount, raising it from 55 to 62. The provision would also grandfather in all current senior-discount memberships for persons currently receiving them.

The R.W.A.B. noted that no discounts are offered for senior members of local competing facilities such as Giant Fitness and L.A. Fitness.

Cost, relocation top reasons for cancellations

Committeewoman Denice DiCarlo also asked whether RiverWinds staff had conducted exit interviews to determine why people cancel their memberships, or if that information had determined the greatest competitor of the facility.

The most common answer as to why people quit the facility, said RiverWinds manager Cristin Veit, is that “people are either moving out of the area or their budgets can no longer afford the membership at this time.”

The ordinance passed its introductory vote, with DiCarlo opposing it on the grounds of her objection to the senior rate increase. It will go for a second reading at the May 2013 Committee Meeting. 

“It’s the over-55 piece that is going to cause me to say no,” said DiCarlo, citing that the RiverWinds residential community is an over-55 development, “but I do want to say thank you for the detail that you gave us.”

Raising fees, closing loopholes

The Committee also approved the first reading of an ordinance codifying the employment structure of the Township Police Department to comply with a state statute.

In a press release, Committeeman Sam Cianfarini pointed out that "our township needs to address this to protect us all legally," citing labor lawsuits that have exploited communities that do not carry a clear definition of the number, roles and responsibilities of its law enforcement positions.

The Committee also approved a number of bulk fee increases throughout the Township, as outlined in its March 2013 committee meeting.

Fianlly, the Committee approved a pair of purchasing agreements—$138,000 agreement for tax-and-utility collection software and $96,000 to lease a heavy-duty cab and chassis from Robert H. Hoover & Sons Inc.