Gallup aquatic center opening on schedule
City officials determine user fees

Manuel Guerrero lays tile on the edges of one of the swimming pools inside the new Gallup Aquatic Center on Boardman Avenue in Gallup. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Indendent]

By Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Three months away from opening day, Gallup's new aquatic center remains dry. But with 88 percent of the work done, city staff say the project is on schedule.

The walls are up and the windows in place. With the shape of the pools set in concrete, it takes just a bit of imagination to see the center filled with water and eager patrons. Workers have begun laying tile on the floor of the pools.

With a tentative June 1 opening day in sight, city staff has also been busy figuring out how much the $8 million investment $1.5 million courtesy of Gallup McKinley County Schools will cost it each year. Based on current expense and revenue estimates, the staff expects the center to cost the city and school district an extra $59,000 to run annually.

Between operating expenses and labor costs, the center should run the partners just over $351,000 a year, said Larry Binkley, the city's executive director of administrative services. The city expects user fees to defray most of the costs.

To come up with its fees, the city took a look at what other municipalities in New Mexico and the Four Corners were charging for access to their facilities. The rates city staff is suggesting sit toward the top of the range: $3 for children under 12; $4 for youth 13 to 18 and seniors 60 or older; $5 for adults. Those rates will give patrons access to the entire center the activity/recreation pool, lap pool, water slide and lazy river for each two-hour session. For $30, the city will also offer a package of 12 swimming lessons for children.

"We feel the rate is a rate that will keep the pool full," said Binkley, while helping offset its expenses.

Assuming the council approved those rates, city staff did a little math. Assuming that the average visitor pays $4, that the center hosts 400 sessions a year, and an average of 182.5 visitors per session (218 during the summer months, 147 the rest of the year), they think the center could earn $292,000.

That would leave to city and school district with a little more than $59,000 to make up on an 80/20 split. Binkley said the city would cover its share out of its recreation budget.

For a little perspective, the city spends $275,000 operating Harold Runnels Pool each year. While the new center should chip into Harold Runnels' revenues considering the general allure of all things new fewer visitors should also help it save on staffing.

When the city and school district had little more than a site picked out for the center on South Boardman Drive, they were hoping to open by the spring of 2005. Now, they expect construction to wrap up by May 22, a few days earlier if they're lucky.

The city and school district agreed on a joint powers agreement to build and operate the facility two years ago. The district came on board on the condition it would help chose the site.

Sitting on a small hilltop between Gallup Junior High School and Kennedy Mid, the school district will have some 2,200 students within walking distance. Some parents, who felt the district had invested in its city school at the expense of its rural schools, wanted the center build in the county.