There have been numerous letters to the editor regarding our Rec center here in Mesquite. As a resident and member of the facility, I concur with many of the frustrations people have mentioned.
I am in the health and fitness industry, and as a fitness professional here are some of my observations and suggestions. I also was the fitness director for eight years for a school district, so I believe my points will have some credence.
As a director or manager of such a facility, you do need to see the big picture, and have back-up plans in place. If something is not working, a dependable maintenance program should be in place. If that company/individual is not able to fix the problem, you need another company on call ready to help you.
There are many aspects in running a fitness and recreation facility, and I do realize that some things take priority over others. But these two points I have found to be true in all places, including the facility I ran.
One, nothing gets members more upset that the facility not being clean. I have been appalled at the conditions of this facility. There is no reason why people employed there should keep the machines, pool and especially the locker rooms clean. I’m sure the powers to be could find some money to pay people for that. Health issues alone dictate that.
Second, nothing is worse than equipment not working, or waiting for a part, etc. to come in. This goes back to my point of having a back-up/company on hand to rectify the problem.
I do realize it’s not as easy as it looks, because I have dealt with business officers and school board members with these issues. I always tried to pride myself on having a safe, clean environment for the members, alone with equipment that was functional.
Because the Rec Center is the only place for people of all ages to go, it’s even more vital for the facility to be what it could and should be.
AGREE 100%!!
The pool can be really disgusting sometimes.
I would add to the author’s list the following: Oftentimes too many people are occupying the “free weights & machines” area, given it’s small and cramped size. Also, the weights and related equipment frequently aren’t stored, and in some cases there isn’t enough room to store them safely. I hope the Rec Center will reallocate space to accommodate the fact that more people are using the free weights area. Many areas within the building are VERY LIGHTLY UTILIZED compared to the weights area. I believe this is a safety issue. (BTW, businesses can’t afford to operate with poor utilization of space).
Thank the mayor and the short sighted council for the conditions you stated.
The mayor keeps saying we are broke- well that $80,000 they spent on city employee negotiations with a lawyer and the me-too clause was the only thing to come out of it,which the city and mayor will not honor now looks like a bigger waste than when it first took place.
Stupid is as stupid does= mayor and council.
And why we need new life in all those positions up for election.
THANKS SWELL AL
We need to raise the fees in all categories except day use for our youth. The money would go to clean and repair. We don’t need huge increases but small to moderate each year to keep up with cost. Complaints about raising fees are doing more harm then good as it leaves no money to do the necessary work and hire personal. As the original letter said, people working must clean up, if they don’t want to do it, get someone else. Some other things to be looked at: what age for youth discount, what age for senors discounts and limit on family size for discount. Maybe they are all right but someone should be looking. I am a member and understand costs go up and we all need to pay our share.