VERO BEACH – The Vero Beach City Council is expected today to address a new way of collecting fees at the Leisure Square Recreation Complex.
The council will hold a public hearing before voting on whether or not to accept those changes. The hearing will be held at the council meeting, which begins at 3 p.m. in City Hall. Instead of offering ala carte-styled fees for using individual parts of the center, the city is considering an all-inclusive annual membership like that of a health and fitness center.
The prices Recreation Department Director Rob Slezak proposed, when the matter came before council last month, were to be comparable to what visitors were already paying monthly.
The only change was offering annual memberships rather than per-use payments.
What is going before the Vero Beach City Council Tuesday afternoon sets the maximum rates for Leisure Square.
Slezak has told the council that sometime in the future, the department would want to increase the rates by approximately $10 over the current rates.
If approved, the new rate structure would go into effect on Nov. 1.
Current Leisure Square members would have the option to extend and pre-pay their current ala carte memberships as far into the future as they want to, Slezak told the council in August.
The cut-off date to extend memberships would be Oct. 31.
In August, Vice Mayor Sabe Abell asked about the possibility of charging seniors the same as their younger counterparts. Slezak said he’d be willing to consider it in the future, but that the department was trying to “give them a little bit of a break.”
The proposed rates reflect a $5 difference between those 55 and older and those who are younger than 55.
Here’s what the new rate structure would look like*:(Includes swimming pool when available, weight and exercise machines, and racquetball court) City ResidentsAge 15-54:
$20 per month if they sign at least a one-year agreement
$25 per month if they pay month-by-month
Age 55 and older:
$15 per month with a one-year agreement
$20 per month without the agreement
Non-city Residents:Age 15-54:
$25 per month with an agreement
$30 without
Age 55 and older:
$20 with agreement
$25 without
*Members must also pay tax
Guest Fee (daily) – includes pool, racquetball
Resident: $5
Non-Resident: $7
Guest Fee Family (daily) – includes pool, racquetball
Resident: $12
Non-Resident: $16
Pool Passport – Family – 1 month
Resident: $40
Non-Resident: $50
Pool Passport – Family – 3 months
Resident: $115
Non-Resident: $135
Pool Passport – Family – Yearly
Resident: $375
Non-Resident: $475