President’s Message: Fitness Classes – A Discussion of Cost Update

Kim Fuller
President

After many comments about the Fitness Class program, as pointed out by one resident, there is another alternative to keep yearly passes and still not increase the subsidy to residents in the budget for next year. We have been calculating using the assumption of an increase in the number of classes as requested by different people. That assumption drives the numbers because of increase costs in labor.

An alternative is to maintain only 35 classes a week and not increase that number without an increase in attendance to support the increase in labor. This idea has merit. If we maintain 35 classes per week, and no more, we could use this year’s income and expenses to determine any increase in yearly passes to make up any shortfall in the budget. It would then be possible to keep yearly passes, monthly passes, and day use fee at $4 per class. Everything would remain the same except for the yearly pass fee would have to increase to $250.

If we were to support this plan, and limit classes to 35 per week, it means finding the 35 classes that most residents want to participate in taking and eliminating all those classes with low attendance. Monitoring of those 35 classes would be on ongoing process to be sure we don’t increase expenses to all homeowners for this program.

We could, given this budget projection leave monthly fees, daily fees the same, but we would have to increase the fee to specialty classes that cost the HOA more in labor along with the increase in the yearly pass fee. Some classes cost more because certain classes cost more, either because they are longer, or the instructor charges more money for that type of class. Specialty classes would mean the daily fee would be $8, the monthly and yearly pass holders would need to pay $4 for these types of classes to be offered.

Please let Board know your thoughts on this alternative plan. It would mean all the pass would still be offered and the program would almost be self-funding so subsidy to residents would not increase over this year. The plan would mean:

  1. Yearly pass fee increased to $250
  2. Monthly pass fee remains the same
  3. Daily fee remains the same at $4
  4. Specialty classes need increase fee from everyone
  5. Maximum number of classes will be 35 per week

Let us know your thoughts or if you have further questions. This compromise would allow the yearly, monthly, and daily fee structure to continue.

Thank you,
Kim Fuller