HILLIARD, Ohio — City staff on Jan. 13 returned to the City Council Committee of the Whole with revised membership and fee proposals for the new recreation facility known as the Well, proposing higher nonresident fees, a monthly billing option for the child “depot” program and updated revenue and debt projections.

City staff said the changes respond to council feedback from a December workshop and aim to set market-competitive rates while preserving favorable pricing for residents. Michelle, a city staff presenter on the Well project, told council the goals were to “establish rates that are comparable to and competitive within the market” and to set resident rates that remain favorable compared with nonresidents.

Staff member Anastasia presented specific adjustments to membership pricing and registration procedures. “We have adjusted that to 100%,” Anastasia said, describing the revised policy of charging nonresidents roughly double resident monthly and annual rates. She also confirmed that “anyone that lives or works within our corporate boundaries receives the resident rate.”

Why it matters: Council approved local funding in Issue 22 that directs a portion of the city’s income tax to a rec and parks fund; staff said revenue from the Well is expected to move the fund toward greater self-sufficiency. Council members pressed on rate levels, senior discounts and the potential local versus nonresident mix because the fund’s net revenue will fund parks capital and ongoing facility maintenance.

What staff proposed

- Rates and nonresident differential: Staff revised earlier recommendations so nonresident rates are approximately 100% higher than resident rates (an increase from the previously proposed 75% gap). Staff said resident rates were held at the previously proposed levels while nonresident rates were increased.

- Depot/child drop-off: The unlimited monthly depot option will remain available only to members and staff said it will be billable monthly rather than required to be prepaid for an annual membership. Staff said the unlimited depot option can be paid monthly (staff noted a $24 monthly charge as an example), and that at high use the per-session cost would be low (staff calculated a hypothetical 44 visits in a month would equal about $0.55 per session).

- Membership types and discounts: Annual memberships reflect a roughly 20% discount vs. paying month-to-month, and the HSC (senior center) membership remains an annual $30 fee. Staff noted minimum member age rules: children under age 3 are exempt from the depot fee when accompanying a paying adult.

- Registration timing: Staff moved resident registration to start on a Thursday and nonresident registration to the following Tuesday to give residents a short exclusive period. Staff said future registration sequencing would prioritize resident members first, then resident nonmembers and nonresident members, then nonresident nonmembers.

Revenue and staffing assumptions

Staff presented revenue projections driven by membership-count estimates and other revenue lines. Key points presented:

- A baseline membership projection for 2026 of 7,416 memberships, derived by averaging membership totals from comparable nearby municipalities (Dublin, Worthington and Westerville). Staff used a resident/nonresident split of 67% resident and 33% nonresident for 2026 and beyond, noting that the pro forma used an 85/15 split in earlier work.

- Membership-mix sensitivity: If the same revenue were achieved through monthly memberships only, it would require a larger number of monthly accounts than if many members paid annually. Staff showed a 50/50 monthly/annual split scenario as a plausible midcase and said the $2.2 million membership revenue target was a reasonable conservative estimate for initial years.

- Cost recovery and operating projections: The rec and parks fund is expected to show low cost recovery (about 5%) in 2025 because the Well will be open only part of the year, rising in subsequent years — staff projected roughly 69% cost recovery in later years if membership and programming targets are met. Staff said the net revenue line from these projections funds capital projects for parks and trails and reduces reliance on the general fund.

- Debt and borrowing: Staff reminded council of an $85 million financing package for the facility with annual debt service of roughly $4.6 million over 30 years. They also said project shortfalls mean an additional $10.5–$11 million of project cost remains; council expects to borrow roughly $5.5 million of that amount, which staff estimated would add about $300,000 per year over a 20-year term.

Other program and policy notes

- Scholarships: Council and staff discussed creating a scholarship fund to help low-income residents access programming; staff will return later in the year with proposals on eligibility, program scope and whether to accept private donations into the fund.

- Third-party tenants and rent: Staff noted the lease with Ohio State Wexner Medical Center includes base rent and a common-area maintenance (CAM) obligation; staff said the CAM is calculated and may be reconciled at year end and that the lease contemplates roughly $250,000 per year but the final amount depends on actual costs.

Council reaction and open questions

Council members repeatedly asked for additional detail on resident-versus-nonresident impacts and programming revenue splits. Several councilmembers urged lower resident rates, particularly for seniors and for families, noting residents already pay the dedicated half-percent income tax that funds the facility. One councilmember asked staff to quantify how much nonmember program fees contribute to overall revenue; staff said that number was not immediately available but they would provide it.

Council members also asked for historic revenue data for athletic-field rentals; Ed, city staff, said the city previously did not control rectangular field rentals and therefore revenue for those fields had been zero in prior reports, with only diamond (baseball) space and some indoor rentals generating fees.

What staff will return with

Staff said they will provide updated benchmark comparisons (including recent rate changes in Dublin), refined membership and program revenue estimates, a recommended scholarship fund design, and the 2024 final numbers when year-end closeout is complete. Staff also said they would continue to monitor the resident/nonresident mix and could recommend rate adjustments after the Well has been operating long enough to produce actual membership and programming data.

Tapering note

No formal vote or ordinance was taken at the Jan. 13 committee meeting; the session was a discussion and information update on rates, registration timing, program billing and the financial model that supports the rec and parks fund. Councilmembers asked staff for more granular revenue data and for options to reduce resident or senior costs if feasible without undermining the fund’s objectives.