Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Residents returning to facilities
Rogers sees rising use of wellness center, water park, museum, airport
ROGERS — Use of the city’s biggest attractions and facilities increased this year and is beginning to resemble prepandemic levels, city officials said.
Even as supply chain issues and inflation linger, officials are planning ways to facilitate growth as residents use the city’s aquatic center, Adult Wellness Center, historical museum and airport.
City department heads reported revenues for the year as well as plans for the future during a budget work session with the City Council last month. The council has since approved a $78.2 million budget for 2023.
ADULT WELLNESS CENTER
More than 800 people are using the Adult Wellness Center each day, though attendance has still not quite returned to 2019 numbers, according to Lesli Ossenfort, the center’s director.
In most ways, the center has returned to normal this year, Ossenfort said. The center, which serves residents 50 and older, closed in March 2020 until it began operating in a limited capacity in May 2021 and opened fully a month later.
On average, over 173 land exercise sessions, 114 water exercise sessions and 260 gym activity sessions were offered to members each month of 2022, she said. The center also held about 75 sessions of a wide range of educational and recreational activities each month.
About 1,000 people have attended special event days this year, she said.
Many former members have returned to the facility in addition to new members who have signed up, she said. Membership since opening last year has increased from around 3,000 to 8,856.
Almost 2,000 first- time members have joined during that time, including over 1,100 this year, according to Ossenfort.
The center had 8,985 active members in 2019, she said.
“We are fortunate that our members are so passionate about our center,” Ossenfort said. “Word of mouth continues to be a strong source of growth for us, as our members continue to share how much they enjoy the center with their friends and neighbors.”
Revenue from concessions, memberships and instructional programs hasn’t yet reached the amount brought in during 2018 and 2019, but the city’s budget predicts another increase in 2023.
Next year’s budget for the center estimates $386,500 in revenue, $692,800 in expenses and $26,000 in capital projects.
AQUATIC CENTER
The Rogers Aquatic Center had the best year of admissions since parks director Jim White joined the department in 2016, he said.
Admission sales at the center brought in about $890,000, according to White.
The 3-acre park shut down for the summer of 2020 and opened with some limitations for the summer of 2021.
Administrators were worried about a pandemic-related shortage of lifeguards earlier this spring, but eventually were able to hire plenty of workers, he said.
The center hires about 130 park employees, including 80 lifeguards, for each summer season, according to Wendy Jones, operations manager for the Parks and Recreation Department.
The department plans to spend $260,000 on capital projects next year related to swimming pool maintenance.
A heater for the competition pool at the facility will extend the season it can be used, White said. Staff use the pool to train before the park opens, he said.
The city’s 2023 budget estimates $1 million of an anticipated $1.2 million in Parks Department revenue will come from the aquatic center. The department’s budget projects $6.7 million in expenses and capital projects.
HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The Rogers Historical Museum is seeing visitors around prepandemic levels with school field trips beginning to return slowly, according to museum director Serena Barnett.
The museum closed in March 2020, opened with limited hours and capacity in September 2020 and returned to full operations in July 2021.
In 2022, the museum held more in-person programs as it phased out its virtual events and also hosted its first exhibit preview for Friends of the Rogers Historical Museum members since 2020, she said.
Gift shop sales this year rose 200% after expanding the shop in May and adding more Rogers and museumspecific merchandise, according to Barnett.
The museum’s Eversole Building and lobby space were updated this year, using $26,000 from the Rogers Historical Foundation for work that involved replacing doors and windows, polishing the floor and adding an HVAC return system.
The museum is also in the early stages of outdoor campus improvements, Barnett said.
A $250,000 museum park project will reinvigorate the museum property at the northeast corner of Third and Cherry streets, she said. The City Council’s approval of the funding in the 2023 budget was the first big step for the project, according to Barnett.
While the current plans haven’t been finalized, they include adding historical museum pieces, art, a pavilion for live shows and a resting area for cyclists to the outdoor space, which is currently occupied by dying apple trees, she said.
This museum green will add one more public space to downtown while also acting as an extension of the museum, she said.
Next year’s budget for the museum estimates $4,500 in revenue and over $1 million in expenses.
EXECUTIVE AIRPORT
The Rogers Executive Airport also has largely recovered to prepandemic levels and is eyeing about $4 million worth of projects, including about $2 million in hangar construction, according to airport manager David Krutsch.
The facility on the northeast side of town completed a large expansion project in the first few months of 2022. Interest in the airport has since surpassed expectations and hangar capacity is holding back additional business, Krutsch said.
“We’ve been doing extremely well,” he said. “We just need more hangars to rent. We have an extensive waiting list for all types of aircraft.”
Two hangar development projects are beginning the large- scale development phase, according to Krutsch. Three or four projects are in earlier stages and more are being considered, he said.
The airport expects to bring the hangar projects for city approval over the course of the next year, he said.
The facility receives about $762,000 each year from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and has saved about $1.5 million of the money, he said. In order to start the projects totaling $4 million, the airport may eventually
request to use general fund money until it can be reimbursed as the federal money arrives over the next few years, he said.
Adding staff is also inevitable with growth and increased demand, though the department hasn’t added a new position in 17 years, according to Krutsch.
The city’s 2023 budget for the airport estimates just over $1 million in revenue, $922,763 in expenses and capital projects and a $103,237 surplus.