Town to eliminate family pass
PLAINS – Now that summer is over and kids are back in school, the Plains Town Council discussed changes that may be implemented at the pool for the next year to come.
During the monthly Plains Town Council meeting, which took place on Tuesday, Sept. 2, Mayor Greg Eitelberg and the council discussed getting rid of the family passes at the pool at E.L. Johnson Memorial Pool Park.
According to Mayor Eitelberg, people have taken advantage of the family pass, putting unrelated kids on the family pass in order to save money. The council will look at going to single passes for those interested in using the pool in future years.
The decision was tabled until the mayor could crunch numbers, but during the meeting Eitelberg said he would like to charge people in town $30 and out of town users $45.
“We have 1,048 people in town. That means every man, woman and child in this town is taxed $30 for that pool,” Eitelberg said after disclosing the town spends approximately $30,000 on the three months the pool is open. “What I would like to see next year is for us to go to a single pass.”
The rate for out of town users will be more because those individuals are not taxed for keeping the pool open. However, the rate for in town users only applies to those who are living within Plains proper, or within the town’s limits.
In order to verify whether someone lives within the town’s borders, Mayor Eitelberg said he would like to start selling the passes from the Plains Town Hall. This would allow the town to easily verify where someone lives before selling them a year round pass.
Eliminating the family pass would ensure the town was receiving money for every swimmer.
“I don’t think $45 to swim all summer is asking to much,” Mayor Eitelberg stated during the meeting. “I think our revenue will increase because we are breaking apart that family pass. Every family pass had five people on it and (the people on the pass) did not necessarily have the same last names.”
The council discussed offering a discounted rate for the second child, however, this would lead to a slippery slope, Eitelberg said.
“The only problem is when we start talking about family, we can’t determine what family is,” Eitelberg said.
The town would keep punch card passes, allowing those interested in using the pool the opportunity to buy a predetermined amount of swims for one price – a popular option for those who have grandkids or family members visit during the summer months.
Although numbers had not been finalized, this year the revenue generated by the pool seemed to be up from last year’s numbers. Verified deposits equaled approximately $15,600, while concessions added up to almost $2,400.
“I don’t know what the profit is because we have not received the bill yet from McGowans….but I think there was a profit margin,” Eitelberg said.
Last year the pool took in approximately $14,000 all together.