McHenry to start selling recreation center memberships Tuesday

McHENRY – As workers hang drywall in the recreation center that still is under construction, the city of McHenry prepares to sell its first memberships.

Memberships will go on sale Tuesday with the monthly rates discounted for the first year and the enrollment fees waived. It marks an incentive city officials hope will draw in 300 to 500 new members before the facility opens, Recreation Center Manager Matt LaPorte said. The first 250 people to sign up also will receive a gift of a gym bag, hand towel and water bottle.

The goal is to be at 800 members as close to May as possible, which a number of forecasts say would put the recreation center in the black financially, said LaPorte, who was hired this fall to run the new center.

The recreation center is on track to open in late February, Deputy City Administrator Bill Hobson said.

“We had always – through the construction process, bidding and everything – been hoping for late March, but we’re at a point now we’re ahead of schedule and things are – knock on wood – going really well,” he said.

The city also is starting to hire front desk attendants, child care personnel, personal trainers, group exercise instructors and facility attendants, LaPorte said.

Once the recreation center opens, monthly membership dues will return to regular levels and enrollment fees will kick in at $30 for residents and $50 for nonresidents, he said.

The idea behind the membership structure was to make it as easy to explain as possible, LaPorte told the Parks and Recreation Committee early this month. That’s why it includes the 40 or so standard fitness classes being offered and doesn’t have different monthly rates for residents and nonresidents.

The structure creates an atmosphere where users aren’t being “policed” or where they feel they’re being “nickeled and dimed,” LaPorte said. It also encourages them to diversify their workouts.

“We’ll be able to expand our offerings for the active adult population, hit more of the Cross Fit-style training for the millennials, and then your kind of bread and butter type classes attract everybody – yoga, Pilates, piloxing,” LaPorte said.

Alderman Jeff Schaefer said at the committee meeting he’s worried, however, that the lack of distinction between residents and nonresidents for a city-run facility will generate negative feedback, which led to the lower enrollment fees for residents.

To get a membership

Memberships can be bought starting Tuesday at the McHenry City Hall, 333 S. Green St. The McHenry City Hall is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Memberships bought before the center opens in February will be discounted 10 percent for the first year, and the enrollment fee will be waived.

The monthly rates start at $29 for individuals 19 to 61 years old and a family member age 12 and older can be added for $19 a person. Seniors 62 and older and teenagers 14 to 18 years old can get memberships for $22 a month.