Swim Club II
The Middle Road
By Rich Kohler
Note: This is a revised and updated version of a column that was previously published in the December 11, 2003 edition of this newspaper.
The Hazlet Township Swim and Tennis Club has been part of our community for more than thirty years. I fondly remember conjuring up the courage to take my first “real” dive on the club’s 3-meter springboard and going with my friends to the live music concerts on Teen Night.
Many residents have pleasant memories of warm summer days at the swim club with their friends, neighbors and family. The club contributes to the quality of life in Hazlet, but it has also become an expensive problem for the taxpayers. The club is suffering from a case of community apathy; membership has drastically declined.
The swim club operates as a utility. Under New Jersey state law, such utilities must be self-supporting. Membership fees and sources other than township tax money are supposed to cover the swim club’s operating expenses, but the township is ultimately responsible for its financial solvency. During the last seven years, the average operating cost of the club was $360,000 per season. Membership fees collected by the club have declined steadily from over $270,000 in 1999 to a paltry $129,000 in 2005. Hazlet taxpayers, including those who are not members of the swim club, have paid several hundred thousand dollars to balance this utility’s budget. The township has considered numerous ideas to fix the deficit, such as contracting with the YMCA to manage the day-to-day operations of the club and leasing out the food and beverage concessions, but nothing could generate enough money to overcome the problem of moribund membership.
In attempt to minimize this illegitimate use of taxpayers’ money, the township raised the swim club’s membership fees. Not surprisingly, the number of members continued to decline and last month, the Hazlet Township Committee decided to shut it down.
The Tuesday, May 2, meeting of the Township Committee was a standing-room-only event. It seemed as though every member of the swim club attended, many of whom addressed the committee. Most were malcontents expressing how the closure of the club would adversely affect their families, even while acknowledging that it is wrong for the club to operate at a deficit. After listening to residents repeat this conflicted mantra for over an hour, Mayor Sachs called the committee into executive session to reconsider the motion to close the club. The Township Committee resolved that the club would remain open for the 2006 season, but only if 250 families signed up for membership before May 25. However, this potential compromise still leaves the township with a problem. At the current rate of $385 per family, 250 memberships add up to less than $100,000 in membership fees, leaving a substantial shortfall in the amount needed to operate for the 2006 season.
Continuing to provide a service, in which most of our community seems to have lost interest, would be fiscally irresponsible. Hazlet could use those resources to manage quality of life issues that are more germane to the interests of the majority its current residents.
In a letter to the editor in the May 4 edition of The Courier, one Hazlet resident asked, “When will Mayor Sachs start watching out for us taxpayers?” The initiative to close the swim club was just one of many vigilant efforts by our mayor and the current Township Committee to curtail wasteful spending of Hazlet’s tax revenue. Yet, at Tuesday’s Township Committee meeting, that same resident vociferously complained about the motion to close the swim club.
Our Township Committee has a responsibility to make decisions that will benefit all citizens, not just the hypocritical ones with membership cards.
Rich Kohler is a life-long resident of Hazlet. Please send comments to richkohler@comcast.net. All of Rich Kohler’s columns are available online at http://middleroadhazlet.blogspot.com/.
By Rich Kohler
Note: This is a revised and updated version of a column that was previously published in the December 11, 2003 edition of this newspaper.
The Hazlet Township Swim and Tennis Club has been part of our community for more than thirty years. I fondly remember conjuring up the courage to take my first “real” dive on the club’s 3-meter springboard and going with my friends to the live music concerts on Teen Night.
Many residents have pleasant memories of warm summer days at the swim club with their friends, neighbors and family. The club contributes to the quality of life in Hazlet, but it has also become an expensive problem for the taxpayers. The club is suffering from a case of community apathy; membership has drastically declined.
The swim club operates as a utility. Under New Jersey state law, such utilities must be self-supporting. Membership fees and sources other than township tax money are supposed to cover the swim club’s operating expenses, but the township is ultimately responsible for its financial solvency. During the last seven years, the average operating cost of the club was $360,000 per season. Membership fees collected by the club have declined steadily from over $270,000 in 1999 to a paltry $129,000 in 2005. Hazlet taxpayers, including those who are not members of the swim club, have paid several hundred thousand dollars to balance this utility’s budget. The township has considered numerous ideas to fix the deficit, such as contracting with the YMCA to manage the day-to-day operations of the club and leasing out the food and beverage concessions, but nothing could generate enough money to overcome the problem of moribund membership.
In attempt to minimize this illegitimate use of taxpayers’ money, the township raised the swim club’s membership fees. Not surprisingly, the number of members continued to decline and last month, the Hazlet Township Committee decided to shut it down.
The Tuesday, May 2, meeting of the Township Committee was a standing-room-only event. It seemed as though every member of the swim club attended, many of whom addressed the committee. Most were malcontents expressing how the closure of the club would adversely affect their families, even while acknowledging that it is wrong for the club to operate at a deficit. After listening to residents repeat this conflicted mantra for over an hour, Mayor Sachs called the committee into executive session to reconsider the motion to close the club. The Township Committee resolved that the club would remain open for the 2006 season, but only if 250 families signed up for membership before May 25. However, this potential compromise still leaves the township with a problem. At the current rate of $385 per family, 250 memberships add up to less than $100,000 in membership fees, leaving a substantial shortfall in the amount needed to operate for the 2006 season.
Continuing to provide a service, in which most of our community seems to have lost interest, would be fiscally irresponsible. Hazlet could use those resources to manage quality of life issues that are more germane to the interests of the majority its current residents.
In a letter to the editor in the May 4 edition of The Courier, one Hazlet resident asked, “When will Mayor Sachs start watching out for us taxpayers?” The initiative to close the swim club was just one of many vigilant efforts by our mayor and the current Township Committee to curtail wasteful spending of Hazlet’s tax revenue. Yet, at Tuesday’s Township Committee meeting, that same resident vociferously complained about the motion to close the swim club.
Our Township Committee has a responsibility to make decisions that will benefit all citizens, not just the hypocritical ones with membership cards.
Rich Kohler is a life-long resident of Hazlet. Please send comments to richkohler@comcast.net. All of Rich Kohler’s columns are available online at http://middleroadhazlet.blogspot.com/.
posted by Rich Kohler at 9:00 PM
4 Comments:
That's the best you can come up with?
It looks like about his calibre. I think he's obsessed with Purcell or something.
It's sad, isn't it. You try to have a civil discussion about current events, and this is what you get.
Abe- Thanks for the plug on your blog. I'll be posting a new column Wed night.
Professor: You're pathetic...really that one is from the heart.
Rich: This is an incredible community issue. Let's talk about a few things to raise awareness.
Post a Comment
<< Home