February 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 58

a q uat i c s

Sink or
By Rachel Roberts

As

the recession continues to tighten budget belts at
community facilities all around the country, pools
and aquatic facilities are finding it even harder to

breathe. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,

state budget shortfalls are expected to reach $375 billion for 2010
and 2011. When communities are looking to make big cuts, aquatics
facilities seem to be an easy target. Their high operating costs make
them stand out in a line-item budget spreadsheet.
" Costs are always going to be there, " says John
Whitmore, organizational development manager for
the City of Denton, Texas. " In fact, with more treatment and staffing requirements that require additional trainings, those costs might actually get worse. "
So how can pools and aquatics facilities, most of
which don't recover full operating costs, continue to
survive this economic downturn? Several experts
say that it is all in how you look at your operations-
and that many aquatics managers could be missing
thousands of dollars in savings.

The Money Pit: Labor
Every aquatics manager knows that staffing and the
benefits that go along with it are a major chunk of the
operating budget. According to Randy Mendioroz,

56	 Parks & Recreation

FEBRUARY 2011

w w w . NR P A . ORG

principal at Aquatic Design Group, that number can
be as much as 60 percent of the entire budget. His
group conducts a survey every year of 100 aquatics
facilities across the country. Consistently, his group
has found that labor and benefits are the biggest
drain on resources. Sufficient staffing at an aquatics
facility, however, is necessary for safety.
Mendioroz says that doesn't mean you can't
save money in this budget line item. " When you
are designing floorplans for a facility, think about
how every time you throw another person in the
building, you are going to have cost, " he explains.
Starting with lifeguards, he suggests checking for
blind spots that might require an extra guard, or
even redesigning a new facility for maximum use
and sightlines for guards.



February 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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