Parks & Recreation director says social-media marketing not driving memberships as revenues lag

Parks & Recreation Director J.C. Kennedy told the Park Advisory Board on Oct. 10 that the Recreation Center has received $1,328,887.72 of its $1,724,505 budget through Sept. 30, 2024, meeting 77.1% of projected revenue for the year.

Kennedy said membership revenue and new-member initiations lagged 2023 levels: total facility visits year-to-date were 134,378, memberships tracked at 1,057 in September (1,103 in August), and new initiations from April through September fell by 119 compared with the same period in 2023. He said total membership cancellations Jan.–Sept. were 613 in 2024 versus 669 in 2023.

"September revenues are dramatically down," Kennedy said, and added that marketing choices may be a factor. "Increasing the social media reach to 208,000 people has not resulted in more memberships," he said, arguing the department should not rely exclusively on social media and should return to a mix that includes print and focused mailers.

Kennedy reviewed earlier consulting work by Ballard King & Associates, which provided a market review and operations analysis that included operating-cost projections, revenue-generation estimates and a cost-recovery benchmark for the facility's second year. The transcript records the firm's background and that the original estimates were provided to the City Council in April 2018.

Board members did not record a formal vote on changes to marketing strategy during the meeting. The agenda and prior meeting minutes were approved at the start of the session, and the board adjourned at 6:33 p.m.