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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15.D.2. Community Center Membership Programs /S.D.:L , CITY OF SHAKOPEE MEMORANDUM co~tSEt\!T To: Mayor and City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator From: Mark Themig, Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Director Travis Karlen, Recreation Supervisor Meeting Date: May 3, 2005 Subject: Community Center Membership Programs INTRODUCTION City Council is asked to authorize the following changes to the Community Center's membership programs: . Automatic monthly debiting from checking and saving accounts . Participation in insurance providers' health club reimbursement. programs . Corporate memberships for businesses in Shakopee DISCUSSION As we look toward the future, our approach to services will need to change to be competitive with other providers. In order to market the Community Center's services, we have been working on three initiatives that we believe will attract additional members. The following information will give you an overview of each of the programs. Some details need to be finalized; however, we wanted to seek your authorization to proceed before any additional work on the programs. Automatic Monthly Debiting The automatic monthly debit program would allow individuals and families to join the Community Center and pay for their membership on a monthly basis from their checking or savings account. It is also required to implement the second program. Although members would pay the equivalent amount of an annual membership, the payments would be spread over time to lessen the impact. Specifics of the proposed program include the following: . Enrollees would be required to commit to a one-year contract. . After the first year, they would be enrolled on a month-to-month basis, with a 30-day notice for withdrawing. . We are proposing a one-time enrollment fee of $20 to cover the program's costs. (Other facilities charge enrollment fees that are usually higher than this.) We have been working with Wells Fargo, the city's bank, and the Finance Department to set up the infrastructure for this program. The program works by enrolling members into the program, setting up their account and debit information online, and each month debiting their account using Wells Fargo's online system. The following would be the monthly debit amount: Membership Category Resident Monthly Non Resident Monthly Annual Fee Equivalent Annual Fee Equivalent Youth 87.86 7.32 117.15 9.76 Adult 169.86 14.16 254.80 21.23 Senior 123.00 10.25 184.51 15.38 Senior Couple 175.72 14.64 258.31 21.53 Family 228.44 19.04 342.66 28.56 * All fees include required state sales tax. ProQram Costs . Wells Fargo charges a $5 batch release charge each period that debits are made. (In our case, this would be a $5/month fee.) . $0.20 per customer per debit. ($2.40 per year per customer.) For comparison, the city currently pays Wells Fargo $0.09 for each check that the city processes. Workload Impact We anticipate that it will take approximately 15-30 minutes to enroll each customer in the program, which is in addition to enrolling them in our membership program. (The two systems will not interface.) We also anticipate that it will take less than five minutes per customer to make the monthly debit. This workload is proposed to be rolled into the existing Customer Service Representative's workload (Barb Potthier), and will be overseen by Mr. Karlen. Health Club Reimbursement Programs One of the newest incentives to try to encourage healthy lifestyles are health club reimbursement programs being offered by three major health insurers: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Partners, and Medica. Each program is structured differently, but has the same basic benefit: if you work out at least eight days per month at a participating facility, the insurance company will reimburse you for up to $20 of your membership cost ($40 for a family). In some programs, this payment is made to the individual; in others,to the facility. We have been working with each of the providers, but only Blue Cross has an open program where anyone can join. Health Partners and Medica are both selective and you have to be "invited" to join. To date, we have not received an invitation from either one. This is somewhat troubling since the City is a Medica client. (We have even tried to use the agent that negotiates the city's contract, but no success. We will continue our efforts.) In order to make inroads with Health Partners, we have asked for Scott County's assistance since they are a Health Partner's client. We hope that by teaming upwith Scott County, we can convince Health Partners to let us join. To participate in any of the programs, we would track participating member's use using our existing membership software and submitthe appropriate reports to the agency. In the case of Blue Cross, they subcontract with a third party (Apex Management Systems) to process payments. The city would receive reinbursement in two to three months. We are waiting on specifics from Medica and Health Partners on their systems. ProQram Costs . In order to participate in Blue Cross's program, you must join the Minnesota Independent Health Club Association (MICHA), a cost of $399 annually. . $49/month processing fee payable Apex Management Services for participation in the program. Workload Impact Of the three membership enhancements being proposed, this program has the most workload impact. Based on other facilities' experiences, we are anticipating 15 hours per month of additional work to administer this program for Blue Cross. If we join all three programs, the workload impact could be as much as 40 hours per month, or 25% of a full-time position, depending on the popularity of the program. We will begin with the Customer Service Representative administering the program, but responsibilities may need to be delegated to designated part time building staff in the future. Mr. Karlen will also oversee the program. Corporate Memberships The final program that we are proposing is a corporate membership program for Shakopee businesses. Initially, we are proposing to simply extend the resident rate to employees of businesses located in Shakopee. There may be an opportunity to discuss additiorel incentives with each individual business. One such incentive would be to have the business pay a certain amount of the membership, if they would choose to do so. Another incentive may be an additional discount if they enroll a certain number of employees. (Any discount would need to come back to Council for consideration.) The success of this program would depend on our ability to market to the businesses. We can begin making contacts with businesses in Shakopee as soon as authorization is given. ProQram Costs We are anticipating nominal costs for this program, with most costs related to marketing materials. Workload Impact Initial workload would involve developing the appropriate marketing materials and contacting businesses. Mr. Karlen will oversee the program. REQUESTED ACTION Each of the programs will increase work for staffs that already have full workloads. However, in order to be competitive in the market, they need to be implemented. City Council is asked to authorize the following Community Center membership programs as outlined above: . Automatic monthly debiting from checking and saving accounts . Participation in insurance providers' health club reimbursement programs . Corporate memberships for businesses in Shakopee If you concur, we will bring any modifications to the fee schedule ordinance that are needed to your next meeting.