While Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski has promoted the new Marshall White Community Center as affordable for everyone, there’s some confusion about whether and how low-income kids can use the facility for free.
The 68,000-square-foot facility celebrated its grand opening a year ago, replacing the community hub that had stood there for nearly 55 years. And residents are showing up.
“We have a report that says there's been 110,000 membership scans, which means people are using the facility the way it's meant to be,” said city spokesperson Mike McBride.
He uses it himself.
“I go walk the track, and then I sit on the bike, and then I pretend that I know what I'm doing with weights,” he said with a laugh.
The center is not just a workout space. It also offers classes in areas like cooking, art and music.
As of mid-May, 1,855 active memberships cover 3,080 users, according to the city. At a January city council meeting, in response to a public comment criticizing the center’s $60 monthly family membership fee, Nadolski said the fees are similar to those of other recreation centers in the area.
“We also offer free and reduced scholarships for those in need, and we have a very simple process to help make that happen,” he said. “But of course, those are not the things that are discussed online, because those are not the things that capture high emotion and rage, unfortunately. But those are the facts. That is the truth.”
Reduced-cost programs and memberships are available based on financial need, and 173 families have been approved for them, though only 105 of those have used the facility. Most low-income applicants completed the form in English; 11 submitted it in Spanish.
The new system is a big change from the original Marshall White Center, which offered free gym access to kids, while a youth day pass for the pool and weight room cost $2. The current center emphasizes memberships over day use to encourage healthy habits and provide steady revenue, but youth day passes are available for $6.
There are no free memberships, McBride said, but there are free programs. Some swim lessons, for instance, are free thanks to a grant from the Government Employees Health Association. The volunteer organization myHometown Ogden also uses the center for no-cost activities.
The city’s grantwriters, he said, are at work to bring in outside investments to help the community.
“The intent is that we have programs that make accessibility an option, and regardless of income and that status, we want people to be able to use the center,” he said.
Other programs are available for $5 or $10 for low-income kids, like pottery, cooking and boxing, thanks to a rebate from Rocky Mountain Power. Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch are eligible for discounted programs, according to McBride.
And the mayor would like to expand access.
“The intent is that we create opportunities for free, not just programs, but free access to the gym,” McBride said.
For outdoor recreation, the basketball courts, soccer field and playground are open to the public at no cost.
Even so, Ogden resident Jessie Lundell said she got free memberships for two kids to the center — at least for a couple of months.
Affordability of Marshall White was a big talking point during her husband Kevin’s campaign for city council, she said. So when she heard full scholarships were available, she followed up on behalf of two students at the school where she works.
After about two months of trying to get a hold of the right staff member, Lundell said she managed to get the free memberships. One of the students would meet up with his dad, who would pay a day fee, to play basketball, swim and lift weights.
Lundell said having somewhere to go after school made these kids happier and better-behaved.
But this spring, they told her their memberships had been canceled. Lundell was told the scholarships had been for the December government shutdown, and once the government reopened, they had run out of funds, she recalled. It made her sad, particularly for one student who lives very close to the center.
“He is in that immediate neighborhood that Marshall White was built for to help those kids, and he can't afford to go,” she said. “And I just wonder, how many of those same families are in the same position?”
McBride was not aware of any free memberships or government shutdown-related programs.
“There's nothing in policy, or there's nothing printed that talks about government shutdown and how that would affect somebody's ability to use our center,” he said.
Lundell would love for low-income kids to have free access to the center at least for the summer, as all teenagers do at Planet Fitness. Free year-round access would be even better, she said. In Salt Lake County, all youth can use certain recreation spots for free.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
