Southlake residents can lose some pounds for less money at this fitness center

Southlake residents will receive a 20 percent discount on memberships to the new Champions Club at The Marq fitness club when it opens at the end of the year.

Also, non-residents will start paying a fee to participate in programs at the Southlake Senior Activity Center. Or non-resident seniors could join the Champions Club for $45 a month to get free access to senior programming in the adjoining Legends Hall section of The Marq, which opened in late 2015.

These are among the changes the Southlake City Council made to the fees for the Champions Club at its Aug. 7 meeting. The changes, approved unanimously by the council, were made after receiving feedback from residents.

“It is in fairness to all of the citizens of Southlake,” Mayor Laura Hill said. “We are running that center, the taxpayers in Southlake are paying for that center.”

The 82,000-square-foot center under construction at the southwest corner of Bicentennial Park will feature an indoor swimming pool, indoor and outdoor turf areas, more than 50 fitness classes, child-watch programs, workout machines, a gymnasium and exercise area.

The facility is funded by the Community Enhancement and Development Corp., which collects a 3/8-cent sales tax. Voters approved the reallocation of the Crime Control and Prevention District sales tax in 2015. The CCPD still collects a 1/8-cent sales tax.

The city added a new type of membership for Southlake families of four who can join for $89 a month. The membership doesn’t include child-watch.

Reducing the fees for residents means it will take Southlake longer to recover the costs to build the $34.7 million facility. Originally, the city had forecasted an 82 percent cost recovery by year 3. Now, it will be 72 percent after three years, said Chris Tribble, director of community services for the city of Southlake.

Here’s a breakdown of the membership fees per month:

Youth 3-15: Resident, $36; Non-resident, $45

Adult 16-64: Resident, $45; Corporate, $50; Non-resident, $56

Seniors 65 and older: Resident, $36; Corporate, $41; Non-resident, $45

Family with no child watch: Resident, $89

Family with child watch: Resident, $99; Corporate, $112; Non-resident, $124

The Champions Club will offer some perks for members of the senior center, such as setting aside times each week where they have free access to the pool and walking track, Tribble said. Some fitness classes will move from the senior center to the Champions Club.

There has also been concern in recent months about non-residents utilizing the free services at the senior center, Hill said. The city will institute a $75 annual membership fee for non residents to use the senior center. The city estimates about 40 percent of the non-resident members will pay the fee to join. That will generate about $11,000.

Councilman Shahid Shafi said he’s concerned that adding membership fees for non-residents would keep people away.

“If half of them stop coming, what impact does that have on the community? You want this to be a thriving community,” Shahid said.

Tribble pointed out that Grapevine’s senior center stopped allowing non-residents altogether.

Hill supports the fee but said there should be a monthly payment option.

“Our community is aging rapidly and they want a place where they can hang out,” she said. “This is still the best deal in the area for non-residents. It will be cleaner, nicer and better run for $6 a month. The mistake was when we did anything for free in the first place.”