WCA to examine the purchase of the Woodlands Athletic Center

Reprinted from The Courier
May 2007

One year after The Woodlands Development Company said it would close The Woodlands Athletic Club in September 2008, a Woodlands Community Association board member wants the board to consider buying the property for use as a community-wide master recreational facility.

Robert Tyson, who represents residents in Grogan's Mill - the village where the WAC is located - suggested at a recent WCA meeting closing the 12 neighborhood pools sprinkled throughout The Woodlands in neighborhood parks and instead operating the WAC.

The facility houses an indoor pool, a heated Olympic-size outdoor pool, tennis, diving, gymnastics, weight-lifting and cardio amenities. According to the Montgomery County Appraisal District, the eight-acre property is valued at $1.4 million. "Over the past few years there has been a consensus that we need one master recreational facility," said Tyson, adding closing the other public pools in The Woodlands "cuts down on redundancy" and "helps the Parks and Recreation Department better manage its business" by reducing operational costs. In 2005, the 12 Woodlands pools sank the community nearly $850,000 in debt. Chris Nunes, director of Parks and Recreation, said the department recovers 38 percent of the pools' operational costs, but under a new business model, he hopes to increase that number to 50 percent within two years. Tyson also said having the recreational activities in one place "encourages better participation" in the other programs The Woodlands offers residents.

Tyson acknowledged residents who don't live close to the WAC would disapprove of having the only pool in the community so far away from their homes, but he argued that many throughout The Woodlands "have pools in their backyards." John Powers, assistant general manager of the Community Associations of The Woodlands, said his staff is proceeding by sending a letter of interest to the development company about the potential purchase. Powers enumerated the logistics involved in a purchase "of that magnitude," which would include not only majority Woodlands Community Association approval, but would also likely require the consent of The Woodlands Association and The Woodlands Commercial Owners Association. He said WCA board members considered purchasing the property in the mid-1990s, but declined after consulting with experts.

In July 2006, The Woodlands Recreation Center board, which includes representatives from all three associations, also declined to attempt to purchase the WAC. At the time, Claude Hunter, president of the WRC and a TWA board member, said the property wasn't an economically practical acquisition because Woodlands residents would need to supplement any operating deficit at the WAC through their assessment dollars. Whatever the solution, Bruce Cunningham, president of the Grogan's Mill Village Association, has strongly advocated keeping the WAC open.

It is a place I go almost every day," said Cunningham, describing the activities and programs the recreational club offers. The Woodlands Diving Academy has graduated several national diving champions, including Olympic gold medalist Laura Wilkinson. In addition, hundreds of users belong to The Woodlands Master Swim Team, which has been recognized nationally."

The WCA will be discussing aquatics at its meeting this Wednesday at 7:15 pm in the Community Building.