City of Ottawa to revamp membership costs for recreation and swimming activities. Here’s what you need to know

Ottawa City Hall in autumn. (CTV News Ottawa)

Some users will be paying more for daily and monthly passes to access swimming and recreation activities at City of Ottawa facilities, as the city overhauls its admissions and membership structure.

The city currently has a 14-category system for drop-in fitness and physical activities at municipal facilities, with higher fees for memberships and admissions at locations with a wider range of services.

Under the current system, facilities are placed in categories of Class A, Class B, standard pools, and leisure pools to differentiate between locations offering a full range of amenities and those with fewer choices. Class A and Class B facilities charge different fees for membership passes, while single admission fees are higher at leisure pools than at standard pools for the same service.

A report for next Tuesday’s committee services committee meeting proposes “revamping” the daily admission and membership structure, streamlining options into three categories that will offer a range of service options from basic to all-inclusive at all city facilities.

“This initiative aims to better serve residents by ensuring affordable and fair access to core and more advanced services,” staff say in the report, adding aligning fees will see residents “charged fairly” for similar services.

“The proposed membership and admissions model simplifies the membership options, addresses current fee discrepancies, and maintains affordability. It will provide residents with a range of affordable options, enabling them to select the service level they desire and only pay for the services they require.”

The proposed three membership categories are:

Category 1: Core recreation activities – swimming (lane swims, public swims, preschool swims), skating and gymnasium sports.

Category 2: Activities that require specialized spaces and equipment – weights and cardio rooms, specialized skating, squash and racquetball.

Category 3: Activities that require a certified instructor, additional staff and/or specialized spaces and equipment – group fitness classes, aqua fitness, wave swim, and rock wall climbing.

The report says activities are categorized based on the city resources required to deliver them to users.

“The new model applies to both drop-in admissions and memberships, following the same streamlined, three-tiered structure,” staff say. “This ensures that residents are charged fairly and consistently based on the services they use, whether they are attending on a drop-in basis or purchasing a membership pass.”

Staff say the annual membership pass will have a monthly fee price at 4.2 times the cost of a single admission.

According to the report, fees for Category 1, depending on the age, will range from $12.70 to $21.70 per month for a membership pass, and $3.02 to $5.04 for a one-time admission. Fees for Categories 2 and 3 will range from $22.38 to $44.31 per month.

Staff say that based on a review of 2024 membership pass data, 16 per cent of monthly pass holders are expected to see an increase of less than $5 per month, 33 per cent of monthly members will see an increase of more than $5 a month, and six per cent will pay more than $10 a month more for a monthly pass.

The report says fee increases will be phased in for those facing significant price changes.