Flagler School Board contemplates future of Belle Terre Swim & Racquet Club

After years of struggling to keep the Belle Terre Swim & Racquet Club in Palm Coast afloat, the Flagler County School Board is again contemplating changes to remove the club from life support.

A presentation during Tuesday's board workshop detailed an interlocal agreement proposed by the Belle Terre Advisory Committee to take over club operations through the creation of a governance board.

The new agreement would include an annual contribution of $50,000 each from the City of Palm Coast, the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners, the Flagler County School Board and the new governance board, which would pay its share from club revenues.

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The idea was short-lived, however, as Flagler Schools Director of Operations Dave Freeman said Flagler County and Palm Coast weren't interested.

"We heard multiple times from both of those agencies that they did not have any appetite for standing up the swim and racquet club," he told the board. "I am confident that this year, we're not going to operate in the black. We're going to continue to operate in the red."

Swim and racquet club has served Flagler for over 40 years

The Belle Terre Swim & Racquet Club was built in 1979 and later gifted to the school district by the ITT Community Development Corporation.

The 43-year-old facility includes a pool, children's wading pool, sauna, tennis and pickle ball courts and a 10,000-square-foot fitness center built in 2007. All are included with a membership.

The main use of the club for youth is Flagler-Palm Coast High School's swim team and a few other competitive swim groups. Otherwise, most of the users are not students.

In September, the board approved increases to the club fees in an effort to combat the cost of paying employees a $15 mandated minimum wage. Daily use fees increased from $4 to $5 and adult monthly membership from $35 to $47. The student monthly membership fee remained at $20. Adult annual membership fees were set at $300, student annual membership at $200 and seasonal three-month membership at $120.

Still, the swim and racquet club continues to operate on a deficit. Its projected revenue of over $147,000 in 2022-23 is less than half of its more than $317,000 operating budget, making for a potential loss of nearly $170,000. The revenue includes $25,000 the Flagler County Commission gives annually.

The district cannot use tax money for the club, as state law mandates that revenue go toward K-12 education. Much of the club's revenue comes from member insurance plans, and the operating deficit is made up by extended day program funds, though a recent audit raised concern about using these funds rather than the club being self-sustaining, Board Chair Cheryl Massaro and Director of Finance Patty Wormeck noted.

The budget doesn't include other maintenance and capital needs, which could cost more than $400,000 in the next three to five years for tennis court, parking lot, bath house and other repairs, Freeman said, which could delay other needed renovations in the district.

Fate of Belle Terre club still uncertain

With the interlocal agreement appearing to be off the table, the board and staff are going back to the drawing board on how to close the gap, which advocates have also contemplated over the years.

In 2015, there were considerations of partnering with Palm Coast's parks and recreation department or the Volusia Flagler Family YMCA, or leasing the facility. In 2016, the club was saved from closing by a membership drive and donations.

Massaro and Vice Chair Colleen Conklin believed it was fair to ask Palm Coast and Flagler County to contribute.

Board member Will Furry suggested exploring a supplemental fee for insurance members for access to the pool, which is heated from November to April. Coordinator of Community Services and Interlocal Agreements Joshua Walker noted Belle Terre is the only public gym and pool combination in the county.

Freeman said they could also provide numbers on operational costs if the pool and gym were restricted to only student and swim team use.

Board member Sally Hunt supported putting all options on the table and measuring what's best for students and families. She raised concern about the funds coming from extended day care, which may strain working parents.

"I know the community, there's a lot of people that really love this facility," Furry said, but it didn't seem "fiscally prudent" to keep putting money into something running on that large a deficit.

He noted that if it's viable to continue, the club has been a part of Flagler County and Palm Coast history, but it should be about the benefit to students first.

"It seems like we're just doing everything we can to float this, and it just doesn't make a lot of sense," Furry said.

The club currently has 90 paying members, 82 of whom are adults, but there are 713 unique users who have used the facility through their insurance programs since 2021, Walker said.

Freeman said staff will come back to the board to provide more information on budgets, average daily use, cost per active member, negotiating with insurance companies for more revenue and running revenue scenarios if membership fees were increased to $400 a year.

"This is a big process, and it affects a lot of people, so we have to make sure we get it correct," Massaro said.

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler School Board considers Belle Terre Swim & Racquet Club future