Council Members, Natatorium Officials to Meet Behind Closed Doors Regarding Gym's Rate Structure

A handful of Cuyahoga Falls City Council members will meet with Natatorium officlals on Monday to discuss the fitness center's current rate structure and to explore alternatives; however, the public will not be able to attend.

Council members Terry Mader, Carrie Snyder and Diana Colavecchio will sit down with Cuyahoga Falls Parks and Recreation Superintendent Bill Lohan, Assistant Superintendent Ed Stewart and Facilities Director Lori Visner to set a discussion in motion following Monday night's regular city council meeting at the , said Colavecchio.

Since there is no pending legislation and because the number of members attending doesn't constiture a council quorum, the work session format, by law, can be conducted behind closed doors.   

On Friday, Colavecchio said she's "hopeful that this process will bring about a fair result for all."

In recent weeks, the controversy on whether or not to make gay, married couples eligible for the gym's w/spouse discount has surrounded the city council and the Parks and Recreation Board. 

The issue was broached by when he and his husband, Coty May, were recently told by Natatorium staff that they could not receive the discount because their Washington D.C.-based marriage wasn't recognized in Ohio. 

Under its current rate policy, the Nat only allows married men and women who are recognized by the Ohio Constitution to receive discounted memberships.

In early February, the council asked the parks board to decide if the rate structure should be changed. , the board voted 3-2 against a motion raised by chairman Tim Gorbach to change the gym's membership rates.

If the motion had passed, the current "w/spouse" rate would have changed to the "w/partner" rate, opening the memberships up to "two persons that are legally married, or are domestic partners, or are in a civil union as recognized by any U.S. jurisdiciton," said Gorbach on March 8.

Over the last few weeks, the council discussed creating an ad hoc committee to analyze the current rate policy, study various statistics and data, gleam information from neighboring gyms and report their findings to the city council.

As of this past Friday, Colavecchio said there are currently no plans to form such a committee.

What do you think? Should Monday's Natatorium work session be closed to the public?