Fitness center on upward trajectory

Eight months after receiving funding from the Creston City Council, Southern Prairie Family Fitness Center Director Dana Dodge shared updates on how the money is being utilized thus far.

“I think we’re finally going in the right direction, so we are kind of excited about that,” Dodge said. “We’ve kind of started turning the curve a little bit on membership units. We currently have 954 members, which our goal is 1,200. When I was interim [director] in 2024, we were down to like 760 memberships.”

Dodge said the 1,200 member unit goal must be reached by 2028 in order for the center to be financially independent when city money stops coming in.

Programming has been a major part of trying to bring new members in. This year’s summer day camp will have rates cut by 25%. They’ve also started First Friday nights.

“Parents can come drop their kids off for 10 bucks,” Dodge said. “Parents can go have a few hours to themselves. And then we do crafts. We set up the bouncy house, we do the climbing wall, give them a snack, that kind of stuff.” The program is available for children ages 5-10, with the first event occurring March 6.

Other programs include a youth sports sampler, crafts, t-ball and women’s three-on-three basketball.

In addition to new programming, the center has been able to make many repairs with the new funding.

“A lot of these expenses are just our repairs and stuff that I personally sign off for,” SPFFC Facilities Technician Seth Estes said. “This isn’t our supplies for cleaning or anything like that. I will say, especially that first month, it is really nice to finally have some money to fix things. And I’m shocking myself a lot less on equipment now that we’re actually able to get new stuff in there.”

Dodge makes quarterly updates to the council on the center as part of the agreement for funding.

In other council news...

The Creston Police Department will be moving to department-issued cell phones with service through T-Mobile. Previously, officers used personal cell phones for any job-related duties, with the city paying each employee $20 a month for use of their personal phones. The switch will save the city $750 a year.

The council approved the purchase of parcel #0512201023 on Adams Street from the Lester Elliot for $30,000. This space, located next to the historic caboose in Uptown, has been featured in previous revitalization plans.

Loretta Harvey spoke at public forum asking the council to keep in mind how improvement projects Uptown inconvenience business owners and can become a safety hazard for the elderly. In reference to the planned linear park on Adams Street, she said she understands the want for more green space Uptown, but Harvey encouraged people to visit the parks already present in Creston.