When I was in high school in the early 80s, Orem City (Utah) built a city Rec Center. I sometimes attended community dances that attracted kids from several high schools, and I remember running on the indoor track a few times but that’s about it. I do recall feeling a little animosity because it was built adjacent to my rival high school Mountain View.
Fast forward to today. I paid $5 for a day pass here and found one of the best fitness centers I’ve ever been to. It has been modernized and renamed the Orem Family Fitness Center.
Hundreds of people of all ages are here. There are so many things going and on so much new equipment.
Since obesity is one of the greatest plagues in the modern world, I wonder how many other cities have decided to invest in fitness or recreation centers that are affordable and that also provide dance classes and all kinds of organized activities for young people.
I’m going to ask the research team at Citizen Portal to research these questions:
– how many cities in the US have fitness or rec centers like Orem?
– how much do they cost to build?
– how well managed are they? Are they a cost center or profit center for the city?
– do they improve the quality of life and the physical health of the residents
– how many cities have proposed such centers but voted them down and for what reasons?
Orem has often ranked as a liveable city for families. I wonder if this family fitness center has added to its appeal.
Growing up I would have probably opposed using tax dollars to build this place and I could have argued that it’s not the proper role of government.
The same could be said about public libraries but I’ve always been grateful they exist. (HT to Andrew Carnegie.)
Now I’m quite happy this place exists even though there are a ton of private profit-making fitness centers all over Utah County I’ve not seen one like this, that is so clean and well run and has opportunities for all ages.
Your thoughts?
