Feelings mixed on adding exercise equipment at Metfield

Shirley Schmidt has been exercising at the Metfield Clubhouse for 13 years, but she's not sure she's in favor of new exercise equipment the board plans to install there. She might try a treadmill, she said, but she's prefers her three days a week aerobics class. Without the aerobics class, she wouldn't be in shape to even attempt a treadmill, she said.

The problem is that the new exercise equipment is going into the large, multipurpose room, the Dogwood Room, that the aerobic class uses. She's not sure they can co-exist. Even if there's enough space, the music needed for aerobics might bother people using the equipment.

The aerobics class has been meeting at Metfield for almost 20 years, she said. When the clubhouse was closed for renovations, they moved to the pavilion and exercised there.

During the renovations in 2011, the Dogwood Room was wired for exercise equipment, said David Houk said, who was working the front desk last week.

The clubhouse reopened without the exercise equipment, but the board set aside funds last winter to add it.

When the aerobics class is over, some of the aerobics group move over to the next room, the Brittany Room, where they play cards or Mah Jong. Others stay only long enough to have a cup of coffee.

The board is also considering plans to add some limited food service to the pro shop that would expand into the Brittany Room crowding out the other users.

"There's a big group that plays cards here almost every day," Linda Tucker said.

There are a lot of young families in Metfield, she confirmed, but they don't use the clubhouse as much as the older crowd. She doesn't believe exercise equipment will entice them into the clubhouse, either. They just don't have time, she explained.

Also, there are no plans to add showers or dressing rooms to the building, Recreation Manager Clem Morgan confirmed.

"I've heard of two people who like the idea (of exercise equipment)," Irene Hogetvedg said.

In March, 175 people attended exercise class at Metfield, 141 people played cards and 123 people attended another group meeting, according to statistics collected by the recreation department. There were also several private parties.

The March numbers are much lower than March 2013 when more than 1,200 people used the clubhouse. In January 2014, the empty dining room was converted into office space for the POA's Membership Services Department.

The Dogwood Room is a popular room for private parties, Houk said. The April calendar shows the rooms were rented for a private party six times. The website lists the prices for a four-hour period. The Brittany Room, with a capacity of 45 people, is $50, while Dogwood with a capacity of 97 is $100.

"It's the prettiest room in the Village," Hogetvedg said about the Dogwood Room, which overlooks the 18th hole of the golf course. She added that the POA will lose income by closing it.

At its May meeting, the board authorized $14,000 to cover architectural fees for plans to add the new food service area and also to move Membership Services to the far end of the building, where the restaurant kitchen is now, and free up space for a new multipurpose room in the former dining room. The architect also will provide some cost estimates for the project.

General News on 04/22/2015