As soon as you walk in the door, it’s clear The Rookery is a construction zone as workers put new finishes on just about everything.
“So we took a lot of the finishes that we have and are just rejuvenating them a little bit,” said newly named Activity Center Director Lisa Lamey. “When you walk in we want it to look like a brand new activity center.”
The only area that’s open is the fitness center run by Endurance Fitness after moving from its old location in Lexington. Club memberships transferred here until the end of April when members can join The Rookery and have full access.
Elsewhere there’s a lot of work underway, including refurbishing the bottom of two swimming pools, and giving the walls and ceiling of the aquatic center a fresh coat of paint.
“We’re going to be adding a water feature which will be a mushroom feature that kids can play with. We’ll be refurbishing the slide and it will be painted a new color, and get water back in the pool and ready to go,” said Lamey.
A full time aquatic supervisor is being hired, and programs will be run in house.
The locker rooms will be all new with fresh tile, individual shower stalls, and new counters.
The gym’s floor will be re-finished. The YMCA logo will be replaced with The Rookery logo and additions made for pickle-ball. In all, about 15,000 square feet of carpet and tile will be brand new. The renovations cost about $1.2 million, covered by federal COVID relief funding.
Manager Lisa Lamey was the first person hired. She has more than 20 years of recreation experience including opening a community center. So this is familiar territory.
“This is my 4th week,” said Lamey. “So getting to know what’s been done so far and what needs to be done and jumping right in the middle of it with my feet hitting the ground running.”
The city council recently approved membership rates, $55 a month for adults, $40 for seniors, and $100 for Lino Lakes families. Annual memberships will cost $605 dollars for adults, $440 for seniors, and $1100 for families. Non-resident rates are slightly higher.
“We were really looking to keep the rates very affordable,” said Lamey. “We want to make sure this is a community center for the community. We looked at what some of the local competition was around here and wanted to keep it under. I think we’ve done that.”
As renovations continue, programming is being developed to meet community needs. Feedback has been positive.
“I think people are anxious to take a look and see what it’s going to look like and see what we have to offer.”
Hiring is also beginning. There will be 5 full time positions and up to 50 part time workers. Those part time jobs are expected to be posted in the next month on the city’s website, Twitter, and Facebook.
