Town and Country Racquet Club of Great Bend would like to express its sincerest gratitude to the Kansas Health and Fitness Association for their efforts in helping defeat a mill-levy increase in our local community.  The Great Bend Recreation Commission was seeking an additional 1 mill in revenue.  They had plans to erect a 25,000 square foot facility.  This included an existing gymnasium and the addition of an indoor walking track, 3000 square feet of space for wellness/cardio, 2000 square feet of space for exercise/fitness, and 4500 square feet of space for a multi-use gym.  This would have generated over $700,000 per year indefinitely for the Recreation Commission.  This cost would have been absorbed by the taxpayers automatically, had a petition not been filed to bring the matter to a vote.  Through the efforts of KHFA, important information was obtained and thought-provoking questions were raised so that voters could make an informed choice.  These questions centered on incomplete information regarding costs and uses of funds.  Taxpayers welcomed the knowledge of knowing how much revenue the Recreation Commission was currently receiving through their tax dollars and were shocked.  The voters would not have had this information without the expertise and experience of KHFA in this arena. 

There is no doubt in our minds, that without the efforts of KHFA, our tax-paying facility could have easily been forced to close its doors after 34 years of serving this community.  It could have proved detrimental to compete with a non-tax paying facility in a community of our smaller size.  

Town and Country Racquet Club would like to thank the Executive Committee for forming an association that supports and defends the rights of tax-paying fitness facilities and their members.   We could not have done this without the efforts of KHFA.

Connie Jones
Town and Country Racquet Club, Great Bend