CITY NEARS DECISION ON GYM FEES.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

With calls coming in to secure reservations at the new Santa Clarita Sports Complex, the city is preparing a fee structure in time for the facility's Dec. 5 opening.

And plenty of basketball and volleyball players are anxiously waiting to get a look at the finished product. Already, the building is showing its character, with its mixed pastel colors of blue, green, peach and purple and bold letters announcing in the old style, ``GYMNASIUM.''

The city might offer free playtime on grand-opening weekend, with regular service beginning Dec. 7, said Chris Daste, city recreation supervisor.

``I'm so excited,'' said Tymery Cuervo, a city recreation coordinator. ``My office will be at the Sports Complex. I keep saying, I want to move now, I want to move now.''

The city Parks Commission, which examined the fee options at a meeting last month, will consider at a Nov. 5 meeting how much to charge athletes, Daste said. The commission could decide to approve the recommended proposal, which will be heard Nov. 24 by the City Council, he said.

The city's fee structure would be set up to encourage players to visit during less popular times. Hours of operation will be from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

But prime-time hours will likely cost more, and are tentatively set from 6 to 9 a.m. and from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. All day Saturday and Sunday also will be considered prime time.

The fee proposal would charge adults $6 per hour and juniors $3 per hour during prime time. At other times, hourly fees would be $4 for adults and $2 for juniors.

In addition, basketball during prime time will cost adults $2 and juniors 50 cents. At other times, adults would pay $1.50 and juniors would play for free.

The city also is considering offering an annual membership fee of $140 per individual or $280 for a family of four.

``It would be a situation where you flash your card with a picture ID,'' Cuervo said. ``You would still need to call in advance for a reservation.''

The fees were created after examining the amounts that other city and YMCA facilities charge for gym use.

The gym will have two basketball courts that can also be used as volleyball courts, and four racquetball courts. It also will have folding bleachers, locker rooms with showers, an office and a lobby area. Workers are finishing up the basketball flooring, called Sport Court and made of a top-quality plastic. They will work on the wood racquetball court flooring next, Daste said.

The city bought the property, a former Merle Norman Cosmetics warehouse complex, about a year ago for $3.08 million. The site has three buildings, and the gym is the first to be improved for recreational use. The city has yet to decide what changes to make to the other two warehouses, but a pool complex and other facilities have been discussed. The Santa Clarita Skatepark, which opened earlier this month, is located behind the new gym.