Texts sent over the past week are urging Prairie Village residents to oppose the idea of a new community center.
Multiple readers alerted the Post to texts they received, encouraging them to “say no to a government-run health club.”
The texts appeared to have been sent just days after the launch of a city-backed survey meant to gauge resident feelings about a new community center to replace the aging Paul Henson YMCA at 79th and Delmar.
The texts viewed by the Post include a link to a website paid for by the Kansas Health and Fitness Association, a group with registered lobbyists in Topeka and ties to Wichita-based Genesis Health Clubs, which has expressed interest in building its own gym at the old Macy’s just down the street from the site of a prospective community center.
The texts urge residents to ‘say no’
- The text includes a link to a website with the URL www.commonsenseprairievillage.com.
- The texts claim a new public community center would be “unnecessary” and “expensive” and assert that the city will need to spend at least $18 million in taxpayer funds on the project, which could take funds away from current city services and amenities like parks and police.
- The city has not yet made any public estimation on how much a community center would cost, and officials have cast the survey currently being conducted as a first step to figuring out whether to move forward with the idea.
- City Administrator Wes Jordan confirmed several city councilmembers had received the text, as did some city staff who live in Prairie Village, but it’s unclear how many residents in total may have received it.
Here’s a full version of a text sent to the Post from a reader:
The third-party survey began last week
- A survey timeline Jordan sent to the Post showed Wiese Research Group, the firm conducting the survey, began collecting data on Monday, Jan. 30.
- This includes responses gleaned from phone calls and postcards, which were printed and mailed on Jan. 30.
- According to screenshots sent to the Post, the texts were sent on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
- The citywide survey, approved by the city council in December, intends to build off the results of a 2019 survey that found broad resident support for a Prairie Village community center at that time.
- Wiese will continue to collect data until March 6, and the city anticipates a final report the week of March 27, according to the timeline.
A fitness industry lobbying group paid for the text
- In an email sent to the Post Wednesday morning, Gregory Ferris with the Kansas Health and Fitness Association did not directly address questions about the texts, including how many were sent and what it cost, but he did say KHFA “opposes local governments using tax dollars to compete with private companies.”
- “The example in Prairie Village would chase away private development from health and fitness companies interested [in] investing in the area, at great expense to local taxpayers. There are much smarter ways to bring more health and fitness options to Prairie Village,” Ferris said.
- On its website, KHFA lists its board members, including Wichita-based Genesis Health Clubs, which put its plans to open a gym at the Macy’s redevelopment — a mile away from the Paul Henson YMCA — on hold last year, saying it needed see what happens with the city-run community center idea.
- Officials with Genesis Health Clubs could not be reached for comment for this story.
City officials decline to comment about the texts
- Jordan told the Post on Wednesday that the city, in an effort to remain neutral as the community center survey is conducted, would not respond to the claims made in the texts or on the “Common Sense Prairie Village” website.
- Jordan said the city does not want to inadvertently influence the survey because the city council needs to rely on it in order to make a decision on whether to move forward — potentially with a public vote — at some point in the future.
- “The validity is very important to the council to understand and listen and try to figure out really what the community wants and will support,” Jordan said.
- The Prairie Village City Council is poised to discuss a related topic at its annual retreat on Saturday: an assessment of the current police department and city hall, which both sit on the municipal campus near where a potential community center would be built.
Go deeper: Prairie Village community center idea back on the table
