"We had a soft opening at 5 a.m. yesterday, and there were people in line at 4:30 to get in the building," Mayor Kent Lawrence told the Decatur Daily at the ribbon cutting. Close to 1,000 people registered on Monday, September 28, the first day the Decatur Recreation Center at Wilson Morgan Park was open to the public.
Most of those registrations were for the free Community Membership, and that card covers a lot. It also leaves out the 10-lane pool, the strength room and every instructor-led class. Once you look at the fee schedule and the age rules together, the building sorts itself out. Walking and open play are free for anyone. The paid layer has its own prices and its own supervision rules, and the pool is the biggest line on it. A household's real choice at 270 Beltline Road SW is which add-on fits its week. Joining is the easy part.
What the Free Card Covers, and What It Doesn't
According to the City of Decatur's recreation center page, the free Community Membership includes:
- The elevated indoor walking track
- Open gym and open recreation on the four courts
- Open cardio areas
- Locker rooms, Wi-Fi and the lobby and community spaces
These need a separate paid membership: pool access, the Functional Fitness strength room, Group Fitness classes, locker rentals and specialty programs.
You need the free card even if you never buy anything else. The city requires a Community Membership for regular entry, everyone checks in at Member Services on arrival, and each paid membership is added to that base account. Residents and nonresidents get the same access at the same rates.
Setting up an account takes three steps:
- Create an account through the city's RecDesk signup page.
- Add the free Community Membership, which handles waivers and lets you register for programs.
- Add any paid memberships. Monthly memberships bought online do not renew on their own. If you want automatic renewal, set it up at the front desk.
The building opens at 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday and stays open until 10 p.m. On Friday it closes at 8 p.m. Saturday hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday is noon to 8 p.m. The city's page does not list holiday hours, so it is worth calling (256) 341-4950 before planning a visit around Thanksgiving.
The Pool Math
The Decatur Daily described the pool as 10 lanes and 25 yards long, with about four lifeguards on duty while it is open. It is the largest paid amenity in the building, and its pricing has some clear break points. These are the rates on the city's page, with the comparisons worked out from them:
| Aquatics option | Monthly | Annual | How it compares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-day pass | $5 per visit | Five visits in a month equals an individual monthly membership | |
| Individual | $25 | $250 | Paying annually saves $50 over 12 monthly payments |
| Student, 18 and under | $18 | $180 | Paying annually saves $36 |
| Couple | $40 | $400 | Paying annually saves $80 |
| Family, up to five children | $60 | $560 | Paying annually saves $160 |
| Additional child under 18 | $10 | Added to an eligible couple or parent membership |
If a swimmer goes about once a week, the $5 day pass and the $25 monthly membership cost about the same. The membership only comes out ahead for someone in the water more often than that. Families get the steepest annual discount. Seniors and military members get 10 percent off applicable aquatics rates, which brings an individual annual membership to $225.
An aquatics membership also includes the center's aquatic fitness classes. That makes it two products for some members. The city's program listings show Water Aerobics on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through December 30, 2026, and Arthritis Water Aerobics on Tuesdays and Thursdays through December 31, 2026. A day pass covers pool access only. It does not include general facility membership.
Classes Are Priced by the Seat
Instructor-led classes follow the same pattern as the pool. You pay for the specific thing you use. The Group Fitness Membership costs $35 a month and covers standard classes. Without it, a standard class drop-in is $5. That puts the break point at seven classes a month. Below that, drop-ins cost less.
Spin and Reformer Pilates are priced separately because equipment and class sizes are limited. Each is $10 as a drop-in. Group Fitness members pay $3 for Spin and $5 for Reformer Pilates. The city recommends registering ahead for both. A drop-in covers one class. It is not a day pass, so two classes in one afternoon means two registrations. Aquatic fitness classes are not part of Group Fitness pricing at all. They come with the pool membership.
The cheapest add-on is the Functional Fitness room at $10 a month or $100 a year, with the same 10 percent senior and military discount. The room has dumbbells, kettlebells, adjustable benches, medicine balls and plyometric boxes, and members must be 16 or older to use it on their own. An adult who walks the track and lifts a few times a week can use the building for $100 a year.
The Age Rules
The price list is only part of the picture. The city's supervision rules determine who can use which parts of the building alone, and they put the most structure around children.
Members 19 and older manage their own accounts. Anyone younger must be added to a parent or legal guardian's household account. Children under 16 without a state-issued ID must have a parent or guardian in the facility and must be actively taking part in a supervised Recreation Center program, team or class. Children under 16 in the pool need a responsible adult with them unless they are in a supervised swim team, lesson, club or program.
Getting there is a separate question. Rocket City Now reported concerns that the Beltline Road location is hard to reach for children without a ride. The station put the center almost four miles from the Carrie Matthews facility, about 20 minutes by bike and nearly an hour and a half on foot, and some people it spoke with worried about the major intersections along the way. Mayor Lawrence told the Decatur Daily that the city plans to keep the Carrie Matthews Recreation Center open and is renovating it for Northwest Decatur. He estimated the work could take about a year but gave no firm timeline.
Outdoors, the rules are simpler. Sunshine Park, the inclusive playground next to the center, began as a roughly $2 million project with the nonprofit Everyday Sunshine, led by Jeff and Andrea Sharp. It was designed so children with special needs and disabilities can play alongside other children.
November on the Building's Calendar
The first full holiday season brings the center's programming into view. The Decatur Parks & Recreation calendar and RecDesk list these dates:
- Thursday, November 5: Special Needs Community Thanksgiving Dinner
- Saturday, November 7: Health workshop
- Saturday, November 14: Decatur Chess Club Championship. The weekly chess program meets Thursdays through December 31.
- Saturday, November 21: Wellness workshop
Winter Jr. NBA basketball divisions are posted on RecDesk, but no game days have been listed yet. Parks and Recreation Director Hunter Allen said the city hopes to start hosting basketball and volleyball tournaments and swim meets "by the end of this year or sometime next year." The city has budgeted about $1.3 million a year to operate the center, not counting salaries. "This year will tell a lot," Allen said.
Where Leftover Construction Money May Go
The building's final cost affects the park around it. Allen told the Decatur Daily the center is expected to come in well under its original $52.5 million budget, with about $600,000 left once the final change order is settled. He has proposed using $150,000 to $200,000 of that for a dog park to replace the one at Wilson Morgan Park. The original dog park opened in 2019 beside the lake, and the city removed it in February 2025 when construction began.
Under the proposal, the new dog park would sit along Sandlin Road Southwest, across from Field 5. It would have separate areas for small and large dogs, plus drinking water, shade, landscaping and benches, and it would be open dawn to dusk. Allen hopes to start construction in November. As of the Decatur Daily's report, the City Council had not approved the funding. Councilwoman Pam Werstler said the replacement "is probably the No. 1 thing I get questions about" and noted that it still needs a council majority. Until a vote happens, the closest option is the dog park at the former Wolverine Park near Point Mallard.
How much money remains is still open. At the October 12 council work session, Allen presented two proposed change orders for the center totaling $451,000, one for the original landscaping design and one for irrigation adjustments. Once the final bills are paid, the council will see what is left for Sandlin Road.
At Luis Mendoza & Associates, we track the projects that shape daily life in Decatur, from new facilities on Beltline Road to council votes on the parks around them. If you'd like to know how developments like the Wilson Morgan Park build-out fit into your plans in Southwest Decatur, Contact Us.
