The City of Houston is seeking bids to repair and replace deteriorating equipment at its Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, the only city-owned adaptive recreation center for people with disabilities.
City officials confirmed the update recently, months after a September Houston Landing report revealed a more-than-decades-long delay in upgrades to the facility, including deteriorating equipment at the facility.
The city repaired one piece of equipment Sept. 13, a seated dip machine, a repair that cost $600. Seven other pieces of equipment — two upper body ergometers, four seated recumbent cycles and one seated elliptical — need to be replaced because they have been discontinued and parts no longer are available, said Charles “Chuck” French, the facility’s administration manager.
“Commercial grade, bariatric seating, high-quality, accessible cardiovascular machines do ask a premium price,” French said via email.
“To replace everything we need, it will be close to $30k. [I’m] hoping to make some work within this fiscal budget and some in the next fiscal year.”
Replacement options for one of the machines, a Sci-Fit-brand seated elliptical machine that has been out of commission for several months, could cost between $6,000 and $7,000, French said.
James “Jimmy” Walker has relied on that machine for his physical therapy since 2006, roughly a year after he was diagnosed with traverse myelitis, a rare inflammation of a section of the spinal cord that can cause weakness in the arms or legs. Without a clear date of when it’ll be replaced, he’s had to pivot to other machines.
“$6,000 for the fourth-largest city in the country. What’s the problem?” Walker said Wednesday. “I mean, come on.”
Walker said he first noticed the machine was inoperable in July, but said it was “ridiculous” that it has been at least four months and officials talk of “fiscal years” before he potentially could see it replaced.
The city’s 2025 fiscal year began July 1 and ends June 30, 2025.
City officials with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department did not respond to further questions about how the city intends to pay for the new equipment.
“How much do we have to beg for as opposed to buying appropriate equipment?” Walker said.
“It’s a little strange that we have to go through this sort of thing especially since we supposedly had such great support from the last administration.”
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