To celebrate the opening of the City’s new downtown fitness center, the Fitness Source at 320 E. 12^th St., a day of activities are planned for Dec. 7, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Activities will include a visit from the Kansas City Chiefs’ mascot KC Wolf, facility tours, free demonstrations of group exercise classes, free massages, and drawings for prizes.

The Fitness Source is across the street from City Hall and is open Monday through Thursday, from 5:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.; and Friday, from 5:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Services available at the center include personal training, massage therapy, fitness testing, nutritional analysis, weight management classes, and other specialty classes.

The facility’s goals are to address the City’s issues of increasing medical costs, lost productivity and sick leave usage due to employees’ poor health; and to increase the overall well-being of City employees and others downtown. More than 7,000 public sector employees work within a nine-block radius of the facility.

The Fitness Source is a full-service fitness facility developed as a part of the City’s Fountain of Health Wellness Program to promote employee health. The Fitness Source is being managed by St. Luke’s Hospital, which has 20 years of experience operating fitness centers in other locations in Kansas City.

“Our City employees are our greatest asset and their overall welfare is a top priority. The fitness center will not only provide health benefits for employees, but it will also contribute to the development and prosperity of downtown,” said City Councilman Alvin Brooks, 6^th District-at-Large. “I hope all of our employees will take advantage of this fine facility and stay healthy in body, mind and spirit.”