ATHABASCA – The Athabasca Regional Multiplex is facing some tough choices after the Town of Athabasca and Athabasca County chose to cut its capital funding in half, including delaying critical safety testing, and closing sections of the building for a year to catch up.
During their Jan. 27 board meeting the multiplex’s governing body, composed of councillors from the two municipalities, decided what projects to move ahead with after receiving $90,000 from each community instead of the requested $225,000.
“We’re going to go backwards to the position we were in when (facility manager) Tim and I arrived here,” said the Multiplex’s general manager Rhonda Alix. “It was a mess.”
The board had originally planned to spend $450,000 on capital projects in 2025, including new boilers for the aquatic centre, critical repairs to the curling rinks, and security camera upgrades across the facility. Thanks to grant funding, the facility will be able to make the $180,000 capital budget stretch a little further, but it won’t be enough to cover all the needed projects.
An Active Communities Initiative (ACI) grant from the province of Alberta will cover 50 per cent of the cost for the Aquatic Centre upgrades, leaving the Multiplex with a $125,000 bill.
A Fortis Alberta grant for energy efficient ballasts covered half the project, and a grant from Alberta-Pacific Forestry Industries covered another $25,000 for the boiler chimney.
Even with the grants, a variety of projects had to be left off the table, including the annual fire system testing and repairs, which costs $15,000, roof maintenance in the multiplex and in the Nancy Appleby Theatre, and new paint for the theatre, which was expected to cost $15,000.
“The significant reduction in contributions from both councils has created a $270,000 shortfall, jeopardizing the future of this essential community facility,” said board chair Ashtin Anderson, who also serves as an Athabasca County councillor.
How did it get here?
Historically, the town and county have provided equal capital and operating funds for the facility, splitting the cost 50/50 between the two municipalities. While both parties funded the multiplex’s $1.9 million operational deficit, the Town of Athabasca decided to only provide $90,000 for the capital funding, citing a budgetary crunch and other areas needing the funding. Moving forward, the town will be tying its multiplex contribution to the Local Government Fiscal Framework funding from the province. Athabasca received $575,000 for 2025, but will only get $538,000 next year.
Following the town’s decision, Athabasca County passed a motion to limit its capital contribution to whatever the town pays, and to additionally stipulate the funding only goes towards the multiplex and not the theatre; according to Coun. Camille Wallach, the county had previously bought out of its commitment to the building, leaving sole proprietorship with the town.
Crucially, according to board members, there’s no formal agreement in place that solidifies the partnership between the town and the county; the two organizations co-own the building, but there isn’t a set agreement in place stipulating the 50/50 split.
“For us, it comes down to capacity,” said board member Jon LeMessurier, who represents the town.
“To me, the focus right now is the agreement. It comes down to capacity, it’s not about history for the town. That agreement has to be the priority for sustainability.”
Looking ahead, the board is discussing ways to cut down on operating costs for 2026. The capital plan for 2026 calls for $872,000 of funding, and another $856,000 would be needed in 2027 to get everything done.
“We need agreements moving forwards. As landlords, how are they going to split those capital costs going forwards,” said Anderson.
“We need one for the operating costs and then a lease agreement for the multiple so that we can operate these facilities. There’s three different agreements all needing to be hashed out.
“It does jeopardize the future of this society by not having these in place.”
