The County of Barrhead has disclosed how much they will be contributing towards the shared recreation facilities and programs with the town — and to say the least, town councillors are disappointed.
On Tuesday, May 24, during their regular meeting, councillors unanimously passed for information, a letter from Mark Oberg, County of Barrhead manager, stating the county would be contributing a total of $88,860.
The amount was broken down into three components:
• Agrena operating costs $59,560.
• Wages for three summer program workers $24,300.
• Contribution to summer program costs $5,000.
Oberg also notes in the letter which is dated May 9, that the County of Barrhead’s 2016 budget includes one bi-annual payment for the $5 million debenture borrowing as part of the county’s contribution to the capital construction costs of the new aquatic centre.
The county agreed to the payment as part of the Aquatic Centre Capital Agreement they signed with the town in Jan. 2015. As part of the agreement, the county also agreed to contribute (what they deemed as fair) towards recreation operational costs of shared use facilities and programs.
Coun. Don Smith said, in his opinion, the letter from the county is proof of why a new recreation agreement is needed with the county.
“It is really unacceptable that we can have an operating deficit for the Agrena of $447,000 ($447,211) and only have a contribution from the county of $59,560, which relates to only 13.3 per cent of the deficit,” he said. “It’s just not acceptable for us as a council and for the residents of the Town of Barrhead. It’s just not fair.”
The county’s 2016 contribution is an increase of $2,836 over the previous year.
Although the terms of the current recreational agreement, as spelled out in the Aquatic Centre Capital Agreement, do not expire until after the municipal elections in 2017, Danielle Larivee, Alberta’s minister of Municipal Affairs, has given the town and county six months to come up with a new recreation agreement. If they don’t, Larivee said she may be forced to use section 570(c) of the Municipal Government Act to ‘make a decision to settle an intermunicipal dispute.’ The six-month deadline expires in mid to late October.
Coun. Roy Ulmer, who chaired the meeting as part of his role as deputy mayor in the absence of mayor Gerry St. Pierre, agreed that the county’s contribution was inadequate.
“As far as I’m concerned it should be 50 per cent, not 13.3 per cent,” he said, adding there are just as many county residents who use the Agrena as town residents. “And when the swimming pool comes about it will be the same, so it really bothers me to see a figure of only 13.3 per cent. It is really an insult.”
Coun. Ryan Warehime noted the town does try to recoup as much of its recreational costs as they can, but there is a limit on what can be done.
“Take hockey fees for example. Regardless of level, they are creeping up to $1,000 per child. If we raise our rates any more it gets cost prohibitive and you start losing people,” he said. “Realistically it is very hard to recoup that $447,000 deficit through user fees. That is just the nature of the Agrena facility that we built and have to operate.”
Ulmer agreed, adding the operational budget of the Agrena wouldn’t decrease anytime soon.
“If anything, those costs will go up,” he said.
Coun. Shelley Oswald said she was also concerned that the cost of recreation activities are rising to the point where many families can no longer afford to have their children participate in organized sports.
“It is getting to the point where we might not have anyone using that facility (Agrena) so that in our discussions about coming to a recreational agreement it is important that we get as close to 50/50 as we can,” she said. “So we can operate it realistically and we can give hope to those who are struggling with the costs associated with organized sports.”
Coun. Ty Assaf agreed with all his colleagues, adding it is a fact of life that recreational facilities run at a deficit.
“It is time that our partners (county) realize that there is going to be a deficit and that they are equally responsible in contributing their share,” he said.
