ATHABASCA – Like many service clubs and not-for-profit organizations out there, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a halt to almost all fundraising efforts by the Lions Club of Athabasca and disrupted the group’s plans to upgrade the Lions Campground just north of town.
Lions Club members David McGuire and Mark Neaves presented their situation to councillors at the May 4 regular meeting of council, providing a status report on the recent work to electrify the campground, and expressing the need for financial support, in some form, from the municipality.
“Our club has struggled along like many clubs has, but we have attempted to do something with the campground and have used the Fortis has been able to put the power into the campground,” said McGuire, adding thanks to the town and Athabasca County for providing letters of support that helped the club gain the blessing of Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) to use funds raised through previous casinos to help pay for the upgrade.
“We have had some considerable difficulty in raising funds this year. We have had three casinos planned and cancelled and are still waiting for yet another one, and all of our attempts to raise funds have so far had to been cancelled.”
The club is now hosting a 50/50 draw as a last-ditch effort to start filling its coffers once again. Members are also banking on the success of the site this year with the help of the electricity upgrades. It is already booked up for many days this summer, McGuire said.
To help accomplish that, the club requires $15,000, and the ask was for the town to provide up to $7,000 to help pay for getting the cable in the ground.
Coun. Dave Pacholok asked what the backup plan is if these finances can’t be secured.
“If you do not get any money from any other sources, what would you actually be doing? Do you have an alternate plan? Everyone is running into budget constraints here, no matter who we're talking about, so what would happen going forward?” he asked.
“I know we're a not-for-profit operation, but we're casting our fate, our entrepreneurial fate, to the wind here and saying, I think we can make some money on this campground. And that is what we were counting on. That is our backup plan,” responded McGuire.
Fellow Lions Club member Mark Neaves added the club was very grateful for the help of Troy and April at the Blueberry Hill RV Park, located just north of the Lions Campground across Highway 813, for their help with trenching and getting the wire in the ground. So much so, the two parties have entered into a partnership to operate the campground together.
Now the wire just needs to be run up the pole and connected to the power grid.
McGuire also said they could open for campers more quickly if a permit could be expedited, but with the town office closed due to COVID-19 exposure, CAO Rachel Ramey said it would have to wait until Monday when she could return to the office.
Coun. Rob Balay floated the idea of providing bridge financing to the club that could be paid back over a few years, when the pandemic restrictions are eventually lifted, which was agreeable to both Lions.
“It's something that our town and people around here really, really appreciate so we're going to definitely see what we can do to make things a little bit easier and you guys have my full support always, so thanks again guys,” said Coun. John Traynor when the presentation ended.
Later during discussion before voting on a motion, Traynor said, “I think it's a fantastic thing so I think if they need the money and the financing, I think that this is something that the town should get behind and support, and how we do that, either through finance or through a donation or something like that I really think that we should support this cause and it would be good for our town.”
Coun. Ida Edwards agreed, but said she was concerned about setting a precedent, knowing the state of the economy and the situation most service clubs find themselves trying to grapple with. That said, she was willing to support a short-term loan, as was Balay.
“I would support a bridge financing and helping them now and they could slowly pay us back over three to five years, like we've done for other service groups,” he said.
Neaves said such an arrangement would work for the club, so council passed a motion to have administration look into the specifics of where the contribution would come from and to draw up an agreement that will come back to the May 18 regular meeting.
“With the Lions Club, of course, all the money that we generate will be going back into the community, so yeah, I think financing would be a fine option as far as the Lions Club goes,” said Neaves.
The Rafflebox 50/50 draw can be found at the Athabasca Lions Club Facebook page. Tickets are available until the end of June and the draw will be made on July 1. The pot currently sits at $1,750 as of May 9.
