Residents will pay the same fee, whether they are from the town or county, to use the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre when its doors open in May.
Tommy Phillips, interim director of community services, presented town council with a list of recreation fees at its Feb. 13 meeting. The fees show an increase of roughly five per cent for the town’s recreation facilities, although the increase will be higher in some areas.
Council passed a motion to approve the fees as presented. Deputy mayor David Truckey said he feels the fees are fair, and noted that any sort of tiered fee structure for the Spirit Centre was not on the agenda.
“We did not consider a two-price system,” he said. “We’ve certainly seen the generosity of many county residents in straight cash donations to the facility, which is something we’ve been very grateful for.”
He added that while he would like to see the county contribute to the capital costs associated with the Spirit Centre, he does not think that will happen in the foreseeable future. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure the facility is well used, he said.
“You don’t want to raise the fees to the point people don’t use your facilities anymore,” he said.
Coun. Clem Fagnan said he thinks keeping the fee a set rate for all residents is the way to go.
“Everybody always discusses that this should be a different fee for county people and town people but if we’re going to remain a community, I think we have to stay with the same fees. It’s just one of those things,” he said.
He said the county has their own buildings to maintain, like the arena in Linaria, and people need to recognize this.
“The county isn’t any richer than we are and they have their reasons for doing things,” he said. “I know that the Spirit Centre will be used as much by the county and by the town and everybody will eventually be happy that it’s there because it’s going to be there for 40-50 years.”
Truckey said while there have been no contributions from the county on the capital cost of the Spirit Centre, the town and county have an operating agreement in place whereby the county makes a year cash contribution to recreation facilities’ operation costs.
With that contribution, however, the town still operates at a loss on recreation services. The issue was raised at the county council meeting on May 10, 2011, when town Coun. Sheila Foley made a presentation requesting the county’s funding contribution be increased.
According to the information presented at that meeting, the majority of the current recreation centre’s users are county residents, while the town foots the majority of the bill.
Truckey said the current council feels that despite a disparity in municipal funding , the single fee schedule is the right way to go.
“Would the Town of Westlock be grateful and hopeful if the county gave us some money toward the capital side? Yes. Do I see that happening in the next little while? No, it’s not likely,” he said.
The fee increases that will take effect once the Spirit Centre opens are relatively minor. Phillips said the aim was to narrow the gap between the town’s recreation facilities and similar facilities elsewhere in the area.
For example, the fee for an annual family pass was $775 and will increase roughly 13 per cent to $875. Phillips said this compares to a fee of $1,100 in both St. Albert and Leduc and $850 in Athabasca, adding there will be many more offerings at the Westlock facilities compared to those in Athabasca.
Annual passes, whether for adult, youth, senior or family, don’t make a lot of money for the town, he said, adding more profitable and popular options are day passes, 10-time punch cards and monthly passes.
Phillips and CAO Darrell Garceau said there will likely be a media campaign to encourage people to purchase these annual passes.
