Mountain View County officials do not expect to play a role in the ongoing discussions between the Town of Sundre and the Sundre and District Aquatic Society to develop a plan to transition operations of the Aquaplex to the town from the volunteer board.
“It’s entirely up to the town,” said Reeve Bruce Beattie. “We wouldn’t be involved in how they make that decision,” said Beattie, adding Sundre’s elected officials, through input provided by the society, will ultimately determine the final resolution.
The reeve said he hopes those conversations “will be fruitful.”
The county’s role in supporting facilities such as the Sundre Aquaplex primarily involves providing funding that is determined by a formula including the per capita usage of county residents in the surrounding area, he said.
Beattie later added each town in the county has its own formula that varies largely depending on the size of the municipality as well as the number of county residents who live in the surrounding region.
For example, the pools in Olds and Didsbury, which are already operated by their respective municipalities, receive funding through recreational and cultural funding agreements.
Pools are generally expensive facilities to operate and thus require substantial municipal contributions to keep them going, he said.
“They receive the same per capita contribution as the Sundre pool does,” he said.
“Beyond that, our involvement ends there. In terms of operations and ownership, that’s up to the towns.”
Regardless of who owns and operates the Aquaplex, Beattie said Mountain View County fully intends to adhere to and honour those funding agreements, as long as the doors remain open to the public.
“It’s certainly an asset to the town,” he said, calling the indoor pool that also features a fitness centre “important for our citizens.”
Any such recreational hub represents a vital part of a successful municipality, he said.
Should Sundre’s council eventually commit to taking over the Aquaplex, the reeve said that development would not change the county’s funding commitments.
“It’s just on them to manage the funds,” he said. “I hope they’re able to arrive at a good agreement that’s in the best interest of the town and the Aquaplex.”
Roy Cummings, the Sundre and District Aquatic Society’s president, said the board strives to keep track of the facility’s usage statistics.
Although December and January are typically slower months, different times of year have different spikes in visitor numbers, such as throughout the school year when students have programs as well as during the summer when more tourists come through the doors, he said.
Some people are under the impression the pool is scarcely used, and they are often surprised to learn that as many as 3,500 to 4,000 users come through the doors every month on average, which includes those who use the fitness centre, he said.
Of all of those users, Cummings said roughly half of them — give or take — come from the county in the area surrounding Sundre.
The society’s president said the county has always been fully supportive of the facility.
“They recognize the importance of it,” he said, adding they also recognize that a significant number of county taxpayers use facilities in town.
“They want to do their fair share in helping out.”
Cummings added he tends to refer to the town as a community not bound by an arbitrary line on a map.
“Doesn’t matter where you live,” he said, adding a facility like the Aquaplex, “belongs to everybody in the surrounding community, not just Sundre.”
That includes residents from Clearwater County, he pointed out.
“We open arms to them as well.”
Aside from continuing to play a supportive role and perhaps offering advice moving forward, Cummings said he does not expect Mountain View County to play a role in developing potential options for a transition plan.
“I can’t see where we’d be having conversations other than to keep them up to speed with what’s happening.”
In light of initial meetings with Sundre’s administration, Cummings expressed optimism.
“It’s moving in a positive way now,” he said.
Acknowledging legal and land issues as well as potential tax implications, Cummings said there’s no sense dwelling on those matters, and seemed certain those matters could be resolved.
“I feel confident this is going to move forward in a good way.”
At this point, his main concern is timing.
“It can’t drag on. We realize this won’t happen overnight, but it can’t take another two years.”
