A delegation urged council last week to take greater action to ensure negotiations for the recreation and culture funding agreement with Mountain View County are concluded post-haste.
Three board members representing the Sundre and District Aquatic Society, the Sundre Curling Club as well as the Sundre and District Agriculture Society addressed council during the June 11 meeting.
They expressed concerns that Sundre is the last municipality in the county to sign off on the agreement, and also sought support to foster collaborative partnerships with the municipality in the spirit of ensuring the long-term sustainability of facilities such as the Aquaplex and curling rink.
“We are concerned that the recreational agreement with the county has not been signed,” Leona Bennett, aquatic society treasurer as well as a director on the ag society and curling club boards, told the Round Up on Thursday, June 14.
“We want that agreement signed,” she said.
Additionally, volunteers are not only aging but also becoming fewer and farther between, and Bennett said the boards would also like to see the municipality work more with the organizations towards finding a solution that ensures the long-term sustainability of the multi-million dollar pool, fitness centre and curling rink, which represent substantial assets for a community with so many families that are passionate about recreation and healthy lifestyles.
“We want to work closer together to have a better working relationship to keep these facilities open.”
Although the buildings are fully paid for, she said maintenance and repair costs add up and the volunteer organizations want more support from the municipality — not only in the form of financial assistance but also with administrative issues such as liability insurance.
Accompanying her during the presentation to council were Roy Cummings, an Aquaplex board member, and Svend Nielsen, a director on the boards for the Sundre Curling Club as well as the ag society.
Responding to their inquiries about the status of funding negotiations with the county, chief administrative officer Linda Nelson informed the delegation that the agreement was in the process of being drafted.
In the absence of the renewed funding agreement, the organizations are left attempting to plan for the future around financial uncertainty, said Bennett, who added the Town of Sundre should consider matching the per capita rate the county provides the Aquaplex.
Nielsen also suggested an approach modelled after other municipalities with recreation boards that assist organizations and distribute funds based on established needs assessments. Alternatively, another option, he said, could be for the municipality to assume ownership and maintenance of the facilities while handing the operational reins over to the volunteer groups.
While there is often an assumption that the pool represents a massive expense on recreation dollars, Nielsen said the facility costs some $515 a day to operate year round, as compared with $1,000 for the curling rink and $1,700 for the arena when the ice surfaces are in.
“The arena is the biggest drain,” he said, adding the curling club receives no recreational dollars.
“I hate to be dwelling on the negative things, but these are the facts.”
The municipality’s list of recreational facilities within town boundaries includes the community centre, the arena, community services, trails, as well as the Aquaplex, but not the curling rink, he said.
“Is there any chance that the curling club could not be a part of that? I truly think that it is a recreation facility.”
Since the funding agreement with the county has not yet been approved, Bennett told council now would be a good time to consider including the Sundre Curling Club in the ongoing negotiations.
“We don’t expect a lot of money for the curling club, but we need help,” she said.
Despite the buildings and parking lots being owned by different groups or the municipality, Nielsen said "we would like to get away from 'yours' and 'mine.' I’d like to think it’s all ‘ours,'" reiterating an earlier comment by Cummings.
He said additional reasons to build better relationships include improving communications to collaborate on issues such as snow removal, which has caused problems with mounds piled up being a burden on the structures as well as preventing proper access to emergency exits to the curling rink.
“We have three emergency doors on the north side, and if emergency personnel need to get in there, they have no access.”
Despite their concerns, Bennett said the volunteers remain unreservedly proud of their town and seek nothing more than to work with the municipality.
“We’re a community working together.”
Cummings added the board members hope the delegation was the first step towards forging ahead towards improved collaboration.
“I would hope that we can sit down again and spend more time to go through some of the nuts and bolts and how we’re going to transform into something completely different than what we see in the operations today,” he said, later adding, “We have to be all on the same page.”
Members of council seemed largely receptive to further engaging in more detailed conversations.
“It’s easy to get a cheque and then say ‘see you next year.’ That’s, in my opinion, the easy way out for both sides,” said Coun. Richard Warnock.
“But if we’re going to change the funding model and support what you’re asking us for, we need to feel comfortable that the money is being spent properly and looked after from your side.”
He added non-profit organizations throughout the province that own facilities are struggling and expressed a willingness to participate in further discussions.
“We may be able to have something that works for both sides.”
Coun. Paul Isaac said proactively working towards a mutually agreeable long-term plan is important.
Mayor Terry Leslie praised the volunteers’ commitment and said they “are a prime example of how communities come together.”
The mayor sought two motions from his council colleagues — one to accept the delegation’s presentation as information as well as another to start the process of scheduling future conversations through administration.
Coun. Rob Wolfe moved the first, which was unanimously carried.
Coun. Charlene Preston then motioned to support future discussions.
Although Coun. Cheri Funke expressed support for the organizations, she also voiced a reluctance to create an impression of favouritism towards any specific groups and so did not support the motion.
“We’ve had other groups come before us and they’ve told us how they’re struggling.”
The mayor supported the motion and said that not all non-profit organizations are struggling to sustain multi-million dollar assets.
The motion carried with Funke and Wolfe opposed.
Later in the week, Westview Co-op announced a $100,000 donation for the Aquaplex to replace the indoor pool’s waterslide and stairway. The aquatic society was among 24 organizations to receive funding from the Co-op Community Spaces Program, which accumulatively awarded $2 million this year.
“We are thrilled with the contribution and we are excited for what this means to the Sundre and District Aquatic Society and the future of the Sundre Aquaplex,” said Bennett.
