Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre has come before Cochrane council to once again ask for funds to maintain the operation.
This time the request was for up to $1.5 million to help the facility survive the COVID-19 pandemic storm.
There were already funding issues with the facility before the pandemic, but the virus has intensified the storm of dropping profits.
The request for funding was approved 4-3 by council after a rigorous debate, and an additional $165,000 has been provided by the Town for emergent capital requirements.
During the funding debate, Councillor Alex Reed highlighted the important place the sports centre has in the community in providing spiritual, physical and emotional well-being.
These funding decisions are important to supporting Cochranite's quality of life, but it comes at a cost to taxpayers.
In September of 2019, council provided a $500,000 interest-free line of credit to Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre after the facility reported a $1.2 million shortfall in 2018.
Coun. Tara McFadden put it best.
“It’s more than just a bricks and mortar facility— It means a lot to our community and I think it’s something we’re all really proud of,” McFadden said. “I appreciate the board and the work and the facility there’s so many wins out of there. But I need some clarity on how this can be done and managed when we talk about the costs and how we can carry that forward.”
Cochranites will see a $1.72/month tax increase in 2020 on the average residential property to replace money removed from the reserve to support the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
The full cost of the monthly operations for the building was not provided during the meeting.
Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung called on the council to “trust” the operators of the facility.
“I really feel that this comes down to trust,” Genung said. “I’m very concerned and disappointed in the potential message we are sending to our volunteer board … Under arguably the most severe circumstances we are choosing to question their abilities and confidence and I feel that is so unfair.”
This is a hard pill to swallow given the $2 million that will potentially be handed over in the space of just over a year without true insight into operating costs that are hemorrhaging money.
Asking critical questions about an operation that costs taxpayers' money is not an issue of "trust," it is a form of due diligence.
The full financial impact of COVID-19 on the Spray Lake Family Sports Centre will not be known until early 2021.
The money provided to the centre will help it to remain functional and ready to open when public health measures are lifted to the tune of $250,000 per month for six months, with the hopes the doors can reopen in September as COVID-19 public health measures are lifted.
Genung said during the meeting there is the possibility this may happen sooner based on comments from the province in regards to the Alberta Economic Relaunch.
During the COVID-19 update on Monday (June 1) Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said discussions continue on whether potential activities including recreation centres could possibly be opened before Stage Three of the Alberta Economic Relaunch— However, that decision has yet to be rendered.
Sports centres that are allowed to re-open will need to adhere to public safety guidelines provided by the province, and restrictions will be put in place to help prevent the spread of the virus. These new protocols will undoubtedly add to the burden of operations and it will be interesting to see if another funding request for the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre is brought before the council.
As it has been for the last three months, it is important to remain cautiously optimistic as public health measures are lifted and we begin to return to a new normal. However, it is foolhardy to treat events as if they are set in stone— Especially when playing with taxpayers' money.
