Usage soars at Alliston Memorial Arena, user fee hike in
offing
Posted January
8, 2013
Nelson Street's Grand Old Lady, built as part of the post-war wave of
memorial arenas that moved hockey in smaller communities across the
country, indoors, and whose fate remains in political limbo,
nonetheless continued its upward trajectory with user groups in 2012,
coasting past 3,300 rental hours, up from 2,565 in 2011," according to
a staff report to council.
Scheduled initially to be discussed as part of last night's first 2013
budget working session, instead, the report by Ray Osmond, Director of
Parks, Recreation and Culture, related to the Alliston Memorial Arena
(AMA), was deferred to Monday night's committee of council meeting.
Following are the recommendations Mr. Osmond has put forward:
That funding from the FedDev Ontario Community
Infrastructure Improvement Fund (CIIF) be accepted in the amount of
$62,500 for 2012/2013 and $62,500 in 2013/2014. which has been
incorporated into the proposed 2013 budget and shown as a future year
commitment for $62,500 in the 2014 budget;
That the required renovation/improvement work identified by
various contractors be prioritized for completion having regard for the
available funds and grant funding cash flow schedule;
That the AMA remain in operation for the next three year
period to provide an opportunity to be fully analyzed and considered as
part of a comprehensive Business Plan for Parks, Recreation and Culture;
That staff be directed to bring forward a revised user fee
schedule which will include the AMA to address revenue generation and
minimize the subsidy to users from taxation;
And that the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture be
directed to further consider the 2012 Alliston Memorial Arena Task
Force Report and its findings in the development of a comprehensive
Business Plan and long term recreation infrastructure plan, which shall
also have regard for the 2009 Leisure and Culture Master Plan Update
-Implementation timelines and the development charges background study
update.
The AMA has been on borrowed time since the New Tecumseth Recreation
Centre (NTRC) opened in 2006, its ice decommissioned. But the community
hall, and groups like the Alliston Firefighters Association, and the
COPs teen dances, were still prominent rentals, and the restrictions
imposed by the exlusive alcohol rights at the NTRC during the same
period, helped keep it open.
During that same period, the Town had relocated its recreation
programming to the NTRC, and was not marketing the AMA, nor encouraging
community hall bookings. But in the past couple years, non-ice pad
usage demand fueled by increased ball hockey and roller derby, which
became the largest user with 661 hours, with confirmed bookings in 2013
set to surpass that.
"In an effort to close the gap in the revenue-expenses the Department
of Parks, Recreation and Culture is recommending that the current fee
schedule for the AMA be revisited and adjustments be considered to
better reflect a rate for service that is at a subsidy that Council
approves based on a set criteria such as minor versus adult, alcohol
events versus non-alcohol events and large spectator events versus
smaller events," according to Mr. Osmond's report.
There is a cautionary note he strikes that suggests user groups can
not immediately be accommodated at the NTRC if the AMA is closed.
"Simply because the infrastructure does not exist. The NTRC can
accommodate the majority of Community Room activity with minor
modifications on the second floor, i.e. instructional dance, banquets
etc. Events such as the roller derby and ball hockey cannot be
accommodated under the existing infrastructure layout on a year round
basis. The NTRC can only provide a dry floor on a summer season basis
under
its current infrastructure layout. The Town would need to determine the
best practice option for dry floor capacity year round and it would
need to determine what impact if any it would have on current users in
the current facility inventory."
