While it is not always a popular decision to make, Woolwich councillors have made the right one, when it comes to hiring a consultant to look at costs at the Woolwich Memorial Centre.
The entire community has embraced the centre — with both the Dan Snyder Memorial Arena and the Jim McLeod Memorial Arena, along with the walking track, youth and senior centres, and swimming pools — seeing extensive use. It has also won an Innovative Architecture and Design Award, recognizing the beauty of the building as a whole.
But it is still unclear how much it costs to run different parts of the facility — and what a fair price is for its use.
Earlier this year, sports organizations such as Woolwich Minor Hockey and the Elmira Sugar Kings protested the new rates that were being proposed for the upcoming season, suggesting that they are too high. Township staff countered by saying that the costs of the new complex are higher than in the old arena, particularly at the Dan Snyder Memorial Arena, which has more seating, and a larger ice surface.
However, without hard numbers to justify this contention, councillors opted to approve a lower rate for the Dan Snyder pad, the same rate being charged at the Jim McLeod Memorial Arena.
And yet, the questions keep getting raised. What exactly is a fair rate for the use of this facility, one that few other communities are fortunate enough to have?
And, how much of a subsidy is it fair to expect Woolwich taxpayers to support — some of whom may never set foot in the facility?
Without a detailed analysis that looks at the overall cost of the facility, it may be very difficult to answer that question. And while the cost analysis could be conducted by township staff, it would be very difficult for them to find the time and staff resources to do it — and it would be very easy for minor sports organizations to find fault with a report that came from township staff, particularly if they reached a conclusion they didn’t like.
In the end, while it is expected that up to $20,000 will be spent on this exercise, it will be $20,000 well spent. Councillors need to know how much it costs to run the WMC — and have the information they need to determine how much of that cost should be borne by taxpayers, and how much by user groups.
This study will help them do that.