Woolwich councillors have approved a compromise for its ice rental rates for the 2010 season, one that will allow minor sports organizations to pay the same rate for their ice – regardless of which ice surface they choose to rent.
Adult organizations, as well as the junior B Sugar Kings, however, will have to pay the higher ice rental rate for the Dan Snyder Memorial Arena.
Township staff presented the compromise at the Feb. 9 council meeting, a week after user groups expressed their outrage at the higher rate for the Snyder pad.
Now, minor sports organizations will pay $181.44 per hour for prime-time ice rentals, instead of the higher rate of $199.11 per hour for the Snyder rink.
The debate was reopened by councillors Ruby Weber and Sandy Shantz, who said they would not support the 2010 budget without more discussion on the ice rental rates.
“I’d like for us to take another look at the fees and charges for ice surfaces,” said Weber, raising the issue.
“I think we owe taxpayers at least a discussion on that issue,” agreed Shantz.
After some discussion, when it was clarified whether the debate could, in fact, be reopened, township councillors heard from recreation director Larry Devitt, who addressed some of the concerns raised by user groups at the previous meeting.
Devitt clarified some of the financial concerns raised, and noted that ice rental increases over the last number of years were not as high as portrayed in some presentations.
He said that ice rental rates had increased eight per cent per year over the past four years, not the nine to 14 per cent suggested in a presentation.
He also outlined some of the accomplishments of Jenn Horndl, the new business development manager for the Woolwich Memorial Centre, since the additional staff hired for the new facility was called into question at the Feb. 2 meeting.
After his presentation, Weber said that she was not satisfied with information provided by township staff that was used to justify the higher cost for the Dan Snyder Memorial Arena.
“I spoke to four senior staff members,” said Weber, who said that none of them were able to tell her, to her satisfaction, how the higher rate was determined.
She said there was no breakdown of utility and staffing costs for each ice pad, which is something that should be done.
“No one has any idea how much it costs to operate the ice surfaces versus the pool,” said Weber. “It is easy to raise ice rental rates, because there is a demand for it. It is imperative that we have the true costs.”
Township CAO David Brenneman said he took exception with Weber’s assessment that staff have “no idea” of the costs. He noted that a careful analysis had been done, though not on the level that Weber would like.
“We provided that detail to council,” said Brenneman, who said that staff would be more than willing to do the breakdown that Weber was requesting, although that would take some time.
Devitt said that staff looked at a number of factors when determining the rates, including comparable rates at nearby centres, as well as utility costs.
The higher rate for the Snyder pad was in part because the larger rink uses more utilities, and costs more to operate.
Councillor Mark Bauman said he didn’t have an issue with allowing staff some time to determine actual costs for the pad. He suggested that there might be a way of recouping some of the extra costs for the Snyder arena through increased advertising revenue.
After some further discussion, staff presented its compromise. Brenneman emphasized that township staff feel it is important to have a tiered rate for the two pads, recognizing the additional cost for the Dan Snyder surface.
However, in response to the concerns raised by user groups, Brenneman said staff looked at setting one rate for minor sports organizations.
“We feel that for adult user groups, and the Sugar Kings, some tiered rate is appropriate,” said Brenneman.
This change would reduce revenue by approximately $8,500.
Township treasurer Richard Petherick told councillors that this loss could potentially be made up through advertising on the boards of the Dan Snyder pad, with no net impact on the levy.
“I can support the tiered rate,” said Weber. “My assumption is that the Sugar Kings asked for the seats in the new arena because they thought they would be able to fill the seats. Obviously, they have had difficulty filling seats. I think the onus on them is to try and do that.”
The motion to accept the budget, with the amendment to fees and charges, passed unanimously.