Considering terms

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

Wheatland County council was studying the concept of partnerships at the Aug. 16 council meeting, as it applied to the Strathmore K-9 School recreational facility and Wheatland Crossing School that they are financially supporting, along with the Town of Strathmore and Golden Hills School Division.
The County is supplying $3 million plus operating funding for the Strathmore school recreational facility and $250,000 for the Wheatland Crossing high school gymnasium recreation facility.
The contract for the partnership was on the table, and a careful consideration of its terms was under discussion. The contract allows the use of these recreational facilities by members of the community in off hours.
“To my knowledge we haven’t made an agreement with the school division like this ever,” said Wheatland County chief administrative officer (CAO) Alan Parkin. “This is something new for both parties.”
Clarification was requested concerning the school board’s veto on usage of the facilities by community members, and a clause was included that a written explanation of refusals be sent to applicable councils and administration when usage was denied.
The term ‘in kind’ was also considered for its ramifications and what value would be contributed to actions contributed instead of financial dollars. There were concerns that in kind and financial contributions be applied equally for all parties involved in the contract.
Counc. Alice Booth suggested the signing representatives should represent the community as a whole and asked that not just CAO’s be on the contract, but board members and someone respective of the councils sign as well.
“We are dealing with the school division, not an individual. Who is the signing authority?” she said. “What happens when councils change? When you have a change in administration and councils, who will be responsible for this?”
There were concerns by councillors regarding the financial debt that recreation facilities incur. Comparisons were made to the losses the Strathmore recreation complexes have yearly. Parkin indicated they expected lost revenues and the budget included expectations for yearly lost revenue.
“We have a new school being built in East Wheatland and although they have asked for considerably less funding, I’m wondering if they are being given the same considerations as the new school in Edgefield,” said Counc. Rex Harwood, who voted against the decision. “As a county we can’t fund it all, we can’t maintain it all. I know partnerships are the best way to accomplish these large projects; I just don’t want residents upset that I didn’t consider their needs or ignore the ongoing costs of a joint use agreement. I would have liked to have seen what the user pay costs for all users would have looked like.
“When the County was approached to commit funding for the new multi-use rec facility, I don’t remember being asked to provide a portion of the ongoing maintenance costs. That may be naive on my part to participate in the building and not fund running it. I know our residents had to pay to use the hockey arena for years, so this should alleviate that issue,” added Harwood.
No local studies have been done to find out why recreation facilities are underused or lose money. But an Australian study developed a feasibility guide of factors to consider when contemplating new facilities, and several U.S. studies have been conducted on recreational facility use and income. One study done in Texas points out some reasons why recreation facilities are financially stretched. Some of the reasons stated were many users may have low incomes and can’t afford regular use, the cost of maintenance and user expectations outstrips the income generated, the facilities only rely on local populations for income generation, and the services and programs may be geared to select users. When multiple recreation facilities serve a municipality, it can decrease the revenue each can expect.
Government and taxpayers are placing pressure on municipalities to make facilities pay their own way. The partnership in the building of the new schools and utilizing their recreational facilities for the community is why Wheatland County, the Town of Strathmore and the school board are collaborating. They hope these types of partnerships will manage costs and facility use more efficiently for the Strathmore and Wheatland community.
Parkin indicated regular financial and usage reports will be delivered to the respective sitting councils, and if any problems arise the contract could be amended at a later date.
Wheatland County Reeve Glenn Koester said the Friends of East Wheatland had made major contributions to the Wheatland Crossing School and questioned if their input was gathered for the contract.