For the second-straight meeting, Barrhead town council told a recreation based business or organization to expect a possible rate increase.
At their Jan. 10 meeting, during which councillors unanimously approved a 20 per cent rate increase to Pro North Hockey for the use of the Agrena for its summer school, councillors inferred that after administration completed its recreation-facility-fee structure review, other increases might be forthcoming.
And this time it was the Barrhead Curling Club.
On Jan. 24, during which councillors passed for information a letter written by Grant Balen on behalf of the Barrhead Curling Club asking the town to address a leaky roof, they suggested in the future the organization could be asked to pay more to use the facility.
Mayor Gerry St. Pierre kicked off discussion by suggesting administration and the recreation department take a close look at how much the curling club is being charged as part of its overall fee structure review.
“Let me remind council that this facility is owned by the Town of Barrhead and for some reason we allow the curling club to use it at basically no charge for six months a year. Why aren’t we charging rent?” he asked, adding the same question could be asked of the Barrhead Bowling Association for the use of the bowling alley.
St. Pierre added council is faced with a dilemma of how to pay for the operating costs for all the major recreation facilities, which are used by both town and county residents, without having the benefit of having a notable contribution from the county.
“We have statistics from the curling club that state 62 per cent of the users of that facility reside in the county, but County of Barrhead’s council have told us in no uncertain terms that they won’t compensate us one nickel for that facility,” he said. “The insurance cost for that building alone is $13,000 and in past years we have even subsidized the curling club by $10,000 for utility services.”
St. Pierre, who is a curler, noted it is time that the curling club does its part in keeping the facility viable.
Discussion then moved to questions regarding building maintenance and its current condition.
In his letter Balen states that they believe the leaking roof was first noticed when the construction of the aquatic centre began.
“The leaking water onto the ice poses a safety issue for the curlers, in addition to making the game somewhat unplayable. We have had to cancel a night of curling due to safety concerns,” he writes, adding they are concerned the extra workload incurred by its icemaker will add to the club’s expenses.
Coun. Leslie Penny asked if the problem could have been due to the new ice plant, while councillors Roy Ulmer and Don Smith asked if the curling club was right and it was connected to aquatic centre construction.
Barrhead’s chief administrative officer Martin Taylor said it is doubtful the ice plant was the issue, but believed the aquatic centre could be the cause.
“Temperatures fluctuate 30 degrees now and there is some temporary heating in the pool. Those could be factors, but it will require further investigation to know for sure,” Taylor said.
St. Pierre concluded discussion saying the building is the town’s responsibility and the issue will be addressed.
