Rec board survives

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Town council, new member want business plan

By Jim Mosher
Sunday September 26, 2004



Pimentel (above) agreed to join the board but only if the board agrees to examine expanding its programming, particularly to area youth.


Interlake Spectator — Hobbled by a series of recent resignations, the volunteer board of the Winnipeg Beach Municipal Recreation Centre conducted its annual general meeting Wednesday evening. While the board did not have a quorum at its own AGM, the meeting proceeded because the total 16 people in attendance constituted a recognized annual meeting.
By meeting’s end, three hours after its 7:30 p.m. start, one new member agreed to join the four members of the former board. The new board will consist of veterans Arnold Eyford, Larry Moore, Lynne Pawluk and Michelle Thompson and Tony Pimentel.
Pimentel, aformer town councillor, is the only new face on rec centre board. But his decision to accept nomination came with a condition.
“I would accept the position with the understanding that the board really begin to look outside the box,” said Pimentel.
Pimentel told the meeting earlier that relying only on hockey and figure skating programs to keep the financially-strapped centre afloat is short-sighted. He wants the board to examine other programming options that would ensure the Hamilton Ave. recreation facility is a going concern year-round.
And he wants the board to craft a business plan. Pimentel’s comments echoed those of Mayor Don Pepe and Beach Coun. Sonya Dodd. Town council threatened earlier this year to take over the centre, which is currently saddled with a debt of more than $90,000. Council provides $30,000 a year to the rec centre, including $10,000 for operations, $10,000 to its accumulated debt and close to $10,000 for insurance,
Mayor Pepe was most often conciliatory, but he and Coun. Dodd were pointed in their insistence that the new rec centre board develop a long-term business plan.

“The group [rec board] has done a great job,” Pepe said. “But unfortunately when the money is not coming in as it was, it may have to change direction.”
The mayor noted that the good old days of operating the rec centre on bingo revenue and modest ice rentals are gone.
Moore, long-time rec board member, acknowledged that the loss of the rec centre would be a great loss to the Beach and surrounding areas.
“As soon as you lose it, a bit of the heart blood of the community would be lost,” said Moore, who spent much of the meeting fending off criticisms of rec centre operations.
A prime candidate was the canteen, which the board was leasing to an individual for $200 a month. “That doesn’t even cover the hydro and the gas,” said Mayor Pepe.
In the absence of a fuller business plan -- one that includes more than hockey and figure skating programming -- Dodd suggested council may back off its annual cash injection.
“Our council would like to see a business plan,” she said. “Then we will make a decision as to how we will proceed with [municipal] grants.”
For his part, Pepe panned news reports that suggested council was taking a heavy-handed approach -- issuing a thinly-veiled threat to take over the board in June.
“The good intent of council has been there and is today,” Pepe said. “All we’re asking is that before we put more money out, we do need a plan of action.”
Dodd’s frsutration with the business planning of the past board was frequently apparent. When a discussion of ice rental fees came up during the evening, she said: “Can you make this clear for me? It costs $69 an hour to maintain the facility, so if you rent it for $70, you make a buck.”
“On the bald face ot it, yes,” said Moore, who suggested Dodd’s may be a view that fails to include other factors. He noted, for instance, that the hourly rate is determined by operational costs divided by the number of hours rented. Increasing the number of rental hours, reduces the hourly rate for operations.
Moore also noted that Wednesday is open for rentals, as are spots on Sunday.
In the end, the new board of four was given a mandate to seek out four people to fill the board’s complement of nine.