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By Jim Mosher
Friday October 26, 2007
Interlake Spectator - WINNIPEG BEACH - Town council quietly marked the end of an era as it officially closed the books on a line of credit it had underwritten for the recreation centre.
Council unanimously passed a debenture bylaw that will put the remaining $74,500 line of credit with the Beach branch of the Gimli Credit Union under the direct umbrella of town taxpayers.
“Never thought I’d see the day,” said Coun. Greg Mandzuk.
The town quietly took the reins of the fiscally-troubled centre on Hamilton Ave. a year ago, when the then volunteer board ceded control of rec centre to the town.
Volunteer boards had been the order of the day ever since volunteers built and funded the centre, built in 1979. The boards managed well during the halcyon days of winter sports, when hockey and figure skating were king of the popular indoor rink. Bingo also played a major part in the fiscal viability of the centre, as funds from the game of chance kept the building heated, ice in and staff paid.
The introduction of video lottery terminals in the early-1990s began to chip away at the once rock solid bingo revenues. That, combined with a changing population with fewer youngsters to lace up the skates, further undermined the rec centre’s operational outlook.
As revenues sagged, the rec centre board convinced the town to underwrite its operating expenses by signing off on the line of credit. The credit line would inch upward year after year, until the last volunteer board could handle the fiscal pressure no longer, handing control to the town in the fall of 2006.
The handoff came after substantial mold was found in the basement of the rec centre building. Figure skaters had already left, and there were too few youngsters to field more than a single hockey team. For the first time in 26 years, there would be no ice that winter.
Fast forward a year, and the troubles continue to mount.
Just last month, Coun. Pam Jackson, who heads the recreation portfolio, told her colleagues about the latest round of bad news.
The troubled centre requires extensive work, after a facilities assessment found mold in the walls of its upstairs washrooms, a firewall that was compromised, unsigned fire exits and other deficiencies.
Town council recently learned from chief administrative officer Doreen Steg that she is seeking engineering audits of the municipal rec centre building. Audits of the structure itself and its mechanical and electrical soundness will be conducted.
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