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COCHRANE— The president and chair of the Spray Lake Sawmills Recreation Parks Society is calling on Cochrane Council to throw their support behind a critical asset for the Town.
Allison Temple, president and chair of the Spray Lake Sawmills Recreation Parks Society, said the board of the Spray Lake Family Sports Centre has never encountered the level of scrutiny they currently face.
“Most people didn’t know we existed until the last few years and we liked it that way,” Temple said. “It’s frustrating as a volunteer board to be put in the middle of a political agenda— We do sympathize with the tough economic decisions that the council members have to make.”
She added that she appreciates those that have shown support for the important place the facility has in the community as a recreational hub.
“I’m not throwing mud,” Temple said. “I’m defending a group of people that have worked so tirelessly for a facility. I’m tired of the negative comments that we are getting.”
Temple described the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre as a "first-class" $100 million asset for the Town of Cochrane that sees 700,000 people annually enter its doors. She added that because of this it should be a priority for the Town.
The Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre became a point of contention for Cochrane Council after the facility requested and was approved for up to $1.5 million to help the centre survive the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The issue arose again at the July 13 council meeting when $750,000 was given to the centre to help recover costs lost during the pandemic. During the meeting Councilors Tara McFadden and Marni Fedeyko called for efficiencies to be found at the facility and increased transparency on how money was being spent. Both councilors have said their concerns are centred on spending tax-payers money in the most efficient way possible.
"It doesn’t matter who is doing the asking it is about making sure the dollars are being spent in the most prudent way," Fedeyko said. She noted that both McFadden and herself have received the financials that have been provided and had two meetings with the Town of Cochrane general manager of corporate services.
"It is our job as Councillor’s to ask hard questions," Fedeyko said.
Fedeyko said she plans on attending a Spray Lake Sawmills Recreation Parks Society in the future to learn more.
McFadden added she is also interested in attending a meeting, but respect the role Coun. Alex Reed as a representative with the Spray Lake Sawmills Recreation Parks Society. She noted council had a strategic meeting with Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sport Centres representatives on May 7 as they began tackling the impact of COVID-19 on the facility's financials.
"It's all about fiscal responsibility," McFadden said. "At the end of the day whether it's council or another group managing public assets with public money it's all about making sure we are being as accountable and efficient with people's money as possible."
Temple said the financials that have come before council are due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the deficit the sports centre faced after closing their doors for four months. Temple said they were forced to go before the council to request emergency funding to ensure they would be able to reopen.
“It’s a big number for a lot of people,” Temple said. “It was an unprecedented time.”
Senior management is opening the facility in the safest and most efficient way possible, Temple said, adding that the majority of employees were laid off during the height of the pandemic leaving a skeleton crew to maintain the facility.
Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre entered a phased approach to reopening beginning on July 1, but to date, they have only been able to bring back about half of their staff.
“It’s a moving target with COVID— We don’t know how many members are going to come back, we don’t know how many programs we should put in place,” Temple said. “It’s a best guess.”
The questions raised at council are especially frustrating because councillors have called for increased transparency, she said, but the board strives to be as transparent as possible. She added only councillor Alex Reed and Mayor Jeff Genung have attended meetings with the board to date.
“We are as about as transparent as it gets, that’s where the frustration lies,” Temple said.
The facility has a funding agreement with the Town of Cochrane to cover all reasonably budgeted shortfalls— If requests fall outside this they appear before council.
Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre faced a deficit in 2019 after facing unforeseen circumstances resulting in council providing $500,000 to the facility.
Temple noted that all financial records from the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre are a matter of public record. They can be accessed at their Annual General Meeting in November and are made available to major stakeholders of the facility including the Town of Cochrane, Rocky View County and the Spray Lake Sawmills Recreation Parks Society.
She added that the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre was completely self-sustaining before the aquatic facility was added into the fold in 2017. Before this expansion, the centre had a positive operational cash flow.
“They knew pools run at a deficit they never make money,” Temple said. “The reality is our deficit started to hit home come 2018.”
The facility ran into further unforeseen financial difficulty with the aquatic centre due to improper workmanship during the expansion, she said. The expansion left the facility stuck paying additional funds to fix problems that included paint peeling in the showers, water pipes and mechanical issues.
“It’s a continuing frustration. The pool was pushed through at $45 million,” Temple said. “It ended up costing $48 million. But, it should have cost $52 million. There was a lot of shortcuts.”
It is a challenging situation to face because as a volunteer board if the Town cannot fund the shortfalls of the sports centre the board will cease to exist, Temple said. She added the volunteer board functions to run the facility as efficiently and effectively as possible, and in doing so help ease the tax burden placed on Cochranites.
She hopes that in the future Cochrane and area community members and council will prioritize the facility, “as the heart of health wellness in the community.”
Temple said she wants to see a commitment to invest in Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre to help it thrive and ensure the facility is a priority for council.
For now, Temple said, the board's “hands are tied” and they have been left worrying about the longevity, future and safety of the facility.
When asked about the role Rocky View County can play in helping to fund the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, they own 50 per cent of the facility with the Town of Cochrane owning the other 50 per cent, Temple declined to comment.
