Step backward

Dear Mike:
I believe that mayor and council have taken one step forward and a large step backward regarding their latest decisions concerning the fee structure at the Sportsplex.
The decision to reduce the age at which one is considered to be a “senior” to 60, and to give seniors using the facility a $40 discount, was a good one. However, it did not go far enough.
I always appreciate consistency. The Town of Fort Frances should have one age at which it considers residents to be a “senior.”
Presently, the Sister Kennedy Centre uses the age of 55 and since it is our “seniors’ hub,” perhaps 55 should be the age used for all town programs and facilities regarding seniors.
Our seniors have supported this town for many years and in many ways—through the taxes they have paid, the families they have raised, the hours they have volunteered, and much more.
They have earned the privilege of accessing some town services at a reduced rate.
Further, our town has an aging demographic and we need to plan for, and use more resources in, providing services for our seniors as their ratio in the population increases.
One of the most important services the town can provide for seniors and other residents is recreation. We want to encourage more seniors to become more active and, hence, healthier.
This increases their quality of life and also benefits the town economically. Active and healthy seniors also will use our over-taxed health services less.
The town needs to encourage seniors to use the Sportsplex (as well as access the programs at the Sister Kennedy Centre). A larger discount for seniors using the Sportsplex would encourage this use.
More seniors using the Sportsplex also would increase the town’s revenue’s from this facility.
The large step backward that mayor and council has taken is to completely cancel the corporate/business discount that previously was available at the Sportsplex. The reasoning behind this decision baffles me.
The reason that the corporate/business rate issue was brought forward to council was to simplify and streamline a policy that, as written, was cumbersome.
This is a policy that, although flawed in its structure, was successful in raising revenue for the town to the tune of almost $40,000. That is not an insignificant sum in difficult economic times.
One would think that the wise course of action would be to not only continue with this rate, but to attempt to improve and induce more corporations and businesses to take advantage of it.
The math is simple: more users taking advantage of a modest discount equals more much-needed revenue for the town.
The response of our mayor and three members of council was to cancel the program in its entirety.
Most municipalities in Northwestern Ontario, and right across Ontario, understand the advantages to having a corporate/business rate and have implemented one in some form. Yet in Fort Frances, we took a step backward and cancelled ours.
I also found the process leading to this flawed decision puzzling.
Initially, the Community Services executive committee made a recommendation to council that was in favour of having a seniors’ rate and also in support of a simplified corporate rate.
This recommendation was supported by all the members of the Community Services executive committee, including the chair, as well as the Community Services manager, who wrote the recommendation with the input and complete support of the committee.
Fast forward to the next council meeting and the majority of the Community Services executive committee, including the chair, voted against their own committee’s recommendation.
This recommendation then was defeated by council.
This issue then was referred back to committee, where the two items were discussed again, both items were reviewed, and then split to be presented as separate recommendations.
This time, the majority of the members of the committee voted to support both issues while the chair again voted against corporate rates.
Again, council defeated the recommendation on the revised corporate/business rates at the Sportsplex and took a large step backward, in my opinion, by completely removing the rate.
This decision is neither progressive nor far-sighted. This type of flip-flopping is inefficient and confusing.
Sincerely,
Andrew Hallikas
Fort Frances, Ont.