Duane Hicks
Corporate membership fees at the Memorial Sports Centre here will undergo further review.
Community Services manager Jason Kabel presented a report to town council Monday night proposing a couple changes to corporate and senior pool/fitness centre membership rates.
The report indicated the corporate rate could be a 15 percent discount for an organization with a minimum of five annual members.
However, several members of council felt the revised corporate rate is unnecessary, unfair, or not high enough.
“I think our rates are low enough compared to our expenses that we shouldn’t have a corporate rate,” said Coun. Ken Perry.
Coun. June Caul noted that people benefitting from corporate rates may work in Fort Frances but they may not pay taxes in Fort Frances, so they’re getting a cut that other people are not getting because of a corporate rate.
“Is that fair?” she asked.
Coun. Doug Kitowski said council should not put a burden on the taxpayers by subsidizing a corporation from somewhere else and pick up the tab for their 15 percent discount.
“I don’t think there should any discounts for corporations. Period,” he added.
Coun. Paul Ryan, meanwhile, said user fees are supposed to cover the cost of the service provided to the user—and the current sportsplex fees do not.
“The sportsplex is being subsidized by general tax revenue to the tune of north of $400,000 a year, so people that don’t use the facility are subsidizing people who do,” he remarked.
“So I think we should really have a look at this.”
Coun. Ryan said comparing user fees from other communities is not comparing “apples to apples” unless the town also knew how much tax revenue is being used to subsidize those facilities.
He added the membership rates should be discussed further and ultimately council should set the rates at their own tolerance level, not in comparison with anywhere else.
Mayor Roy Avis said he doesn’t feel a corporate rate that requires a minimum of five members is fair to small businesses which only may have two or three employees.
“I firmly believe—I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—one price fits all,” he stressed.
“If we have a reasonable rate, a rate that we can all afford, one price fits all.
“It doesn’t matter if you work for someone who has 200 employees, 50 employees, 25 employees, or whatever,” the mayor noted.
But Coun. Wendy Brunetta, who works for Kenora & Rainy River Districts Child and Family Services (one of the three organizations currently with a corporate membership), said she supports corporate rates.
“I think we can’t lose sight of the fact that corporate rates are not just to give people a break,” she remarked.
“It is actually to generate memberships, and if you look to any other communities that have corporate rates, that’s the primary purpose for it.
“You’re trying to generate more members—that’s the bottom line,” she stressed.
Three organizations currently have corporate memberships—the Kenora & Rainy River Districts Child and Family Services, the local DSSAB, and Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc., comprising 35 employee members in total.
Kabel said when he started as Community Services manager, the corporate rate structure was cumbersome and awkward and not used.
“There was not one corporate member when I took my job,” he noted.
“Since January, 2013, the town has benefitted now to the tune of just over $40,000 in generated revenue because we started to use this corporate structure, albeit awkward,” Kabel added.
Corporate memberships currently offer a 15-20 percent discount depending on the number of employees with gym memberships.
The revised rate—a 15 percent discount for an organization with a minimum of five annual members—is meant to simplify that structure.
“I’m not married to the corporate structure,” Kabel said.
“But I would like anyone who raises their hand to say that they don’t want a corporate structure to either also say you’re okay with losing the $40,000 in generated revenue or come up with a good idea of how I can replace that.”
“Memberships are the thing we really need,” Coun. John Albanese stressed. “That’s what’s paying the bills, so to me memberships are the number-one thing.
“So if we can get more members, good for us.”
The report also recommended the age for the senior rate be lowered from 65 to 60 in order to be in line with other communities in the region.
As well, the senior annual membership fee will be lowered to $353.30—a $40 reduction.
It recommended no change to the family rate.
The report was sent back to the Community Services executive committee for further review.
