Town may give curling club break

FORT FRANCES—The town may give the Fort Frances Curling Club a helping hand with its financial struggles after discussing giving the club a tax break at its budget meeting on Monday.
“The curling club is in default in paying their taxes,” Mayor Roy Avis said in an interview Tuesday. “They’re at a critical stage where communication between the curling club and the town has to take place.
“They’re asking for some relief because they provide recreation for the community, and at this time council is reviewing that as a budget process item,” he added.
“We’re not at a stage where we can say what path we’re going to go down, but there is a willingness of council to work with them.”
Not having paid their taxes since mid-2004, the curling club now owes the town roughly $74,000 in taxes, including penalties and interest owing.
While the curling club, as a not-for-profit group, is eligible to apply to the town each tax year in accordance with Bylaw No. 32/03 (a bylaw to provide tax relief for eligible charities and similar organizations) for a rebate of up to 40 percent, the club has not done so for several years.
That’s because it apparently had been told by a former town employee that they only would be getting about $500 back if they did so.
The club also has been in a tough spot financially due to the fact it has to pay off the loan for its building. It still has three-four years of payments to make.
“It is their albatross right now,” Coun. Paul Ryan, himself a former president of the curling club, said Monday regarding the loan payments.
Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft noted Monday he’d been told by club members that when they had approached the town in the past, they were told they would probably only get a $500 tax reduction if they applied, and as such, the town is “partly at fault” for the club not applying for the tax rebate in the past.
“If we do nothing, it’s possible the curling club will turn its keys over to us,” said Coun. Wiedenhoeft.
“I have a very bad feeling. I don’t want to see that particular building in the hands of the town,” echoed Mayor Avis on Monday. “I don’t want to see the club as a line item in the Community Services budget next year.”
Coun. Ryan noted the club is run by “a good group of volunteers who don’t want to drop their keys on the mayor’s desk.”
“We’ve got to do something. The building is on town property,” he added. “The town could not run that building as efficiently as it is now.”
“I don’t have a problem giving them a break in taxes,” said Coun. Tannis Drysdale, adding the town is “lucky” to have volunteers running the club (many other municipalities have to run their curling clubs themselves).
Coun. Sharon Tibbs stressed, though, the reason that council is even considering giving the curling club a tax break is because it is a not-for-profit organization.
Curling club president Maureen Thomson met with Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig on Tuesday afternoon to initiate discussions regarding tax assistance.
“Not a lot has happened yet. They’re going back and getting some financial information as to where they’re at with some things,” McCaig said after the meeting.
“I don’t have much else tangible to report.
“We will be going back to council to get some more clear direction,” he added.
In an interview late Tuesday, Thomson said she couldn’t say much about the talks at this point, but noted she’s encouraged by council’s willingness to settle the matter.
“We are getting to a point where we are going to hopefully resolve an issue that has been going on for a few years, and I’m hoping it’s going to be a mutual, fair settlement,” she said.
“We do feel we are just in approaching them, and I think they see it that way,” added Thomson.
In Tuesday’s interview, Mayor Avis said he’s hopeful council will see a letter of intent, or “some conclusion to the issue,” by Jan. 30.
Mayor Avis noted during the meeting Monday afternoon that time is of the essence as he’s been informed the curling club must be debt-free by Jan. 31 in order to receive $15,000 in Trillium funding it’s expecting to receive.