Recreation fees set to rise

Resident and non-residents alike will have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for the first recreation fee increase here in a couple of years.
The increase, which was across the board, is part of a new structure council approved at its meeting Dec. 11. They will take effect April 1.
“It is time. The cost [to run things] is going up,” Community Services manager George Bell replied last Friday when asked why the fees are rising now.
He noted it’s been two years since ice rental fees have gone up, and at three or four for use of the ball diamonds and soccer pitches here.
Other fees–for everything from swimming lessons to pool/fitness centre memberships–also will jump as of April 1.
Adult memberships, for instance, will rise to $350 per year from $340 for residents and $410 from $400 for non-residents.
Six-month memberships are slated to jump to $226 (from $222) and $270 (from $265), respectively, while one-month ones will rise to $60 (from $52) and $62 (from $53), respectively.
Daily rates to use the pool/fitness centre will be hiked a dollar–to $6.25 from $5.25 for residents and $6.50 from $5.50 for non-residents.
And summer youth programs–including Explorers/Getaway, Summer Wilderness, Junior Wilderness, Sports Camp, and Happy Campers–will see a fee increase next year
“We were looking at about a two percent increase across the board,” said Bell.
One decision council didn’t make last Monday was what to charge teams for soccer and slo-pitch tournaments here next year.
Currently, the town charges a $25/team fee for youth tournaments and $35/team for adult ones. That fee is proposed to stay the same for resident teams but jump to $30/team and $40/team, respectively, for non-resident ones.
Coun. Struchan Gilson noted the recreation committee had a brief meeting last Wednesday afternoon but noted the decision regarding tournament fees was deferred to a later date.
“It is a big argument that if you pay during the season, do you have to pay for a tournament?” Coun. Gilson noted last Thursday.