Mitch Calvert
A three percent hike in user fees affects 400-plus services provided by the town—and will mean an increased cost for ice time and pool rental at the Memorial Sports Centre.
It might not seem like much on the surface but for Aquanauts head coach Dawnn Taylor, the dollars and cents can add up in a hurry.
“We may end up having to cut pool time,” she warned.
“We have two choices, either we bump our registration [fee] up to make up for the increase or we cut hours,” Taylor added.
“That’s something that we are definitely going to have to look at.”
The Aquanauts currently rent the pool throughout the winter for 13.5 hours a week at a rate of $63/hour. That would increase to $65 an hour, for an additional cost of $27 a week.
Taylor said the jump might force some parents with multiple children in swimming, or those just there for the fitness and not the competitive side, to pull their children out.
“If you raise your fees, it excludes some potential swimmers,” said Taylor.
“Or if you dump your hours, then for those who want more diversity when it comes to days they can come on, it hurts them because some of them do different sports and double up so they can only get to the pool on certain days.
“Highly-competitive swimmers need all the hours in the pool they can get,” Taylor stressed.
“Most top teams, like the Manta swimmers in Winnipeg, are putting in at least 20 hours a week,” she noted. “In [Donovan Taylor’s] case, he’s doing well on 13-and-a-half hours, but it’s with a lot of creative practice.
“The workouts are set to make sure every minute is utilized to make himself better. And if we have to knock that down, then it’ll obviously cause some concerns.”
Taylor also said swimming, as well as other activities at the Memorial Sports Centre like hockey and figure skating, not only keep kids fit but off the streets.
“It’s an economic issue, and it’s not just here, it’s all over, and I understand there is a shortage due to the mill assessment, but does that need to be passed down to the youth?” Taylor questioned. “This right now is hitting kids, whether it’s swimming, hockey, figure skating. . . .
“These are the kids we want to be healthy, we want them off the streets, and we want them focused on taking care of themselves, not just physically, but mentally.”
Taylor thinks the alternative is not somewhere we want things to go.
“Is this just going to send the kids into another direction, sitting at home playing video games?” she wondered. “Gaming is fine, but not if you are doing that for an extra 13 hours a week.”
Fort Frances Minor Hockey Association president Wayne Strachan is not sure if they will have to raise minor hockey registration fees for next season, saying that will have to be discussed in the spring.
“Nothing will take place until the season is over,” Strachan wrote in an e-mail to the Times.
“In April, when the [new] board is elected, then the user fees will be discussed and the board will have to make a decision on whether to raise the fees for the 2009/10 season,” he noted.
