Hub Staff
A recent recommendation from Town Staff for a 12-month ice season at the Saugeen Shores Community Complex, the Plex, received a warm reception from most members of Council.
From the February 10 Committee of Whole meeting, Staff suggested Saugeen Shores move ahead with a 3-year trial and based their recommendation on an extensive business plan that identified numerous opportunities as well as potential challenges. Staff consulted other surrounding communities that offer the year-round ice service to help develop their plan of action and recommendation.
Director of Community Services Jayne Jagelewski described the removal and creation of the ice rink as a three week process that involves the entire staff at either end of the season and often interferes with their outdoor duties. Running the ice continuously would allow for enhanced staffing efficiencies as well as provide potential new revenue streams for the municipality. Staff recognized a possible loss of revenue from organizations who rent the main floor of the Plex for events during the summer and increased capital and operational costs.
The plan laid out an aggressive marketing campaign during the 2020 season to commence booking for 2021 ice rentals. Due to higher operating costs, ice will be rented at a premium rate from June 1 to September 1 with a potential $40,000 added to the tax levy.
Deputy Mayor Don Matheson was quick to applaud the proposal and offer his hopes for future Plex participants. “I see summer leagues springing up in this town,” envisioned Matheson. “Many kids travel to Owen Sound, Walkerton, Kincardine to play in these leagues," he added.
"Our figure skating club is always looking to see how long the ice is going, so they could hold spring and summer ice sessions," Matheson continued. The Deputy Mayor advised Staff to keep ice rental rates competitive with surrounding rinks such as Owen Sound and Goderich.
Councillor Cheryl Grace questioned the cost of the compressor that would be needed to deal with the heat waste until the YMCA is up and running. Jagelewski explained that the compressor at the Southampton Coliseum is being removed due to age and will likely be used to fill the gap for the three year trial at the Plex.
Councillor Kristan Shrider was supportive of the recommendation and the timeline. “I do think it will take three years, that we have to invest the three years in order to see if this program will be successful. I think if we just do it on a one year basis or even if we tried to start it in 2020, I think it would fail before it even takes off," said Shrider, suggesting that any mechanical changes to the building take into consideration the noise impact to surrounding residents.
Vice Deputy Mayor Mike Myatt expressed concern over the $40,000 to $50,000 cost and asked Council to keep in mind added benefit to the community. "I think in your report you said that 25 percent of the users are Saugeen Shores residents and the other 75 percent would be coming from out of town which means there’s restaurants, there’s hotels, motels," he said. "Even though we don’t [see that benefit] as a municipality... that is a benefit that the community will see."
Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau also commented on the project price tag and called it “a little too rich for his blood."
“If we’re going to spend money on arenas, we should spend it on the Southampton Coliseum and make it accessible,” declared Charbonneau. “That’s a half million dollar spend sometime in the next couple of years, $40,000 a year would sure go a long way to getting that done," he said.
The motion was carried.
