Raising a ruckus
Minor hockey association unhappy with increase in rental rates at Wellness Centre
County warden Robert Parker said he hopes talks can continue between the Pictou County Wellness Centre and one of its largest clients for ice rentals.
Parker said Monday during a property services meeting that the Wellness Centre board recently met with the Pictou County Minor Hockey Association (PCMHA) to discuss the rental rate at the new facility.
He said the Wellness Centre ice rental rate will rise by five per cent this fall and the (PCMHA) is is not happy with the increase.
“They are trying to keep costs to zero and we are dealing with a deficit,” said Parker, who as warden serves on the PCWC board along with the five town mayors.
Parker said the board is continually looking at ways to deal with the deficit, which was close to $900,000 a year ago. One approach is to cut costs and raise revenues but the board is also trying to be fair to its user groups. On Tuesday, Parker said in a follow-up interview that the Wellness Centre expects to reduce its deficit in the current fiscal year to roughly $750,000.
Council said it is estimated that if the PCMHA pulls all of its rentals out of the PCWC, it could be a loss of up to $80,000 for the facility.
The five per cent increase works out to be a roughly $7 per hour increase in the rental fee.
Coun. Ron Baillie, former chair of the Wellness Centre board of directors, called the situation a “black mark on Pictou County minor hockey” and said the increase “is chicken feed compared to what they are charging for registration.”
PCMHA president Troy Kelly said the organization is looking at options to cut costs, with the intent of avoiding an increase in registration fees.
“Every year we’ve been at the Wellness Centre, the ice has increased by at least three per cent. We’ve got to look at what’s best for the minor hockey community,” he said Tuesday, noting that other rinks in the county – Thorburn and Trenton being two examples – offer significantly lower rates.
With the increase, renting ice
at the PCWC is roughly $178, while Trenton charges $135 per hour, Kelly stated, adding that Stellarton Memorial Rink in Stellarton should have some prime time ice available for the next minor hockey season.
“We’re just evaluating the whole situation right now.”
Parker told council he hopes talks will continue with the PCMHA so that a fair solution can be found, but he said all of the mayors on the board with him were adamant that a firm line had to be held on the increase for the ice rentals.
The rental fee increase also came up at Pictou town council on Monday.
Mayor Jim Ryan said the board understands it won’t solve the deficit problem, but it will bring its fee in line with other newer facilities in Antigonish and Colchester counties.