Council takes plunge with pool fee hike

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This article was published 22/01/2019 (1914 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steinbach council members flexed their water wings at a committee meeting Tuesday night, throwing their support behind the first public swimming fee increases at the Steinbach Aquatic Centre since 2008, while also challenging city administration to develop an improved cost recovery model for the facility.

The swimming fee increases are to be finalized at an upcoming council meeting and implemented in April. Adults will pay $7.50 up from $6.50. Youth (age 8 to 17) and seniors (over age 60) will continue to pay $6.50. The biggest change will see children ages 3-7 now pay a $5.00 admission fee. Previously all children under age 5 could use the pool for free.

The increase is expected to generate about $76,000 in revenue.

Though administration proposed that babies and toddlers continue to receive free admission, Mayor Earl Funk suggested perhaps they should pay too.

“If I bring my brand new granddaughter to the pool, she’s still considered a person in the volume of how many people we have in the pool,” Funk said.

“They should pay something.”

Council seemed prepared to move ahead with the mayor’s suggestion, which meant adding a $5 fee to those young users too, before Councillor Susan Penner asked pool manager Jane Hansen for her thoughts.

“People are going to complain about it likely,” Hansen replied. “Winnipeg does charge, so it will be a growing pain.”

Winnipeg pool facilities charge a fee of $2.95 for all users age 12 and under.

The further conversation had the mayor shifting gears. Funk noted with only 1,135 users counted in 2018 in the two and under category, a fee implementation at that age was perhaps unnecessary.

“I know I suggested it but I don’t have to die on this hill,” the mayor said, treading a bit more cautiously.

Increases for non-residents eyed

Revenue from public swimming fees was just part of the discussion. Council also eyed heavy use of the facility from non-Steinbach residents for swimming lessons, even though Steinbach taxpayers shoulder the bulk of the pool’s $1.8 million annual operating costs.

Seventy percent of pool users come from outside Steinbach. A $35 surcharge is currently applied to registrations by non-residents.

Veteran councillors Michael Zwaagstra and Susan Penner wondered why Steinbach residents weren’t being given priority for swimming registrations, something that was supposed to be possible through new registration software installed by the facility.

Parks and Recreation department head Russ Dyck acknowledged the city has been disappointed with the software, which is still not operating as it should.

Councillor Jake Hiebert suggested making registration fees for non-residents the same as Winnipeg facilities, betting those users would still choose Steinbach over Winnipeg.

“People are going to come here instead of going to Winnipeg. Kleefeld’s not going to drive to Winnipeg. Blumenort’s not going to drive to Winnipeg. They are going to come here,” he said.

Councillor Bill Hiebert pointed out that the city could expect to lose revenue from Winnipeggers also.

Zwaagstra wondered too if class sizes could be increased, since many operate at enrolment levels below sizes recommended by the Red Cross.

Dyck said that could reviewed but added there were physical space challenges in adding more students to classes, which often run alongside several other sessions.

City manager Troy Warkentin noted since the pool opened in 2002 it has operated on a model geared at recovering two-thirds of its costs, though at the time of its inception a 100 percent cost-recovery model was also considered.

He acknowledged that in 2017 recovery efforts fell short at a 62 percent rate of recovery. Cost recovery details have yet to be finalized for 2018, but currently sit at 64 percent.

“I think what council is telling you as a whole is that we’re seeing a deficiency here,” said Funk.

A new marker of 70 percent cost recovery found support around the table, with a direction to administration to focus its search for increased revenues through non-resident fees.

Warkentin said it would likely take a few months for a report to be drafted on how the change could be achieved and what impact price increases might have on revenues overall.

“It would have some impact, I think, in some households registering versus not,” said Warkentin, when asked how increases might after revenues. “Some households are price conscious and a change like that would impact them. To what extent, I don’t know.”

The city anticipates investing $150,000 per year over 10 years for upgrades and repairs to the 17 year old facility. Dyck highlighted the need for three major improvements totalling $350,000 in the near future: repainting the pool ceiling, replacement of acoustic panels and lighting upgrades.

In whichever year those improvements move ahead it will result in a significant shutdown period for the indoor pool facility Dyck noted, possibly extending from a period between mid-June to mid-September.