The St. Albert Steel are officially in default of their agreement with the City of St. Albert, which expired Friday without the former AJHL hockey club paying off the balance owed to the city.
The St. Albert Steel are officially in default of their agreement with the City of St. Albert, which expired Friday without the former AJHL hockey club paying off the balance owed to the city.
The Steel made good on their first payment of a $100,000 relocation fee at the beginning of May, albeit a few days late, but this has been the norm, says Chris Jardine, general manager of community and protective services.
“When the last payment was due, we received it on the following Monday,” Jardine said. “All bills have been paid a day or two late.”
While Jardine was optimistic last week the outstanding balance of $129,000 would be paid on Friday or shortly thereafter, by Tuesday morning no money had arrived.
“So they are in default of the agreement and they have seven days to rectify that default,” Jardine said.
The $129,000 represents the balance owing for renovations the city made to the club’s locker room when it first started playing in St. Albert. The team had been paying back the city at a rate of approximately $21,500 per year.
Jardine said the club has until Friday to pay up or the city will begin pursuing “whatever actions we deem appropriate.”
“We have to consider if we have to take legal action,” Jardine said. “We’ll follow up with a soft reminder first before we run to take any legal actions.”
The AJHL Steel announced their relocation to Whitecourt to play as the Wolverines at the beginning of May, citing years of revenue losses since the team set up shop in St. Albert in 2007.
A corporate registries search conducted just prior to the May announcement showed the Steel had not filed financial statements or a list of directors since 2009.
The last entry on the document noted the province was in the process of striking the St. Albert Steel Hockey Society from its registries, meaning it would lose its incorporated status.
That means the five former directors of the club could lose their limited liability and be sued individually if the city takes legal action.
If the outstanding balance is settled, the money will go into a special reserve created by council in June. Proposed by Mayor Nolan Crouse, council voted to place the first $100,000 payment into a special account to fund “unique and significant” community events. It also calls for developing a hosting strategy.
At the time, Crouse cited examples such as a bid for the 2019 Canada Winter Games or hosting a gala for a different sporting event, such as rugby, cricket or softball.
