On Monday, June 25, St. Albert city council has an opportunity to support a new recreation and community facility, while also reducing the burden on St. Albert taxpayers.
The 10-year Growth Capital Plan calls for St. Albert to spend $40 million to expand Servus Place over the next four years, much of that would be funded by St. Albert taxpayers. Active Communities Alberta is offering an alternative approach that would save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars while still adding much-needed facilities.
Active Communities Alberta is a non-profit society whose mission is to increase recreation and healthy living opportunities for all demographics. Our 15-member volunteer board and advisory council has extensive experience with many St. Albert organizations.
For two years, we have been working towards a sport, wellness and community campus for the benefit of St. Albert and region. We’ve held over 100 meetings with stakeholders, met with provincial ministers and hosted a town hall last October to obtain public input.
We are planning to locate the sport, wellness and community campus near Ray Gibbon Drive. The campus would feature multiple indoor arenas, 40,000 square feet of gymnasium space, daycare facilities, a fitness centre and a non-profit and community organization “Centre of Excellence”. This would include office, meeting and programming space for local non-profit and community organizations. The campus will host 30 major tournaments each year, driving more than $15 million in economic benefit annually.
By using the non-profit approach, the facility would save St. Albert taxpayers more than $25 million in operating costs during its 50-year lifespan. Municipally operated recreation facilities typically lose $500,000 – $1 million annually. Our non-profit organization would operate the facility on an efficient, self-sustaining basis without the need for ongoing taxpayer support. The non-profit model has a history of success in Calgary and at the Go Centre in Edmonton.
The facility would cost approximately $62 million to build, the bulk of which would be covered through provincial and federal governments, contributions from surrounding municipalities as well as donations. St. Albert would only pay for 32 per cent of the capital cost, which equates to $20 million. If approved, the average St. Albert household would see a tax increase of $5.08 per month.
On Monday, city council will vote on a motion to support a memorandum of understanding that includes conditionally contributing funds to the sport, wellness and community campus. This support would be conditional on our organization receiving $20 million in provincial and federal funding. We are offering a zero-risk proposition for St. Albert; if we obtain $20 million from the provincial and federal governments, then St. Albert contributes $20 million to the $62-million project. If we don’t obtain the requisite provincial and federal funding, St. Albert contributes zero dollars.
St. Albert taxpayers shouldered most of the costs for Servus Place. Let’s not go down this road again. The federal government recently announced $140 million in recreation facility funding; we’ve already applied. The province is commencing planning for its next Capital Plan and we have a submission ready. The window for St. Albert to support our project is now.
We encourage St. Albert city council to take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the motion on Monday. This truly is a win-win for St. Albert.
Matt Bachewich, Edmonton President Active Communities Alberta
