Gymnastics club wants city to forgive its $101,000 debt
President says they want to move forward with expansion and upgrades but can't unless owed money is forgiven
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, October 21, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
City council has put off making a decision on whether to forgive the Yellowknife Gymnastics Club's $101,008.51 in outstanding debt.
Shaheed Livingstone is a picture of concentration as he goes through his routine on the parallel bars during the NWT Gymnastics Championships at the Yellowknife Gymnastics Club on Sunday. - James McCarthy/NNSL photo |
The debt consists of $52,452.51 in original construction costs, storage and bleacher costs of $9,356 and $39,200 in lease costs from 2007 to 2013 at $5,600 a year.
In 2002, the club entered into an agreement with the city to lease space inside the Multiplex to build a gymnastics facility. The estimated price at that time was $679,000. Part of the reason the club is asking for debt forgiveness is because the facility ended up costing considerably more, according to club president Debra McGee, who made a presentation to the Municipal Services Committee (MSC) on Monday.
"We're making this request because we would like to be able to move forward with improvements to our facility to be able to serve the community better," she said. "We've been trying to offer more programming, keep our prices the same and opening up to schools is really important to us."
McGee said the actual cost for constructing the facility ran about $260,000 over the original estimate. The city covered the overruns and then charged it back to the club.
McGee said although the club has not raised its participation fees in three years, it continues to have some of the highest participation fees in the city. She said they want to maintain the current fee structure or even lower it so more people can join the club. She also pointed out other clubs have received subsidies from the city and that is not what the club is asking for at this time.
Coun. Adrian Bell said before he is in a position to consider such a request, he needs a broader explanation on why the club is not included in the city's grants discussion.
"I would like an explanation ... as to why we don't include this during budget time?" Bell wondered. "Is there a way for administration to revisit this (request) to help us understand what the implications of this are for are overall picture of support for sports groups?"
Bell pointed out the debt forgiveness request comes on the heels of a request from the Yellowknife Climbing Club so it could move from its current location in a Kam Lake building basement to the Multiplex. He said the city can't be seen to be showing favouritism to one sports group over others.
Coun. Niels Konge wants administration to provide council with a list of sports clubs in the city showing specifically what their arrangements are with the city.
"In terms of fairness I think it is important that we don't look at this as just a one-off but what we are doing for everybody," Konge said. "We have Yellowknife Minor Hockey Association. We have the swim club, ski club, Taekwondo, there a whole bunch of different clubs out there."
Acting senior administration officer Dennis Kefalas said information on all sports groups and their agreements with the city will be forthcoming, although he did not give a timeframe for that to happen. The committee has delayed making a decision on the gymnastics club's request at least until council is provided with that information.
The Yellowknife Gymnastics Club was incorporated in 1979 as a not-for-profit society. It bills itself as a community-operated facility that provides a benefit to all residents of the city with a focus on youth. Its membership has grown to 500 members, the club stated.
