HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-10-22, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2015. PAGE 7.
VanCamp frustrated by centre funding cuts
Members of the Belgrave and
District Community Centre Board
feels the board is being treated
unfairly by Morris-Turnberry
Council after council decided to cut
funding to the board by 75 per cent.
After writing a letter to Morris-
Turnberry Council and explaining
the board’s position, council sent a
response stating that the board,
which has a surplus of more than
$130,000 right now, wasn’t a place
council felt it should be putting
money.
The board’s frustration is twofold.
Primarily, the decision wasn’t
discussed with the board or the
public. Secondarily, the letter that
was sent to the board made it sound
like it is being punished for being
fiscally responsible.
Over the past six years, Morris-
Turnberry has been giving $20,000
to the board annually, an amount that
was equal to North Huron’s
contribution when the board was
formed in 2009 and the centre was
leased from North Huron. The
mirroring ended there as North
Huron’s contribution has increased
with inflation and rising insurance
costs at the centre. In 2014, North
Huron gave the board $47,000, more
than $10,000 of which came back to
North Huron to pay for the lease of
the centre.
Morris-Turnberry’s contribution
has stayed at that $20,000 until this
year, when council decided to give
the board $5,000.
Board President Jonathan
VanCamp said that council’s
response points to limited usage as
one reason for the reduced funding
and the $139,469 surplus for the end
of 2014 as a second cause, however,
he said that the surplus doesn’t tell
the whole story.
“In 2014, we got $47,616 from
North Huron and $20,000 from
Morris-Turnberry,” he said. “We
raised the balance of the funds
needed for that year, which brought
us to $151,000 in revenue.”
VanCamp explained the board
spent $132,000 in 2014 including
necessary fire upgrades to sprinklers
and doors for $60,000, a new
generator for $33,000, new tables
and chairs for $9,000, gas water
heaters to replace electric models for
$7,500 and new appliances.”
“It’s not like [board members are
deciding against] putting money
back in the building,” he said. “We
raise money through baseball
functions and facility rentals and use
everything we can to make the
centre better.”
VanCamp said the board members
have a simple philosophy when it
comes to capital projects: have the
money before the project begins.
“We’ve taken the position of
raising the money first then doing
the project,” he said. “The board
does not run a deficit. It has no debt,
no line of credit, no loans with the
banks and no projects that it can’t
finance.”
VanCamp said the funds that are in
reserve are partly earmarked for
capital funds, since some of North
Huron’s contributions are for capital
spending only. He also said that, due
to accessibility standards, the board
would be spending between $60,000
and $80,000 to install a bathroom on
the ice level in the community centre
and it is saving for that.
“They are penalizing us for
managing our money, using grants
and saving money responsibly,” he
said. “Yes, the board has a reserve,
but so do townships. Having a
reserve, and money for emergencies,
isn’t a bad thing.”
VanCamp said the decision, which
was made without input from the
board, upset board members greatly
because the board is supposed to be
a partnership among North Huron,
Morris-Turnberry and the ratepayers
of both municipalities in Belgrave.
He also said 2013 was a good year
and 2014 was better with the
licencing of the facility, but that
doesn’t mean the site will always be
able to annually bring in tens of
thousands of dollars.
“The board could see revenue
fluctuate,” he said. “Since the centre
has natural ice, there is no guarantee
of how long the ice is there or how
many rentals we will get. There is no
guarantee that the number of ball
teams will stay the same, as a matter
of fact, there are less now. There is
no guarantee there will be six to
eight buck and does or one to three
weddings.”
VanCamp said there is no
guarantee any event or number of
events that helped the centre,
including perennial favourites like
the Belgrave Turkey Supper which
annually raises $10,000 for the
centre, will continue on year after
year so the board felt it was being
responsible saving money.
Mayor Paul Gowing, in an
interview with The Citizen earlier
this week, said he understood the
board’s frustration, but said the
decision did not reflect any kind of
negative remark on the group.
“The reduction of the grant is in
no way meant to penalize the board,”
he said. “Morris-Turnberry will be
there to support them in any way that
is necessary. If there is a capital
project or major expense on the
horizon, the municipality will be
there.”
Gowing said council’s job is to set
priorities, and the whole concent of
the support from the municipality
was done by grant and no number
was put in writing.
“The idea, at the start, was to
support the board and get them up
and running and financially sound,”
he said. “Council believes that has
happened.”
Gowing said council finds itself in
a predicament where that $15,000 is
needed badly in other areas. He said
it isn’t appropriate for council to
collect tax dollars that are put into a
reserve with no specific purpose.
“Once the funds go to the board,
council has no say as to how they are
used,” he said. “We weren’t told of
any expenditures and we had to set a
priority.”
VanCamp said that, in previous
years, he had been invited to council
meetings to discuss upcoming costs
for the board to make sure the
funding was accounted for. He
wasn’t invited this year, however,
before the decision was made to cut
funding and wasn’t able to tell
council members about the expected
expenses for the accessible
washroom.
Gowing said with the amount of
money in reserve, it would take a
substantial cost to trigger funds
being necessary from council’s point
of view. He also said that, from a
usage standpoint, council had made
a decision to match funds to the
centres being used.
“The municipality pays into five
community centres and council
decided to provide funding that
would be allotted to each centre by
usage,” he said. “The $5,000 is very
close to the figure that should be
granted that way.”
Morris-Turnberry staff provided
VanCamp with the usage numbers
for the centre, which had Morris-
Turnberry residents from 173
households going to Blyth’s
community centre and only 50 going
to Belgrave. He said the numbers
didn’t make sense to him.
Gowing said that the funding was
PUBLIC NOTICE
2016 Municipality of Central Huron Budget
The Council of the Municipality of Central Huron is
commencing the 2016 Budget Deliberations. The first Budget
meeting to discuss the Capital Budget / Multi-Year Capital
Plans scheduled for:
Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
Council Chamber, 23 Albert, Clinton, Ontario
Please check the municipal website for further details and
postings as they become available.www.centralhuron.com
Brenda MacIsaac, Clerk
Municipality of Central Huron
Sheepskin Rugs
Downtown Blyth
519-523-4740
Bainton’s
Old Mill
NEWS
FROM BELGRAVE
‘Baseball Sunday’ coming
Thanksgiving and a 55th
anniversary were held Sunday, Oct.
11 at the home of Ross and Wilma
Higgins. Special guests celebrating
their grandparents anniversary were
Laura Higgins, Carleton University,
Ottawa; Nicholas Barger, Lambton
College, Sarnia and Ashley Higgins,
Fanshawe College, London. Also
attending were Bruce Higgins and
Shelby and Donna, John and Jason
Barger.
Sheila and John Nixon greeted
worshippers and handed out the
service of worship at Knox United
Church on Sunday, Oct. 18 – World
Food Sunday.
Nancy Cameron welcomed the
congregation and went over the
announcements. Birthday greetings
were extended to Kim Walker and
John Clark and “Happy Birthday”
was sung. Nancy lit the Christ
Candle followed by the call to
worship read responsively and the
opening prayer read in unison. The
opening hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy”
was sung accompanied by Ann Clark
at the organ and Lila Procter with
her guitar. The choir anthem was
“My Song to the Lord”.
After the singing of the children’s
hymn, “All Creatures of Our God
and King”, the children gathered in
the front pew for children’s time.
Nancy showed the children different
foods which were all Canadian
made. We are fortunate to have an
abundance of food. After the Lord’s
Prayer the children adjourned to
Sunday school with a treat.
We listened to the word of God as
Ron Taylor read the scripture lessons
from Exodus 16: 1-4, 13-17 and
Psalm 104 (part one) was read
responsively and Luke 22: 17-20 and
Matthew 14: 13-21.
Nancy reflected on the Sunday
being “World Food Sunday”. We
don’t know what hunger is like. We
Canadians waste food and our
portions are much larger than in poor
countries. By sharing with others we
can reduce our food waste and we
can support our Food Grains Bank.
Nancy told how one little boy had
five loaves of bread and two fish and
Jesus shared the food with 5,000
people. Jesus prayed and thanked
God for the food.
There was plenty of bread and fish
for everyone. The church exists to
serve Jesus Christ and if it does it
will soon feed the needy. God calls
us to be generous and share. We are
hungry for acceptance and love.
With God all things are possible.
After the singing of “In the Bulb
There is a Flower” accompanied by
Ann and Lila. Nancy Jardin reported
on “Minute for Missions”.
Ken Procter and Larry Harper took
up the offering which was dedicated.
The closing hymn, “All Things
Bright and Beautiful” and the
singing of “Go Now in Peace”
concluded the morning worship
service.
On Sunday, Oct. 25 at Knox
United Church the theme is Messy
Church. It will also be “Baseball
Sunday” – wear your favourite
sports team jersey and do not forget
to bring your ball gloves and bats to
church.
By Linda
Campbell
Call
357-2188
PEOPLE AROUND
BELGRAVE
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 9