HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-11-28, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2013.REACH finances concern Central Huron CouncilThe future of Regional Equine and
Agriculture Centre of Huron
(REACH) is in the air, but the next
step in how best to address the issue
is also unresolved.
Members of the REACH board
extended an open invitation to
councillors to its November board
meeting on Nov. 20 after several
Central Huron councillors expressed
concern about the viability of the
facility, which was originally pitched
as a horse training facility, events
site and educational centre.
A main concern expressed by
council is that REACH is asking for
$244,000 to operate in 2014. The
original business plan for the six-
year-old centre suggested it would
be breaking even by year five. The
centre requires about $500,000
overall per year to operate.
Councillor Brian Barnim said
while the building was originally
erected as a boon to economic
development, he has yet to see any
evidence it has helped the region in
any traceable way.
“We have this massive investment,
it’s losing money,” said Barnim.
“Every Central Huron ratepayer is
paying for that.”
Barnim said most events at
REACH are held when many of
Clinton’s businesses are closed.
“Outside of Tim Hortons, I am not
sure who is getting the business,” he
said. “I don’t think we’re seeing
what we wanted to see originally.”
Barnim suggested one step in the
right direction is to look into the
possibility of severing the money-
losing arena part of the facility from
the more successful administrative
end that houses much of the site’s
activities, including classes for
Ridgetown and Fanshawe Colleges.
While presenting REACH’s
municipal funding request, the
Centre’s executive director Jeff
Marshall acknowledged it has been a
tough year, since one of the grants
the centre was counting on fell
through, resulting in the need to
reorganize its main event for the
year. In the end, the revamped event,
Horseapalooza, showed a net loss of
$8,858 with the largest portion of the
loss tied to advertising of $7,730.
As a result, said Marshall,
REACH is reorganizing its priorities
and will be stepping away from
hosting events on its own.
Marshall said REACH’s number
one expense is salaries, which will
again be frozen in 2014. Still,
Marshall is confident that REACH is
on track.
“We feel to keep growing and
building, we have the right people in
place,” he said. Councillor Alex
Westerhout, who also sits on the
REACH board, wondered if freezing
the salaries is a good strategy
considering some staff members
have been working at the facility for
years.
“We debated it among ourselves.
We didn’t feel particularly proud of
that decision,” said REACH board
chairman Larry Langan.
Langan said one question that
needs answering is whether council
expects REACH to pay for itself.
“Does council think the facility
will pay for itself? We are not aware
of any facility that pays for itself,”
said Langan, adding the facility is
not spending enough money on
marketing, advertising and
promotion.
“When you have a budget this
lean, you can’t take risks,” said
Langan. “We’re a little gun shy.”
The sensible answer seems to be to
find partners that can take risks, he
added. “We burned a couple of times
in the past. That is the strategy.”Mayor Jim Ginn said the ask for2014 seems too high. “$244,000 istoo much for the municipality to
absorb on a year-to-year basis. It
needs to be cut over time.”
Ginn said while having students
living in the community thanks to
post-secondary education
programming certainly helps the
economy, the question remains as to
what is an acceptable level of
funding for the centre.
“I don’t know what is an
acceptable level. Like any business,
we’d like to see it break even,” said
Ginn, noting while the solar panel
installation project will help offset
costs, the operating losses of
REACH are problematic.
When asked whether REACH staff
can foresee a time when the facility
will break even, the executive
director said it is possible the ask
from REACH will drop to $100,000
in about three years.
The biggest issue continues to be
the lack of stall space at the centre,
said Marshall.
“Can you break even without
expanded stalls?” asked Ginn.
“I can’t answer that today,” said
Marshall.
Councillor Alison Lobb said her
concern is not as much about the
$244,000 request but rather the fact
the lack of stalls continues to
hamstring the facility’s potential for
growth.
“I’ve always thought of this as a
long-term economic-development
initiative,” said Lobb. “I think we
hamstrung it when we didn’t put the
barn up.”
Lobb said at the same time,
council cannot commit to a new barn
because of the amount of money
involved.Langan asked what would be anacceptable level of funding requestsince the board struggles with how
best to make its budget work.
“It may mean reorganization, but
we can’t keep kicking the horse,”
said Langan. Councillor Burkhard
Metzger, who also sits on the
REACH board, said it is difficult togauge the strides the Centre ismaking because it is an unusualfacility. He said there is some public
pressure to address REACH’s
ongoing deficit situations.
“We’re at a crossroads. We have to
make the decision. Is it $250,000?
Can we support it?” asked Metzger.
Councillor Dan Colquhoun saidREACH should not be consideredthe same as an arena complex sincean arena is for the whole community
while the Centre is for people with
horses.
Metzger suggested perhaps the
answer is for the county to take over
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The Citizen Crossword
Touch your toes
Students at Hullett Central Public School welcomed Annelies Ringgenberg, left, to their school
last week in hopes they would learn a thing or two about milk and dairy education.
Ringgenberg, who made several presentations at the school on behalf of the Dairy Farmers of
Ontario, is seen here with one of the school’s kindergarten classes explaining the benefits of
milk like strong bones and muscles, among other things. Seen here doing some stretching
alongside Ringgenberg are, from left: Brya Stewart, Clara deBoer and Cameron Whitson.
(Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Cheryl HeathSpecial to The Citizen
Continued on page 22