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Black Diamond council waives rental fees for youth-focused club

Black Diamond Town council approved the Boys and Girls Club of the Foothills' request to waive its April, May and June leasing fees for the Oilfields Regional Arena in a unanimous vote at its May 20 meeting.
Jays Care
Jays Care Foundation program facilitator Andrea Benac plays rock-paper-scissors baseball with Anna Marie Hodson with the Boys and Girls Club in Black Diamond during a baseball clinic in July 2018. Black Diamond Town council agreed on May 20 to waive three months' worth of lease fees for the club's Black Diamond facility. (Wheel File Photo)

With its before-and after-school care and teen programs still on hold, the Boys and Girls Club of the Foothills is looking for a little help from its friends.

The not-for-profit organization has asked its landlords to waive some of its rental fees as it struggles to pay its bills. The club utilizes seven facilities in Black Diamond, Nanton, High River, the Crowsnest Pass and Eden Valley, the latter of which doesn’t charge rent.

Black Diamond town council approved the club’s request to waive its April, May and June leasing fees for the Oilfields Regional Arena in a unanimous vote at its May 20 meeting.

“Their funding is limited in the amount they receive and collect,” Sharlene Brown, Black Diamond chief administrative officer, told council. “Although they’re a large organization and they have a lot of facilities, they don’t have a high volume of capital.”

Brown said the existing lease agreement for the Edith Park banquet room in the upper level of the arena, which the club has already paid, runs July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. A new five-year agreement is currently being negotiated, she said.

Brown said the Town charges the club a minimal amount of what it costs to operate the facility, and that three months' rent totals $3,061.26 plus GST. She added that the municipality does not qualify to offer assistance to the club through the Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program.

The finance department will issue a refund that will be applied to the new lease agreement, said Brown, with the funds coming from the mezzanine operating reserve.

Coun. Daryl Lalonde told council that if the club isn’t operating, it doesn’t make sense to charge rental fees.

“Based on the costs the club runs on, it would be in our best interest to help them,” he said.

Coun. Sharon Hart agreed.

“I think we should help them out whatever way we can,” she said. “It will help them get back on their feet and get things going again.”

Coun. Jackie Stickel said three months sounds fair as most of the club’s money is generated from its before-and-after school program.

“Once the schools are proposed to start running again the club should be back up and running in September,” she said.

Shirley Puttock, chief executive officer with the Boys and Girls Club of the Foothills, said she’s grateful for the Town’s support.

“That’s one thing we won’t have to worry about with not bringing any revenue in right now,” she said.

Puttock said the club received the government’s child care subsidy in March, but it’s had no revenue in April or May, she said.

Revenue comes from the $150 monthly fee for the before-and-after school care, childcare subsidies and grants, she said.

“We probably won’t see revenue for a few months and that’s how we pay our staffing and our rent, but we will survive this,” she said.

Puttock said the organization received some COVID-19 emergency funding and grant money that was used to supply food to families during the pandemic and cover some operational expenses, but it’s not enough to pay the rent, utilities, insurance and vehicle inspections and maintenance for its three buses and one van.

“We’re still applying for grants we could possibly get and asking our landlords to look at commercial lease rent programs,” she said, adding the club’s rental costs have also been waved temporarily for its Black Diamond and High River daycares. “We’re lucky we’re in the communities we’re in because everybody has been supportive and helpful. Our landlords aren’t big corporations, so on some level they must be struggling as well.”

Puttock said she’s unsure when the club will resume its programming, but when it does occur strict guidelines will be in place.

“The relaunch is going to be complicated for sure,” she said. “The way it looks it will be a gradual rehiring based on the numbers we will be allowing into our programs.”

Tammy Rollie, OkotoksToday.ca

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