Table of Contents

A. Introduction

B. Purpose

1. POPULATION BASE
2. ECONOMIC VIABILITY
3. COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION & LEADERSHIP
4. FACILITY SUPPLY AND LIFE CYCLE
5. OPERATIONAL COST AND USE

Appendix

Sport and Recreation Consultants       
Municipal Advisors
Other Organizations

A. Introduction

For a variety of reasons, many communities are having difficulty providing and supporting a comprehensive service in sport and recreation.

Four factors are reviewed:

	community population;
	community economic infrastructure;
	community organization; and
	facility supply, life cycle and use.

Minicipal councils should review and discuss the workbook contents with members of their recreation board and arena committee. A series of follow-up steps are outlined in the section Where to from here? for those interested in pursuing opportunities for cooperation.

Stories of cooperative development are not unique in Saskatchewan. Communities in this province are noted for their spirit of cooperation in tough times. The stories we have included illustrate the determination shown by many people to achieve their vision through teamwork.

1. POPULATION BASE

Saskatchewan's population has a higher percentage of adults age 55 and older than other provinces. The number of school aged youth remains steady but is expected to drop by the end of the decade. Population growth is occurring primarily in those areas surrounding Saskatchewan's four largest cities. Over the past ten years, all other areas have experienced population declines of between two and ten per cent.

Communities should have a clear understanding of local population trends because population has an impact on facility provision and program participation.

2. ECONOMIC VIABILITY

Land, facilities, equipment, programs and professional and volunteer leadership (all needed to ensure a successful service in sport and recreation) requires an ongoing and secure source of funding. Who will pay the municipality, user groups, or a combination of the two?

To a certain extent, the ability of communities to support and sustain a broad range of facilities and programs will be determined by its overall economic viability and in particular the stability of the income of its residents.

3. COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION & LEADERSHIP

Even in small communities the number of groups involved in managing facilities and providing programs can number in the dozens.

In your community they might include:

• schools;
• churches;
• service organizations;
• local sport and recreation organizations;
• the retail sector (bowling alleys, movie theatres);
• institutions and families.

Municipal councils play a key role. In many communities municipal councils own facilities and, as owners, must ensure facilities are operated in a responsible manner.

Councils can provide for the operation of facilities and sponsored programs through recreation boards or other committees of council or through agreements with non profit community organizations. Council has the authority to do so through the provisions of The Urban Municipality Act, The Rural Municipality Act and The Northern Municipalities Act. Two or more municipal jurisdictions may also enter into an agreement to form joint boards for the management of facilities and shared programs. Many communities are cooperating with one another through existing organizations and programs.

Are volunteers from the surrounding district or another community represented on your Recreation Board?
Yes		No
Is your municipality currently involved, through bylaw, in a regional park operation?
Yes		No
Are there sport and recreation programs in your community involving participants from neighbouring communities?
Yes		No
Are community programs or other special events planned in co-operation with neighbouring communities or municipalities?
Yes		No
Do neighbouring municipalities contribute financially to support facilities and/or programs in your community?
Yes		No

Intercommunity cooperation may help reduce the demands placed on volunteers. In Saskatchewan about 276,000 persons volunteer an average of 183 hours each per year. Most volunteer for religious organizations, sport and recreation, education and youth development, and health related activities.

Many larger communities currently employ recreation professionals to help manage and protect the substantial investment they have in facilities and programs. In smaller communities volunteers provide this service. Many volunteers receive facility training through courses offered by the Saskatchewan Recreation Facility Association.

Recruiting sufficient volunteers in our community to manage facilities and operate programs:

	is never a problem
	is sometimes a problem
	is always a problem

Facility operators in our community have attended an Arena Operators Course, within the last three years, sponsored by the Saskatchewan Recreation Facilities Association:
Yes		No		Not Sure
Our community employs a fulltime recreation professional to assist council and other community organizations plan and administer programs, and to manage and operate municipally owned facilities:
Yes		No

4. FACILITY SUPPLY AND LIFE CYCLE

Saskatchewan currently has about 450 covered arenas and about 580 curling rinks. On a per capita basis, this is more than anywhere else in Canada.

There is a direct relationship between the stages of a facility's life cycle and the need for maintenance, capital improvement and eventual replacement. During the first ten to 15 years of operation most are in reasonably good shape and require only basic maintenance. Over the next ten years, facilities deteriorate and can require up to five times more in annual expenditures for capital improvement. After 25-30 years facilities have normally run their operational life cycle and require major renovation or closure and replacement.

Does your community have public facilities older than 25 years which may require replacement or renovation? More than half of the skating arenas and nearly 60 per cent of the curling rinks in Saskatchewan were constructed prior to 1970 and are near the end of their operational life cycle. A structural safety program conducted by the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association in 1987 found that 34 per cent of 146 arenas examined warranted closure or use with caution.

Communities where this situation exists have a variety of options available including:

• construction of a new facility;
• renovation of the existing facility;
• correcting unsafe situations for short term use; or
• sharing and utilizing similar facilities in neighbouring communities.

While a variety of factors must be considered for each choice, utilization of facilities in neighbouring communities, as opposed to construction or renovation, is an option that warrants careful consideration.

Facilities can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build and several thousand dollars a month to maintain and operate. These costs may seriously challenge the resources of communities, particularly if their population and economic base have been declining in recent years.

Please list all publicly owned sport and recreation facilities, their age, condition and any similar facilities in neighbouring communities.

Are any of these facilities nearing the end of their life cycle?
Yes		No
Please list
Do you feel that your community has the population base and economic resources to replace these facilities?
Yes		No
Are there neighbouring communities with similar facilities?
Yes		No
Would you be willing to consider developing a joint use agreement with a neighbouring community, as opposed to construction or renovation?
Yes		No

5. OPERATIONAL COST AND USE

Artificial ice arenas and curling rinks normally operate for about six months, from October through March. Depending on weather conditions, arenas or rinks with natural ice surfaces have somewhat shorter seasons.

The average facility operates about 42 hours per week during prime time (4 to 10 p.m.) and provides another 56 hours of secondary usage (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Larger communities may provide programming beyond these times.

Annual operating costs for an artificial ice arena often exceed $100,000 and the fees paid by user groups are seldom enough to cover this amount. As a result municipalities must subsidize the operation of the facility. The difference between total operating cost and user fees (memberships, rentals and other program fees) represents the amount the facility is subsidized. This subsidy can be made up in a variety of ways including revenue from concessions, fund raising, grants and taxes.

Municipalities should have a clear understanding of usage and subsidization levels of their publicly owned facilities. A sample analysis is provided below. After reviewing the example, please provide seasonal operating figures for your community arena.

Seasonal Usage and Subsidization Level for an Artificial ice Arena

There is the potential for communities to realize substantial savings in this area. The key  variable to be considered is facility utilization during the first and last months of operation. If facility utilization is lower in the first and last months of operation, neighbouring communities might consider staggering the opening and closing of their facilities.

Are there times early and late in the winter seasons when your community arena or curling rink are utilized less than 50 per cent of available hours?
Yes		No
Is this also the case in neighbouring communities?
Yes		No
Would your municipality be willing to explore this option with neighbouring communities?
Yes		No

Where to from here?

The following steps are offered for further consideration:

• council and the recreation board determine if there are signs pointing to potential problems with the community's existing sport and recreation service, such as:

• aging facilities or facilities that go unused
• programs being cancelled for lack of participants
• insufficient volunteers to manage programs or facilities

• hold initial meetings with neighbouring communities and municipalities to discuss the concept of intercommunity cooperation

• organize a workshop on intercommunity cooperation; spend time discussing and evaluating the "pros and cons" for each municipality (recreation consultants and/or municipal advisors from Saskatchewan Municipal Government are available as speakers or facilitators
  See Appendix I)

• participating municipalities pass the necessary bylaws to enter into agreements for shared sport and recreation programs and facilities (sample bylaws and agreements are available from Saskatchewan Municipal Government)

• form a joint board and develop a financial plan to operate shared programs and facilities

• implement the agreement

• establish a yearly review to evaluate agreements

Share Your Good News

Does your council have examples of cooperation with neighbouring communities to offer programs or to construct and operate facilities? We would like to hear about it.

Please send your good news stories to:

Sport and Recreation Branch
Department of Municipal Government
#410 - 1855 Victoria Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P 3V7

or

The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association
Innovation Exchange
1819 Cornwall Street
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P 2K4

OUNGRE

This story began in 1979 with the collapse of the arena in Tribune. People in the community met to discuss the loss of their facility and blueprints for a new arena were developed. With fewer than 100 people in the community, they quickly realized a new facility was simply beyond their means and the 40 minute drive to Weyburn for skating was not practical. At this point the community began to look at other options.

Oungre Memorial Regional Park, located a short distance from Tribune and neighbouring communities, already had several facilities. An outdoor swimming pool; three ball diamonds, one complete with lights; camping spots and a nine hole sand green golf course had been developed and the Regional Parks Board had been considering improvements to the concession, bathroom facilities, and change rooms for the swimming pool for some time. Would the park make a good location for a new rink?

The first step was to form a committee which was representative of the entire district. 'Me Souris Valley Centre Board was formed in April 1979. "With the size of the project we were talking about it only made good sense to disband smaller community organizations and form one larger committee to spearhead the initiative. We were dealing with the same people anyway," said Randy Olson, chair of the Souris Valley Centre Board. The Board immediately began to examine the possibility of cooperating with the park board to develop a facility.

There were those who wanted the rink located in Tribune, some wanted to see the rink in Oungre, while others talked about expanding an existing rink in Bromhead. Ultimately the Regional Parks Board agreed to locate the rink in Oungre Memorial Regional Park. "It only made good sense to build in the park" Olson said. "We didn't want to pick a town because we knew there might be some opposition, so we went with a neutral site. That way the park could use the facility in the summer and the people in this area could use it in the winter months".

Feeling they wanted something more than just a skating rink, committee members travelled to other parts of the province to see what other communities offered. Ideas were gathered from these visits and plans were drafted. "Some people were afraid of the changes we made to the original plans. There were some doubters too!" Olson said. Early on the committee rejected plans to include a curling rink in the proposed facility to safeguard local support of existing rinks.

Work began on the facility in September of 1980, after some seventy plus planning meetings. The completed complex houses a full size skating rink, two bowling alleys, a large mezzanine, an enclosed swimming pool, meeting rooms, offices, change rooms and showers, and even a postal outlet.

The three quarters of a million dollars needed to make the dream a reality was raised through grants and donations received from the provincial government, rural municipalities, surrounding villages, businesses, groups and individuals.

The people in the Oungre area are proud of what they have accomplished, and rightly so. Saskatchewan people have a tradition of cooperation in tough times. When the arena in Tribune collapsed, a group of people from different communities came together out of a common need, developed a plan and saw it through to completion.

The following quote from Tom O'Donnell, one of the centres board members, best sums up the facilities benefits:

" We are all very proud of this complex and pleased to see it is being patronized by farmers from a very wide area. It has cut down on the travelling people from here have to do for sport and recreation, and in addition it has solidified the community through the work we did together and the day-to-day contact we have with one another as families. Now if you can't find someone at home during the winter, chances are you will find them at the communiplex".

GLADMAR, MINTON and LAKE ALMA

Gladmar, Minton and Lake Alma are three villages located "as the crow flies" about an hour south west of Weyburn. All have typical facilities for communities their size, including seniors centres, ball diamonds and community halls. In addition Minton has an outdoor swimming pool, an artificial ice curling rink and an elementary school, Gladmar has a natural ice curling rink and high school complete with gymnasium, and Lake Alma has a recreation complex housing a natural ice skating rink, an artificial ice curling rink and an elementary school.

In the mid 1980s Gladmar considered renovating their curling rink and putting in artificial ice; a costly project for a small community. "In the end, we decided we didn't need a rink any more" said Shirley Gruber, a member of the local recreation board. "There were already good rinks in Lake Alma and Minton".

In 1985 a bowling alley was built in Gladmar. Gruber summed it up best when she said, "After it was built, the bowling alley just seemed to break the ice. People from Lake Alma and Minton started using and supporting the facility, with no concern about it being located here. In small communities, you just have to share."

That spirit of co-operation extends to other activities. Minton and Gladmar boast the only active drama club in the area; people from both communities participate. "There are good stages in both communities, so the club puts on a play in both" Gruber said, "first at the Elks hall in Minton, then at the School in Gladmar."

A source of community pride is the annual fall fair in Minton. It takes months of planning, involving people from the Minton and Gladmar recreation boards. The end result is a local fair displaying some of the finest arts and crafts, and produce found anywhere in the province.

During the summer months the swimming pool in Minton is a beehive of activity. A complete aquatic program is offered. The Elks Club in Minton cost shares the operation of the pool with the Minton village council. Joyce Axten, Village Administrator in Minton spoke of the importance of this support; "The viability of a facility like this in a community this size would be questionable, were it not for the support received from the Elks Club," Axten said. The Elks Club's membership is made up of residents of Minton and Gladmar.

The communities keep in constant touch to coordinate activities and to help one another. When the roof on the skating rink in Lake Alma collapsed last year, everyone got together and held a major fund raiser. People from the entire district came out to show their support. $54,000 was raised - enough to fix the roof.

The Saskatchewan tradition of cooperation has allowed these three communities to take advantage of the best each has to offer and enrich the lives of all residents.

GRENFELL, BROADVIEW and WHITEWOOD

Located along the Trans Canada Highway, about 150 kilometres east of Regina are the communities of Grenfell, Broadview and Whitewood. With somewhat similar populations, over the years the three communities had each purchased equipment for the maintenance of community services, ranging from graders to street cleaners. Because of the high cost of ownership, more specialized machinery was rented from commercial firms in Yorkton, Melville or Regina.

Phil Boivin, town administrator from Broadview suggested the communities pool their equipment inventories and "rent" machinery from each other to make better use of existing resources. "The idea is not new," Boivin said. "I got the idea from the West Central Goverment Committee which is made up of the communities of Eston, Wilkie, Kindersley, Rosetown and others along with RM involvement."

The discussions resulting from Phil's idea expanded to include an examination of other ways these communities could work together, including the areas of sport and recreation and tourism.

Grenfell, Broadview and Whitewood were already member communities of the Mainline Rural Development Corporation. The offices of the corporation were, at that time, located in the Broadview town office and Executive Director Larry Lang, chair of the Broadview Recreation Board has a background in recreation programming and facility management.

A partnership with the Mainline Rural Development Corporation made good sense and the corporation was receptive. "Each of these communities could make good use of an employee in the areas of recreation, tourism and economic development, but in rural Saskatchewan, it's just impossible, financially, to have one person covering each of these areas in each community," Larry Lang said.

With the assistance of an Inter-Community Cooperation Program grant the Mainline Rural Development Corporation will hire a community development officer to work with the communities of Grenfell, Broadview and Whitewood. The person employed will focus their attention on the development of cooperative initiatives in sport, culture and recreation; tourism and economic development.

Lang expects this program to develop as a model for other communities and will be carefully documenting their progress. The project will be carefully evaluated as it evolves. "The idea of this procedure is to show us where we started from, where we are and where we are going. The resources we develop here will be available to the whole province," he said. "We want to work together, we have to work together so that rural Saskatchewan can maintain the quality of life we are accustomed to."

FOAM LAKE and the R.M. of FOAM LAKE

Ordinarily a story of cooperation might not attract a lot of attention because cooperation is a part of the Saskatchewan way of life. What makes this story unique is the spirit with which cooperation has been put into practice in every aspect of community recreation in Foam Lake.

"Working together is small communities is the name of the game," said Jeannie Johnson, past chair of the Foam Lake and District Recreation Board, summing up the relationship between the town and niral municipality. "'Me municipality has been involved in our recreation programs for so long we just take it for granted."

Emily Kruger, Administrator of the Town of Foam Lake concurs. "We wouldn't have many of the facilities and programs we now enjoy if it hadn't been for the people from both the town and surrounding municipality working together to get the job done. We have outstanding 'people' support from urban and rural areas for our recreation program, and as a result we all benefit."

In the mid-1960s, when many recreation boards were being formed in the province the town council was reviewing the recreation needs of the community and how best to address them. At no time did the interests of the town take precedence over the municipality when council adopted their first recreation bylaw in 1966. When the Foam Lake and District Recreation Board was established, membership was made up of both urban and rural representatives.

This cooperation continued as new facilities and programs were developed in the community. Separate sub-committees of the recreation board, made up of people from both the town and municipality, were established to manage the recreation centre, swimming pool, and the new community hall.

"And it certainly doesn't stop there," said Shelly Thoen Chaykoski, Recreation Director in Foam Lake. "People from the town and surrounding municipality have continued working side-by-side, maintaining and programming our facilities, volunteering, coaching and doing many of the other countless tasks necessary to run a comprehensive recreation service. Certainly we would not have a lot of this if the town was trying to provide recreation on its own."

Gerald Holoway, Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Foam Lake, who currently sits as one of the municipal representatives on the board, solidly supports this long standing arrangement between the town and municipality. "Times are tough," he said. "Certainly in areas like this we need to cooperate and work together. It's worked very well in recreation and as a result there is always something for everyone to do - whether it's swimming, hockey, curling or dance."

Each year the municipality contributes about two thirds of a mill to support recreation programs and services in the town. "We recognize this is only a small portion of the recreation budget in Foam Lake," said Ron Kostiuk, administrator for the rural municipality. "We are able to assist in many other ways - maintaining roads to the golf course and recreation centre, and even doing some of the landscaping required for a new playground in the town."

The new community hall in Foam Lake is a shining example of what can be accomplished by working together. This beautiful facility is the centre of activity for the entire district. Weddings, meetings, graduations, drama productions, dinner theatre, dance lessons, volleyball, basketball, cadet parades and fitness classes take place in the hall.

To get the project started, sizeable capital donations were made by councils in the town and rural municipality. People in the area dug down into their pockets and provided much of the remaining funding. They also contributed much of their own labour and equipment to see the project through.

The spirit of cooperation which permeates the community's recreation program had led to an understanding and appreciation of the benefits to be gained by working together.

APPENDIX I

Sport and Recreation Consultants

Municipal Advisors

Other Organizations

The Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association

A non-profit provincial association whose purpose is to promote, develop and facilitate quality parks, recreation and leisure opportunities in Saskatchewan. This is accomplished through the provision of leadership training and resources, promotion of the benefits of parks and recreation, and representing the concerns of it's members to government.

Further information may be obtained by contacting:

The Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association
2205 Victoria Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P OS4
Phone: 780-9200

The Saskatchewan Recreation Facility Association

The purpose of the Association is to assist communities in the provision, operation and maintenance of effective and efficient sport and recreation facilities. It does this by offering a series of facility operation courses, for both voluntary and full time facility operators, throughout the year.

Further information on the Association or any of the programs and services it offers may be obtained by contacting:

The Saskatchewan Recreation Facility Association
#403 - 2206 Dewdney Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4R IH3
Phone: 522-4461

The Saskatchewan Recreation Society

The Saskatchewan Recreation Society represents recreation professionals in the province. It promotes and contributes to the development of the profession, in the province by ensuring ethics and professional standards are in place and by making professional development opportunities available to its members.

Communities wanting to learn more about the benefits of employing a fun time recreation professional may do so by contacting:

The Saskatchewan Recreation Society
2205 Victoria Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P OS4
Phone: 780-9267

Sask Sport

Sask Sport is a federation of provincial sport governing bodies which works to develop amateur sport through its member organizations. Member organizations can provide sport specific technical information on facility standards.

Communities requiring information from any provincial sport governing body may do so by contacting:

Sask Sport
1870 Lome Street
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P 2L7
Phone: 780-9300

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