By Leah-Anne Cameron
Members of local minor hockey associations will have to wait a few months to find out if they face fee increases next year.
Ottawa city council voted at a meeting last week to defer the decision to increase user fees for indoor arenas used by minor hockey leagues until budget discussions in May.
President of the Ottawa West Hockey Association, Carl Baltare, said the deferral is encouraging.
“People are starting to understand that what’s going on here is that the city is making an investment in kids as are people and organizations who are working with kids sports programs,” says Baltare.
But if the proposed increases are approved in May, minor hockey will be hit hard as hourly rates for the use of indoor arenas will rise 15 per cent.
As it is, it costs $75 to rent the Sandy Hill Arena for one hour.
If the increases are approved, this will rise to $86.25 an hour.
According to earlier newspaper reports, these same services were already slapped with a 15 per cent increase less than two years ago.
Barry Woods, a coach in the Sandy Hill Minor Hockey League, says if user fees go up it will have a negative effect on minor sports.
“I would be very disappointed because I think it reflects the failure of our community to focus on the things that really matter like making sports, in this case hockey, accessible,” says Woods.
As a parent, Woods says he would be directly affected by the increases.
He adds that if his children wanted to remain in hockey he would do whatever he could to give them the opportunity.
Others may not be able to absorb the additional costs, according to Woods.
He says some kids may not be able to play if there is an increase in fees because of the difficult financial situations their parents are in.
“People are struggling as it is to get their kids to play.”
Bruce Muise, president of the Sandy Hill League, says council is considering implementing fee increases over three years.
This way, minor hockey associations would only have to deal with a five per cent increase each year for three years, rather than a 15 per cent increase at once.
Baltare says he has spoken to various councillors who suggest another possible approach is to review expenditures to see where there can be a reduction in costs as opposed to increasing fees that impact kids.
“There is going to be an effort on the part of council to get out and go to communities throughout the city and listen to what people have to say about where they think priorities for spending are and should be,” says Baltare.
Even though council is looking at alternatives to user fee increases, Baltare vows he’s not letting up.
“We’re certainly not of the opinion that we can be any less vigilant now as a function of this,” he says. “We’re still staying on top of this.”