What do you get for a million dollars?

The town of Jasper has two options to begin the renovations for the activity and aquatic centre. The first option will see Phase 1 go forward, including upgrades to the fitness centre, children’s centre, washrooms, a new boiler and the installation of the CIMCO heat recovery system. This will happen.

The second option – or the bonus package - which will likely cost an additional $1 million, will see the the town upgrade the lobby, upgrade the roof, insulate the multi-purpose room, add a heating unit and potentially add a skylight. While there is no firm price on all of these additions, town staff is confident most of them can be done for the million dollar pricetag.

Council approved first reading of a lending bylaw that will allow the town to borrow $1 million to put toward the renovations. That money will be covered through MSI funds and user fees by the municipality, and brings the town’s debt load to $7 million. The town is able to borrow a maximum of $14 million under municipal rules, and interest rates are favourable at this time.

Council approved the overall facility design of both 1 and 1A, and will now wait for the prices to come in on the 1A additions. Coun. Ralph Melnyk described it like a shopping list, where the town will see what they can get for the extra $1 million.

Christopher Read, the project lead on the renovations, said this is the most cost effective way to get what they want in the building. There is no disputing the fact that done as a whole, the project will cost less. There is also more opportunity to ensure systems fit together, as the renovations include changes to heating systems.

But just like Canadians are debating home renovations in the middle of a recession, the town must decide if they can afford to move on this project now. With so many projects on the go, and with cost overruns still presenting a concern, what are the risks of adding another million dollars to the debt load? Even if the project will save money down the line, an extra million dollars is no laughing matter. While the MSI funds are supposed to cover half the costs, the other half will come from user fees.

While it’s generally accepted that taxpayers will pay more for an improved facility, there is a danger of prohibitive user fee increases. If the facility doesn’t see the anticipated rise in attendance, those who do will pay even more. 

Public buildings must be kept accessible to the public. That means as few barriers to usage as possible. 

Fees must remain affordable.

In a town that already stretches the personal recreation budget, increased fees are a great way to drive away potential users. It also sets up an inequitable tax system. If taxes stay low, but user fees increase, who is ahead? Incentive to use the centre decreases. 

The new facility looks like a winner. It is long overdue for repairs and certainly not fixing the current problems also keeps users away, but given what the million dollars will pay for – a nice lobby, a roof upgrade, insulation, new heating unit – these are not necessarily items that draw the public. 

There is always a reason not to do a project. Is an extra million dollars in debt reason enough? Or is the possibility of paying higher costs down the line incentive enough for approval.