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Wednesday, March 5, 2014
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Money raised to date:
THREE-PEAT!
$263,645
STEELHEADS ROLL OVER STAMPS TO CLAIM CIHL TITLE
GOAL
$400,000 NEW ARENA DONATIONS OK Tire:
$2,500
BIATHALON CUP Smithers hosts the third leg of the BC Cup.
SPORTS/A15 The Smithers Steelheads made the CIHL final interesting by losing the first game 8-4 in Williams Lake Saturday night and rallying back on Sunday to win 5-2 and the championship trophy. See Sports, page A8 for more. Angie Mindus photo
Town raises arena rates by 10 per cent PINK SHIRT DAY
By Ryan Jensen
John Field Elementary hosts anti-bullying day.
Smithers/Interior News
THREE RIVERS/B7
Town of Smithers council listened to ice user groups, deciding last week to raise arena rates by only 10 per cent next season to pay for the operation of the second sheet of ice. On Feb. 19, councillors and town staff hosted a meeting with ice user groups who voiced their concerns over the proposed 20 per cent youth rate and 30 per cent adult rate increase for the 2014-
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2015 skating season. At a finance committee meeting on Feb. 25 it was decided to raise arena user rates 10 per cent across the board and use $40,638 from the town’s $100,000 arena operating reserve to make up the difference. “I think the winwin is to hit the happy medium we’re all after,” Smithers Minor Hockey Association president Dave Turko said at the Feb. 19 meeting. “Make it affordable. Keep as many kids playing as possible. For minor
hockey, we think a 10 per cent increase is reasonable.” That sentiment was shared by user groups around the table at the meeting. Turko said SMHA calculated the organization could use about 17 per cent more ice time and would hopefully be able to host more tournaments. The increased ice time and the higher user fees would have a definite impact on members, he said, and they would not be able to afford more ice time if rates went up by 20
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per cent. “If you charge us more, we use less ice or you charge us less and we use more ice.” Additionally, town ratepayers will not see a property tax increase next year to fund the arena, said Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach. The Town of Smithers has estimated the new arena’s annual operating costs to be between $167,000 and $192,000 per year. An earlier motion to look into a threetiered arena pay scale was abandoned at the Feb. 25 meeting due
to the cost of setting up and administering such a system. Once the Town of Smithers sees what it actually costs to run the new arena for one full season, there is a chance costs may change, Bachrach said. “There might have to be fee adjustments in the future,” he said. “And I think the ice users recognize that.” Dave Tucker, who attended the Feb. 19 meeting as a representative of Northern Hockey School, applauded the town for listening to
the ice user’s concerns. “The process was very positive,” he said. “It showed we do have a say and the councillors were working hard to make it fair.” Now, to keep rates from rising again next year, Tucker said the town needs to make sure the new arena is fully booked. “I would expect to see the town staff really promoting the availability of ice and I’m curious to see if there are other people out there who have some ideas about some different users.”
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