What is the value of a gift? It’s a question councillors were asked to consider at the October 26 General Committee meeting.
In September, the Rotary Club of Huntsville submitted a request to Town staff requesting free use of the bandshell in River Mill Park in perpetuity. The bandshell was a gift to the Town from Rotary and partners who fundraised to make the project a reality at a cost of approximately $150,000. In a discussion with staff, the club said it would use the park on average two to three times per year.
Nervous about making an agreement in perpetuity, Town staff suggested to committee that it instead grant the club free use of the bandshell and park for three days per year for 20 years.
Proposed 2017 rental fees for public events of more than 50 people in River Mill Park, which include the use of the bandshell, currently range from $270 per day for weekday use to $355 per day on weekends. The Town’s Executive Director of Community Services, Kari Lambe, noted that the park would continue to be rented on a first-come first-serve basis, with Rotary being granted free use only if the park is available on the requested date.
The proposal didn’t sit well with Councillor Jonathan Wiebe who proposed an amendment limiting the club’s free use to one day per year for the next few years.
“If we say yes, we’ve given them preferential treatment, and I can understand the argument for that… but it’s the symbolism of it and I just feel it’s not in the true spirit of generously giving a gift to the Town. It has nothing to do with the money,” said Wiebe.
Several councillors and Mayor Scott Aitchison defended the request from Rotary.
“The Rotary Club built this facility within our park and now they want to use it for events that also make our town better, to raise money which goes back into the community,” said Aitchison. “To me this is a no brainer.”
Councillor Nancy Alcock agreed. “I think in this case the difference (in rental fees) between one day and three days is negligible. I think that the generosity of the Rotary to organize and build the bandshell, which is an incredible community asset, deserves special attention. I think it’s the least we can do.”
Wiebe’s amendment was defeated with just Councillor Bob Stone lending his support. The original motion was passed with Wiebe and Stone voting against.
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I’m often reminded of what a wonderful corner of the earth we live in where we can share our differences of opinion, question each other’s motives, criticize one another’s decisions and still continue our friendships, working relationships and overall well meaning towards our fellow community members. Thank you for this discussion.
Mr Davis seems to forget his days as the President of one of the Rotary Clubs in town when he was raising money from those same citizens and fighting to get the Rotary wheel in a recognizable location. I guess people change, but I would make two comments in response.
Firstly the BIA contributed $10,000 to support the Bandshell project. These funds were an essential part of the overall fundraising but I don’t want the Executive Director to be getting calls to explain this misinformation.
Your belief that Rotary should receive no benefit for undertaking these projects is your opinion. The idea of establishing financial percentage contributions to allow a symbol to be placed on a project is a reasonable one. However, your inference that Rotary is riding on other people’s coattails, through their solicitation of donations, is a shot that didn’t need to be taken. What’s missing in that thinking is the man and woman hours spent to bring these projects to reality. Not just from Rotary, but any volunteer organization. How many hours were spent by the soccer club members to get the improved fields in place. I can tell you that both the skateboard park and the bandshell involved hundreds and hundreds of unpaid volunteer hours to take these projects from start to finish. If the Town undertook these projects at a salaried rate the expense to the taxpayer would be substantial. The one thing I believe we can agree on is that, faced with the real cost of the bandshell, the proposal would have died on the council table. On the bigger picture if sustainability is the be all and end all of measuring the value to the community of any asset then lock up the theatre, the arena and most of the community halls while you’re shuttering the bandshell. I believe the councillors who you are calling out see the error in that thinking.
Congratulations to Councillor Weibe and Councillor Stone for realizing that the Bandshell was built from money raised by Rotary from many generous small businesses and local organizations. Oh and the $20,000 from taxes paid by downtown merchants to the BIA? I believe that when I take a bottle of wine or flowers to a host and hostess as a “GIFT” I don’t expect that they will always have flowers and the same type of wine for me to drop in and enjoy at my leisure. I also don’t believe that re-gifting money or materials should afford me any special privileges. The Mayor talks a great deal about capital expenditures and the monies that need to be set aside for replacement of these assets not to mention the cost to maintain them. Newton’s Third Law comes to mind which states; for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case every event that takes place on the bandshell, takes away rentals at the ALGONQUIN THEATRE or other venues in Huntsville. Giving free use of the bandshell to the Rotary Club is ignoring all the contributors to the Canada Summitt Centre, Algonquin Theatre, Curling Club and the list goes on, that citizens and visitors to Huntsville have contributed or “GIFTED” if you wish. Should all of these generous contributors be given free rental of these establishments mentioned. You will see Rotary signs in and on many structures in town. Great advertisements for their organizations but their contributions to receive these recognitions are often much less than a local business or individual would need to gift the town to receive any recognition. I would suggest the town establish financial percentage contributions to any project they participate in or are likely to inherit before allowing anyone to display their name on them. Mr. Saunders mentioned the hundreds of dollars that the rental of the bandshell will bring to the town. He forgot to mention the thousands of dollars of taxpayer dollars the town spends to maintain this park and bandshell and the many thousands of dollars it will cost taxpayers to eventually replace it, or the thousands of dollars displaced from other venues. Very sad that only two councillors recognize the need to make our town sustainable. Giving away taxpayer-sponsored rentals is not sustainable.
Thank you, Rob Saunders, for expressing my feelings from a far superior position. Personally, I feel that “perpetual” use of the facility would have been more appropriate as a tribute to all that the Huntsville Rotary Club does for the good of our Town (behind the scenes, and with zero fanfare).
So Councillor Wiebe (and I gather Councillor Stone by his supportive vote) have a problem with the symbolism that the Rotary request is not in the ‘true spirit of gift giving to the Town’. As a member of the Rotary Club, and one involved in both the River Mill Bandshell and the Skateboard park, I would like to share a perspective that in fact neither of those large community projects were initiated, and delivered, with the idea that making a gift to the Town was a factor in initiating the projects. In both cases the club looked at what they could do to make Huntsville a better, healthier and more vibrant community. These projects stood out as serving a need. The Town happened to own the land and, as the facilities were to be used and enjoyed by all of the community, were to be the natural long term owners and caretakers. Total cost of building the bandshell – approximately $180,000, and that is with a number of major donations in time and materials. Total cash donation from the Town (other than the land) to assist in making it happen. How about zero! There was the waiving of building permit fees and some shared costs in regards to the replacement of the underground watering system. Now we see that there will be rental rates for the use of the bandshell and park in the hundreds of dollars. Councillor Wiebe, when you are collecting that fee for years and years going forward, from the many community user groups that will use the facility, for a facility that has minimal taxpayer dollars invested in it, will you have any pangs of guilt or feel that the ‘true spirit’ of a community park is being compromised.
And so you know, the request to allow Rotary use of the park going forward was an idea initiated in early discussions about the project, between the Town and the Rotary Club (and not by Rotary). It was put forward in the final agreement with the thought that other than our annual Dockfest use (which brings thousands of people into our Downtown) we would likely host a couple of our regular lunches outdoors on the bandshell floor. Given the nature of the request, and how we got to where we are, your comments are, in my opinion, embarrassing and it’s encouraging to see that the majority of your fellow councilors lent their support to the reduced request.
Thank goodness sanity prevailed. Thank you Huntsville Council for voting for Rotary’s free use of River Mill Park. I think most people with any knowledge of Huntsville happenings recognize how hard Rotary has worked for the town for many years, and they definitely deserve recognition. If it wasn’t for Rotary you wouldn’t have a bandshell!