City considers adjusting recreation facility rental fees over next five years

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — City council is revisiting a bylaw to adjust the next five years of fees and charges for community facilities including at Festival Plaza and the North Peace Arena. 

During the June 9th committee of the whole, city council reviewed a presentation by staff on a bylaw to update community services fees and charges for rentable recreational spaces run by the city. 

“These services are always subsidized to some extent, and it is important to establish goals for cost recovery to ensure that programs remain viable and that operating costs are supported at the appropriate level,” Milo MacDonald, the chief administrative officer, stated in a report to council.

The spaces are in Festival Plaza, the North Peace Arena, the Kids Arena Fieldhouse, the Pomeroy Sport Centre, Surerus Park and Kin Park. The spaces available at these locations range from event spaces and meeting rooms to indoor and outdoor soccer spaces, ice and dry floor surfaces and ball diamonds. 

The 2025 operating costs for the spaces are estimated by staff to be approximately $8.47 million. Of this, only 22 per cent or $1.87 million is projected to be covered by rental fees and the remaining $6.6 million would be covered by taxes collected during the year. 

According to staff, the facilities are being used less than 42 per cent of the year. 

Staff estimates show Festival Plaza is rented approximately 29 per cent of the year, the rinks at the North Peace Arena are used 41 per cent of the year, the Kids Arena Fieldhouse pitch and meeting room are used 34 per cent of the year and the Pomeroy Sport Centre is used the least of all facilities, only being rented 27 per cent of the year. 

The usage of these facilities is split between paid users, school groups and some usage by the city. 

Staff explained to council the current cost recovery method informing fees and charges for space rental is not feasible in the next several years. 

In 2024 only 21 per cent of the costs of the facilities were recouped through fees, meaning the facilities were 79 per cent supported by tax money. 

By 2029, staff intend to have cost recovery up to 25 per cent, and tax support down to 75 per cent. 

The presentation outlined several different options available to the city for different cost recovery processes over the next five years, which staff will continue to research and bring before council again for consideration at a later date. 

Councillors largely voiced their approval for an option which saw a slow increase over the next five years, with different rates for commercial, standard, adult and youth rentals.

Mayor Lilia Hansen also stated the city was happy to support the recreational spaces due to their benefit to the community. 

The bylaw being explored by staff also differs from previous years because it explores five years of fee increases rather than just one, with the intention of providing more predictability to the groups consistently renting spaces. 

The presentation was a follow-up to bylaw revisions requested during a committee of the whole meeting in January.