By Mark Squibb/December 2, 2022
The Town of Witless Bay has granted the Ken Williams Arena an annual stabilization payment, but its funding agreement with the Bay Bulls-Bauline Athletic Association (BBBAA) remains up in the air.
During last week’s public meeting, council agreed to contribute $10,000 to the arena next year, the same amount given in years past.
“We do support the arena,” said councillor Ralph Carey “A lot of people in the area, and in town, spend a lot of time there —kids, adults — and we look forward to working with that group to help with recreation in the area.”
A funding agreement with the BBBAA, however, is still in the negotiation phase.
“In order to set our budget, we would like to complete these negotiations by the 9th of December,” said councillor Nancy Burke, council’s BBBAA representative.
That funding agreement — if there is one — may look different than those of past years.
For nearly a decade, the Town has provided the BBBAA with an annual operating grant of $37,000, the same amount paid by the Town of Bay Bulls. In 2021, both towns provided a boost of $13,000 each on top of that to help the organization deal with increased costs due to the pandemic.
Earlier this year, the BBBAA requested an additional $13,000 in funds from both Bay Bulls and Witless Bay again. This would result in this year’s funding matching the 2021 funding of $50,000 from each town.
Bay Bulls agreed to boost its contribution, but Witless Bay council denied the increase, with councillor Alex Troake leading the charge against the motion to provide extra support, offering several criticisms of the BBBAA, complaining the group has high program fees, didn’t fundraise enough during the Covid period, didn’t provide proper documentation, and has rising internal expenses.
Troake indicated that renewing the MOU would be up for discussion once the current agreement expired, which is the stage council is at now.
At the time, councillor Burke and BBBAA chairman Scott Penny fought back against Troake’s claims. But when it came down to the vote, councillors Gerard Dunne, Alex Troake, Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard, and Mayor Trevor Croft joined Troake in voting down a funding increase. Council now has until the end of the year to factor in any funding for the BBBAA in its 2023 budget.
