By Mark Squibb/February 17, 2022
Bay Bulls to Bauline Athletic Association (BBBAA) chairman Scott Penny says he is hopeful the Town of Witless Bay will approve a request for more funds, which council deferred last week.
“Council seems very open to working with us,” said Penny. “They understand the value and importance of the BBBAA.”
Penny explained that for the past decade the BBBAA has had a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in place with both Witless Bay and Bay Bulls wherein each town contributes $37,500 per year. The MOU is set to expire next year. The funding covers staff salaries and operating costs, such as cell phone bills and office expenses.
Each year, the BBBAA also hosts an auction dinner and dance, through which they raise between $75,000 and $80,000. Those funds are rolled into regional programing and infrastructure.
“Obviously with COVID, we haven’t been able to do that,” said Penny. “So, last year we went to both towns and asked for additional support because we didn’t have as many registered kids in our programs because of COVID and restrictions. So, we weren’t generating enough of our own revenue. Both towns gave an additional $12,500. This year, we went back with the same request. Bay Bulls have accommodated us, and Witless Bay, from what I understand at this point, have agreed to the $37,500, but we’re still in discussions on the balance of the $12,500.”
Extra staff and additional cleaning measures have caused costs to increase, he noted.
Witless Bay councilor Alex Troake raised the issue during the February 8 public meeting.
“I don’t know if it’s best to defer or deny, but essentially, the plan is to have the new town manager and the BBBAA work together to identify how best to move forward,” said Troake. “It’s probably best to defer, so it stays on the books later… And the situation that’s prompting the BBBAA to request additional funding this year is that in 2020, for funding in 2021, the town was able to get government money because of COVID, and bumped it from $37,000 to $50,000. And they are requesting that we do that again. The issue is that we don’t have that COVID funding this year, and to match a $50,000 ask, we would have to cut $13,000 from our balanced budget somewhere else. So, as much as we all support recreation, it’s not as simple as approving the request. We have to have a serious discussion moving forward.”
Councilor Nancy Burke, who during the initial budget presentation in back in January said she was disappointed that council was not providing the full $50,000 the BBBAA had requested as they are still unable to fundraise, said she had “a lot to say on the issue,” but that she would wait until the motion was put forward.
Council unanimously voted to defer, although there was no further discussion on the matter.
The Irish Loop Post reached out to councillor Burke later, who said that as council had voted to defer the motion, she could not comment. She did, however, pledge her support for the BBBAA.
“I will say that I am a big supporter of the BBBAA and their efforts, which is why I am thrilled to be council's rep on their board,” wrote Burke in an e-mail. “I think that they provide a service that has never been more essential than it is today. As we move toward making our way out of a global pandemic that has kept people isolated in their homes, forced to stay away from family and friends, unable to participate 'normally' in many of the activities that they love and enjoy, recreation has never been more important. Recreational activities will play a significant role in helping people to recover both physically and mentally from the social and emotional side effects of Covid-19. This makes the BBBAA important, and I think it is important for Witless Bay Town Council support them, which we do. One of the main reasons that I ran for council was to make more varied activities available to our youth. Movement has started in those efforts, and I am hoping and planning to partner with the BBBAA to get things off the ground. I am very much looking forward to the collaboration between Witless Bay Town Council and the BBBAA.”
Penny, meanwhile said he understands the rationale provided by council and appreciates that balancing a budget is hard work, but still believes council ought to approve the increase.
“It’s not easy to do the budget,” said Penny. “Some things have to be cut… I totally understand the pressures. For us, we’ve worked very closely with the town of Witless Bay, we were heavily invovled and contributed over $35,000 to their pool upgrade and we’ve committed another $20,000 to the next phase of that upgrade. So, again I get their rationale. At the end of the day council is going to make a decision that is in the best interest of their community.”
He argued further that he felt that the BBBAA, with its after school and day camp offerings, was critical in attracting young families.
“At the end of the day, when a young family is trying to decide where to reside and build a home, and set roots for their families, they need supports,” said Penny. “They’re looking for small town communities that have big city amenities. Now, we have a beautiful Regional Lifestyle Centre where we are able to operate our summer camp program which peaks at 65 to 75 kids, and we do an afterschool program. So, when a young family sees that, they say, ‘Hmm, that community is checking the boxes’… You can pave all the roads you want, but if you don’t attract and grow your residential base, you’re not going to grow your tax base, other than increasing your taxes on residents.”
Penny was not surprised that the request was not approved outright. He said BBBAA representatives had met with council in December, and that council had at the time said that they may not be able to approve the increase.
“They said at that time that they had to prioritise in their budget, and that there were no guarantees,” said Penny. “Disappointed, yes, but again, at the end of the day, they were upfront with us that there were some challenges that they were trying to figure out.”
Regardless, he said he’s looking forward to meeting with the town in the coming weeks to hash out an arrangement.
“Is it all going to be hugs and kisses? Probably not,” he said. “There’s going to be a discussion on something that is very critical to the region and you’re up against a community that is trying to figure out roadwork and infrastructure upgrades and washouts with the changing of the weather.”
Should the funding request not be approved, Penny said, it could result in higher registration fee at the BBBAA.
“We would have to look at possibly raising rates,” said Penny. ‘It’s not somewhere we want to go, because to us that’s just another form of taxation.”
Town of Bay Bulls CAO Jennifer Aspell confirmed that Bay Bulls has, like last year, approved a contribution of $50,000 for 2022, an increase of $12,500 from the agreed upon $37,500.
Penny said both towns have been fabulous partners over the years.
