By Mark Squibb/March 31, 2022
The chairman of the Bay Bulls to Bauline Athletic Association (BBBAA) says he’s disappointed the Town of Witless Bay has chosen not to approve a funding increase of $13,000, but he respects the decision.
“I get the pressure of a new council trying to balance a budget,” said Scott Penney. “I was trying to be optimistic, but I knew it was a coin toss. Many towns face many financial pressures … There’s only so much money going around.”
But when specific details of councillor Alex’s Troake‘s argument against the funding request made their way to Penney’s ears, he was surprised.
“I started to get some phone calls and texts about some of the comments and the rationale as to why they were not giving us the money, and I was at a loss for words to be honest with you,” said Penney. “And this is certainly not to brush the entire council, but … I was trying to understand where it was coming from, such a harsh attack on the association. Our association has been here for 16 years, and we’ve made, I think, a significant contribution to the seven communities which we represent. And to sit down and listen to, and read, some of the commentary that was made by a councillor who was there for what, 16 weeks? I hope his tenure is as long and as valuable a contribution as the BBBAA’s has been over 16 years.”
During the March 8 council meeting, Troake argued it would be financially irresponsible to increase this year’s funding to the BBBAA from $37,000 to $50,000. He accused the organization of having made no effort to fundraise, describing it as “sitting on their hands.” Troake also questioned the BBBAA’s operating cost increases, and called the organization too ‘Bay Bulls-centric,’ amongst other complaints.
Penney said that of all the comments, the accusation that the group was ‘sitting on their hands’ got to him the most.
“That in and of itself is enough to really give you a sense of what his mindset is on the BBBAA,” said Penney. “I don’t have any issues with the funding decision. My issue is that there was a barrage of innuendos as to why the BBBAA is not successful. Well, the BBBAA is very successful.”
Typically, the BBBAA spends January to June preparing for an annual auction and gala dinner, which raises tens of thousands of dollars for recreation infrastructure throughout the region. That auction has not been held during the pandemic period.
“We don’t go out and fundraise,” said Penney. “We don’t go out and sell cold plates, we don’t sell tickets, we don’t do dances. That’s not what we do. There’s a lot of other community groups in the area that do that… We don’t want to tread on anybody’s toes. We made that decision years and years ago, and we just stayed in our lane and did our own fundraising.”
Money committed through the towns of Witless Bay and Bay Bulls through an MOU covers the operating costs, including salaries and overhead expenses. The BBBAA serves as an extension of the recreation programs for both towns, saving the cost of salaries for individual recreation directors and staff for each municipality.
“We are not going to go fundraise to pay salaries,” said Penney. “We will fundraise and manage our budget so we can put pieces of recreation infrastructure in the community.”
Money given to the BBBAA through the MOUs mean that towns have a recreation program in their community, at a cheaper price, said Penney, than building their own recreation program from the ground up.
Trokae had also alluded to programs offered by the BBBAA, such as the High Five course and resume writing courses and chided the group for charging students to partake.
Penney said those courses offered by the BBBAA are conducted by other organizations, and the BBBAA does not receive renumeration for offering them. The High Five course, for example, is a leadership skills course offered by Recreation NL.
“It just tells me that there’s a lack of knowledge or insight, and that councillor Troake just does not understand,” Penney said.
Another allegation that Troake levelled against the BBBAA was that they were, ‘Bay Bulls-centric.’
Penney said he would have agreed — 15 years ago.
Bay Bulls, he pointed out, just happened to be the community that stepped up and went ahead with the construction of a recreation centre. Despite that, the BBAA does offer many programs in neighbouring communities.
As for Troake’s complaint that not enough children’s programming was offered at the Puffin Centre, Penney noted that Witless Bay parents requested their children attend the Bay Bulls Regional Lifestyle Centre.
“People want the larger centre,” said Penney. “It has much more functionality. It has a gymnasium. The Puffin Centre is a beautiful building and serves the purpose it’s supposed to be.”
That purpose, however, is not hosting children’s programs.
“People want to live in small communities with big centre amenities,” said Penney. “And the big centre amenities on the shore right now are the hockey rink and the Lifestyle Centre, and those two facilities are your anchor points.”
As to Troake’s allegation the BBBAA hasn’t kept up to date submitting financial documentation (Troake alleged the last documents the town has on file are from 2016), Penney said that is simply not true.
“They need to go check their filing system,” said Penney. “We went to a meeting in December, and they weren’t even aware there was an MOU.”
He said all the information the BBBAA has sent to the town, at least over the last two years, is on file and can be easily accessed.
As to why the BBBAA’s payroll increased from $55,000 to $75,000, and the overall increase from $74,000 to $100,000 in operational costs, Penney said COVID-19 measures, such as extra staffing to ensure that COVID regulations were followed, was the cause.
He added that COVID guidelines also meant that registration had to be cut in half for some programs, which was one of the reasons the BBBAA asked the towns for the increase to begin with.
Penney pointed out that in recent years the BBBAA has given about $65,000 to the Town of Witless Bay. Most recently, a week prior to council’s decision in fact, the BBAAA finished a $20,000 contribution to the Witless Bay swimming pool, money that had been committed to the previous council.
“I think you have a council over there that are looking at the financial pressures that are in their town,” said Penney, adding that some members of council who voted against the motion have been big supporters of the BBBAA over the years and he appreciates that it was likely a tough decision.
The MOU between the BBBAA and the towns of Witless Bay and Bay Bulls, which guarantees each town give the organization $37,000 annually, is up for renewal within the year.
With Troake suggesting council may reconsider how funding towards regional recreational facilities and programs are applied in the future, Penney doesn’t know what to expect when renewal time rolls around.
“For the first time in 16 years, I don’t know what’s there,” said Penney. “At the end of the day, the BBBAA is a strong supporter of the Town of Witless Bay and it’s residents, the Alderwood Retirement Centre, the 50-plus club, the schools, we help the Kinsmen, we’re very entrenched in the community, and we’re very proud of the fact that we have given $65,000 to help improve and upgrade the infrastructure in the town. Hopefully the Town of Witless Bay can see a way forward that we can all work together for another 16 to 20 years again.”
