Banff council voted to provide some financial relief to the Banff Hockey Academy this week after the company requested help in meeting its commitments to the municipality.
BHA currently has a debt of $116,299 with the Town of Banff in relation to facility and ice rentals at the Fenlands. The hockey school has not been paying monthly payments for over three months, prompting administration to take action earlier this summer to get the business to meet its contract terms.
With approval of the requests by BHA for help, Chief Administrative Officer Robert Earl said by meeting those new terms the contract with the academy can be re-instated.
“Administration assumes if the conditions council set are met, we feel we have the authority of council to re-enter that contract and we will proceed as such and the same remedies in the old contract would be in the new contract,” Earl said.
While the motions for financial relief passed at council, Councillors Stavros Karlos and Corrie DiManno did not support the move.
“I’m concerned knowing the information we saw earlier that this organization will not be able to fulfill its obligations to the Town,” Karlos said.
DiManno said she was not comfortable supporting a private business.
There was a strong desire from all council to hear back from administration after six months to see if BHA is making its payments.
“Council has shown, albeit by a narrow margin, support for BHA, and I want to see it succeed,” said Coun. Grant Canning. “In my mind, this is the last chance. I think for me personally I need to see this improve and I need to see these payments made regularly and on time.”
Manager of corporate services Kelly Gibson presented the financial assistance requests BHA made to council for input.
“There are a number of items put up as suggestions, not knowing exactly what BHA would propose at this meeting,” he said. “I would suggest entering into the agreement as some form of initial lump sum for BHA to move forward in the agreement.
“If there is a future situation where BHA would run into arrears, that would give council comfort the debt is not growing, at least not more so than at the beginning of the year.”
The hockey academy is one of the largest ice users at the Fenlands arena and Gibson said that should be considered as part of this issue. The annual revenue from BHA, based on 2013, is $93,000 in ice revenue, $38,400 in rent and utilities and $21,100 in leasehold improvements.
Gibson explained the leasehold improvement payments for work done when the Fenlands was renovated are included in monthly rental payments.
“BHA is currently in arrears to the town,” he said. “It should be noted they were paying off some older debt during that time and that was part of the agreement to move forward.”
Council voted to let BHA pay back the amount it owes over the next five years at a preferential interest rate of three per cent, an initial lump sum to enter back into the contract with the municipality of 10 per cent, forgiveness for ice rental payments for the week of Aug. 11-15 as BHA did not use the ice and a 50 per cent discount for non-prime ice time.
BHA president Bill Doherty said the discount on ice-time is to help the academy develop its girls hockey program.
“If you look at some of the areas we are overextended, it is partly because we are trying to grow the girls program,” Doherty said.
The contract with BHA also allows the Town to extend the term of payment for the leasehold improvements from 60 to 84 months, which council voted to do. That brings down the monthly payments from $1,758 to $830 a month.
If sold, council also made it clear the debt to the Town of Banff excluding the leasehold improvements is to be paid first.
Doherty said any significant investment in the company will be directed at putting it back on a stable financial footing.
“Our relationship with the Town is important, if not the most important relationship we have in the community – obviously we would want to take care of that piece,” he said. “The Banff Hockey Academy is asking for patience as we search out ways to continue to grow the program.”
