Cheryl Chan
Published on: December 7, 2016
(c) Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver park board has unveiled a new proposed joint-operating agreement that lays out its relationship with the 20 associations that run 21 of the city’s community centres for the next 15 years.
The proposed plan improves access for all users, removes mandatory membership and provides a universal discount for low-income residents at all community centres, said park board general manager Malcolm Bromley at a news conference Wednesday.
It would require community centre associations to chip in one to two per cent of their gross annual revenue toward a system-wide investment fund that will be redistributed to financially struggling community centres, such as Strathcona, Thunderbird and Champlain Heights.
“We think that’s a fair, equitable redistribution of income across this system,” said Bromley, who estimated the fund’s value at around $200,000 to $300,000 annually starting in the second or third year of the agreement.
The final draft of the plan also establishes a universal subsidy
program by requiring all centres to accept the leisure-access program,
which provides low-income residents discounted access to programs and
facilities, separate from any subsidies already offered by individual
centres.
In order to resolve an ongoing legal dispute where six community centres have claimed partial ownership of community centre assets, the draft plan assigns ownership of assets to the city of Vancouver, with the park board responsible for the stewardship of those assets.
Programming, space allocation and booking fees remain under the control of the community centre associations, with the park board given the discretion to designate up to five programs a year across the system.
The plan also establishes a process for third-party arbitration in case of disputes. It is for a five-year term with two consecutive options to renew.
The final draft of the agreement — the product of an eight-month consultation period with community centre associations — was delivered to associations on Dec. 1 for a three-month review. It will be formally presented to the board on Monday with a public hearing and a vote scheduled for Jan. 25.
The signing deadline for associations is March 1. Some community centre associations have already voiced their unhappiness with the draft plan, saying feedback on major areas of the plan have been ignored.
“Many of the things (in the plan) we are on-board with. We know it is great for the citizens of Vancouver. But there are key elements missing,” said Ainslie Kwan, past-president of the Killarney Community Centre Association.
Kwan said the group has unsuccessfully asked to meet with commissioners before Monday’s meeting.
“There’s going to be a lot of people who are going to be speaking to the concerns we have,” she said. “Why not address those in advance of the Jan. 25 meeting and have us go before the board with a proposal we can say we endorse and support? Where we stand today, that is not the case.”
Some of the groups’ key concerns include membership, financial costs, dispute resolution, and provisions for termination of the relationship in the draft plan.
Kwan had said some associations want to retain the membership requirement, but waive the fees, so it can apply for grants as a non-profit society. Bromley disagreed, saying the park board believes “people should be able to access services and purchase a program without having to join a private not-for-profit society.”
He cited the West End Community Centre as an example of an organization that did away with mandatory membership but can still successfully apply for grants.
chchan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/cherylchan
(c) Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver park board has unveiled a new proposed joint-operating agreement that lays out its relationship with the 20 associations that run 21 of the city’s community centres for the next 15 years.
The proposed plan improves access for all users, removes mandatory membership and provides a universal discount for low-income residents at all community centres, said park board general manager Malcolm Bromley at a news conference Wednesday.
It would require community centre associations to chip in one to two per cent of their gross annual revenue toward a system-wide investment fund that will be redistributed to financially struggling community centres, such as Strathcona, Thunderbird and Champlain Heights.
“We think that’s a fair, equitable redistribution of income across this system,” said Bromley, who estimated the fund’s value at around $200,000 to $300,000 annually starting in the second or third year of the agreement.
“A group of some centres are making surplus dollars and
accumulating wealth while others are making it just year to year,” he
said. “We should share some of that wealth from the system because all
taxpayers pay for all of those community centres.”
In order to resolve an ongoing legal dispute where six community centres have claimed partial ownership of community centre assets, the draft plan assigns ownership of assets to the city of Vancouver, with the park board responsible for the stewardship of those assets.
Programming, space allocation and booking fees remain under the control of the community centre associations, with the park board given the discretion to designate up to five programs a year across the system.
The plan also establishes a process for third-party arbitration in case of disputes. It is for a five-year term with two consecutive options to renew.
The final draft of the agreement — the product of an eight-month consultation period with community centre associations — was delivered to associations on Dec. 1 for a three-month review. It will be formally presented to the board on Monday with a public hearing and a vote scheduled for Jan. 25.
The signing deadline for associations is March 1. Some community centre associations have already voiced their unhappiness with the draft plan, saying feedback on major areas of the plan have been ignored.
“Many of the things (in the plan) we are on-board with. We know it is great for the citizens of Vancouver. But there are key elements missing,” said Ainslie Kwan, past-president of the Killarney Community Centre Association.
Kwan said the group has unsuccessfully asked to meet with commissioners before Monday’s meeting.
“There’s going to be a lot of people who are going to be speaking to the concerns we have,” she said. “Why not address those in advance of the Jan. 25 meeting and have us go before the board with a proposal we can say we endorse and support? Where we stand today, that is not the case.”
Some of the groups’ key concerns include membership, financial costs, dispute resolution, and provisions for termination of the relationship in the draft plan.
Kwan had said some associations want to retain the membership requirement, but waive the fees, so it can apply for grants as a non-profit society. Bromley disagreed, saying the park board believes “people should be able to access services and purchase a program without having to join a private not-for-profit society.”
He cited the West End Community Centre as an example of an organization that did away with mandatory membership but can still successfully apply for grants.
chchan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/cherylchan
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