A second ice surface at the Castlegar and District Community Complex and an indoor walking track are the top priorities of Castlegar and area residents, according to an Regional District of Central Kootenay survey on potential improvements to recreation facilities.
Public engagement on the future of recreation services in the area began last spring when the RDCK held seven community meetings. Information gathered at these sessions was used to narrow down ideas and develop a survey.
In phase two of the project, residents and recreation groups in Castlegar and RDCK Areas I and J were asked to fill out online or paper surveys through June and July. Almost 1,000 people and 10 community groups responded. About 61 per cent of the respondents were from Castlegar, 23 per cent from Area J and 13 per cent from Area I.
When asked if improvements are needed to facilities, parks and recreation, 71 per cent of respondents said yes. But yes responses varied by area with 77 per cent of Castlegar respondents wanting improvements, followed by 69 per cent in Area J and 52 per cent in Area I.
Respondents were also asked to rank current amenities by importance.
The order of importance of existing amenities marked as "very important" on the survey was one of the few things that all three electoral areas agreed on with Castlegar and Areas I and J all signalling the same order: aquatic area, arena, fitness centre, programming spaces, seniors centre.
But the big question, and the main purpose of the public engagement project, is to determine what, if any, new amenities the community is willing to support with their taxation dollars.
With Castlegar's Pioneer Arena set for demolition in 2025 and two failed referendums for improvements to the Castlegar Community Complex that included new ice sheets in the rear-view mirror, the RDCK needs to have a good idea of what the community as a whole will support before going to another referendum.
In 2018, about 52 per cent of voters approved a referendum that included a second sheet of ice, a new pool and a fitness area expansion plus improvements to arena storage, change rooms, team rooms, offices and the lobby – and a $32 million price tag. But in order for the motion to pass, all three electoral areas had to vote yes, and 71 per cent of Area I voters said "no" so the referendum failed.
The estimated annual cost to individual taxpayers for the 2018 project was $150 per year. Today, $32 million doesn't go as far and adding just a new sheet of ice is expected to cost that much. Funding it would cost taxpayers $200-250 per year.
When asked which amenities respondents would like to see added to the complex, an ice surface topped the list at 51 per cent, but facility improvements that include an indoor walking track almost tied at 50 per cent. A fitness expansion was third at 43 per cent.
But this is where the different electoral areas start to diverge.
Castlegar slightly preferred the walking track (53 per cent) over the ice surface (52 per cent) followed by the fitness expansion (46 per cent).
Area J strongly preferred the ice surface (61 per cent), followed by the walking track (49 per cent) and fitness expansion (46 per cent).
Area I had no majority priority, with its highest ranking was the walking track (40 per cent), followed by the ice (35 per cent) and fitness expansion (28 per cent).
In Area I, 33 per cent of respondents said they were not in favour of any additions to the Castlegar Complex, compared to just 13 per cent from Castlegar and 16 per cent from Area J.
Counting the cost
Currently, residents with an average property assessment of $500,000 in Castlegar, Area J and a small portion of Area I pay about $473 in RDCK recreation taxes each year. Some portions of Area I (Shore Acres, Glade, Voykin Subdivison and Playmor Junction) pay just $335 because they are not included in aquatic centre services.
Survey respondents were given a list of projected annual tax increases to cover 25 years of borrowing to pay for the improvements and then asked a series of questions to determine their willingness to actually put dollars into the projects.
The list included indoor ice ($200-250 annually), enhanced complex with walking track ($50-75), new pool ($75-125), outdoor ice ($100-150), a field house ($200-250), gymnasium ($75-125), multi-purpose youth space ($50-75), outdoor pickle ball and tennis courts ($10-15), indoor squash/racquetball ($75-125) and a fitness expansion ($50-75).
When asked, "considering the potential tax increase, what would you support," the enhanced complex with walking track scored highest at 59 per cent with the indoor ice at 55 per cent and fitness centre at 51 per cent.
But again, when the total figures are examined by area, Area I would not vote in favour of any of the additions with only 42 per cent in favour of the walking track, 37 per cent in favour of the ice surface and 33 per cent in favour of the fitness expansion.
Castlegar said it would support the ice surface at 60 per cent, walking track at 59 per cent and fitness centre at 52 per cent.
Area J supported the ice surface at 60 per cent, walking track at 59 per cent and the fitness expansion at 52 per cent.
The survey results however indicate that resident's financial bottom line may limit the number or type of projects they would actually support in a referendum based on the responses to the question regarding how much they would support paying annually to fund the projects.
Only 41 per cent of respondents said they would support paying an extra $200 or more per year. The new sheet of ice is projected to come in at $200-250 per year.
About 23 per cent said they would support increases between $100-199 and 20 per cent said they would support an increase under $99.
To hit the majority mark for Area J and Castlegar, the price tag would need to be $150 annually. In Area I, 49 per cent – not quite a majority – said they would support an increase of $100 a year.
About 17 per cent of total respondents said they would not support any increase. This was highest among Area I respondents, with 34 per cent saying they would not support increases.
The RDCK has now launched a short follow-up survey at engage.rdck.ca. Residents of the three areas are asked to first review the previous survey's results before taking the second survey.
The survey asks if you think the first survey accurately reflects your community in relation to an ice sheet being the highest priority and if you believe your community would support the tax increase to fund a new ice sheet. It also asks if you personally would support the increase.
The new survey closes on Nov. 18.
