A longtime member of the West Coast Training Centre presented a petition to local MHAs on Sunday to try and keep the facility open.
Wallace Rowsell says he’s been a member since the Stephenville centre opened in the late 1960s. The provincial government cut funding to the facility in its 2013 budget, meaning the West Coast Training Centre will close its doors at the end of June.
The province has been supporting the centre with a reported $200,000 yearly payment. Members pay just over $50 per year, and Mr. Rowsell said the amount of money being spent by government can be lowered.
“We don’t need them to spend $200,000 on that facility,” he said. “Their costs could be substantially lowered if they would only consult with user groups and figure out ways of saving, including passing the costs onto us.”
He added that cost saving measures like higher user fees, membership promotions and changes in the hours of operation could be considered.
Mr. Rowsell estimated there are more than 1,000 names on the petition.
“If we can give a compelling argument there may be a chance, but it’s beyond belief why anyone would think of closing it down, especially with exercising (being so important),” said Mr. Rowsell. “Even the premier herself has been exercising more, so what are we supposed to do if we don’t have this facility?”
Calls and emails from The Western Star to Ms. Shea were not returned as of press time.
Mr. Cornect, however, said the Arts, Culture and Recreation Department sees the centre as a municipal recreation facility and it was necessary to reduce spending.
“We are working with the municipality and hope something can come out of that,” he said. “The department will be reviewing (other provincially-supported facilities) but we hope we can divest this one to a community group or municipality to keep it in the area.”
Stephenville Mayor Tom O’Brien said he supports the initiative of keeping the facility open but it will not come as an expense to the town.
“There are no plans for Stephenville to operate the facility,” he said. “This is a regional building and we feel that it needs to be operated on a regional basis, not on a Stephenville basis.”
On the efforts, Mr. O’Brien said it is good that there is an effort to keep the centre open, and that anything can happen.
Recently, Opposition Critic Eddie Joyce waded into the issue, stating there was no advance consultation on the closure of the West Coast Training Centre ahead of the provincial budget, earlier this month.
He raised the question on why the centre was singled out for closure when other recreation facilities are supported by the province.
Indeed, the provincial government recently announced a grant for a recreation centre in Pasadena.
