The Town of Turner Valley is taking over the community's campground after the Foothills Lions Club walked away from it due to several years of red ink.
The Town of Turner Valley is taking over the community's campground after the Foothills Lions Club walked away from it due to several years of red ink.
Town council agreed May 18 to operate the 22-site Hells Half Acre Campground this season after the club informed the Town in March it will no longer operate it.
James Lee, Foothills Lions Club member, said the club was subsidizing the losses at the campground for five of the six years it's been run the facility.
“We did the best we could and we can't afford to subsidized that,” he said. “Five of the last six years we lost anywhere up to $5,000 to $6,000. It takes away our ability to give the community the money we donate to various groups and organizations.”
Opening of the campground, previously scheduled for May 1, will be put off until crews repair and upgrade the facility. It is scheduled to open on June 3. Campers who reserved a site at the campground before that date have been directed to the campground in Black Diamond, which is operated by the Foothills Lions Club. An agreement between the Town and Foothills Lions Club had the club operating the town-owned property the last six years.
Among the problems the club faced were the lack of services and wifi and sites that are too small for larger units.
“We sunk a lot of money into it the last couple of years,” he said. “We updated the washrooms, put in over 35 loads of gravel, put in new picnic tables and fire rings, updated the community kitchen, built the wood storage area.”
The club didn't inform the Town that it would no longer operate the campground until March. Lee said this was because the club doesn't receive its financial numbers until January and it wasn't able to meet until he returned from a mission trip later in the winter.
Town administration created a new business model for the campground on May 17, which was approved by council during a special meeting the following day.
Barry Williamson, chief administrative office, said upgrades and repairs are required so the campground can be operated without continued losses.
“There's broken and hanging branches, fire pits have to be put in the right place so they are safe, the electrical plugs need repairs,” he said.
Williamson said there is electricity at each site, but there is only one water station and no sewage discharge.
Changes will include eliminating the first come first served rule, allowing credit cards and debit payments, posting new rules and regulations, no longer allowing tents and restricting campers from staying at the campground beyond two weeks.
The Town has not determined how much it will cost to operate the campground. The cost is not included in the Town's 2016 budget, but Williamson said it will be covered by transferring money from other facilities where possible and any profits made from the campground, said Williamson.
“What we try to do with things like this under the general public works budget is we try to find money to transfer between various facilities,” he said. “If there is a low budget in some areas we try to reassign money.”
During discussions at last week's special meeting, Coun. Dona Fluter said keeping the campground closed would be devastating to the community and that the Town should do what it can to keep it running.
“The campground is one of the major economic draws of this community,” she said. “We'll see what the financial picture paints. If that means making other arrangements I'm willing to do that. I don't think it should come down to the dollar figure only.”
While Williamson expects some losses in the first season, he said the Town should profit from Hells Half Acre going forward.
“It could be a revenue generator if it's done well,” he said. “We met with members of the Lions Club overseeing the campground and we found out some of the issues they were facing - management issues and supervisors. We will minimize the problem areas, simplify the management of it and make it so that it's an enjoyable campground to camp and we're not running it at a loss. We are going to a very different operating model.”
Williamson refused to comment on whether the Foothills Lions Club met the conditions of the contract regarding giving adequate notice of termination.
The Town and Foothills Lions Club have been in previous discussions to build a larger campground west of Turner Valley to replace the Hells Half Acre Site.
However, several of the Town's initiatives have been postponed following the 2013 flood with the Town focusing on flood restoration and prevention projects.
