The municipalities have until September to form an agreement before user costs are passed on to local residents. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)
user agreement

Air Ronge council uncertain on how to pay for La Ronge recreation

Jul 9, 2025 | 4:20 PM

Air Ronge Mayor Julie Baschuk is disappointed in the how the narrative unfolded in regard to the village council’s communication with the town about recreational payments.

“I feel there was a lot of misinformation that got put out and it allowed them (the town) to control the narrative to their favour, and I don’t think that really spoke to the communication we have had with the town,” she said during a regular village council meeting on Tuesday.

“I thought we had a lot of good dialogue and out of the box thinking of what regional rec actually should look like.”

Baschuk was referring to a social media post on the town’s website that claims the village’s contribution to the Town of La Ronge is not adequate to maintain the subsidy offered to their residents who participate in recreation.

“The village per capita share of the recreation deficit ($626,000) would be approximately $140,000. Prior to attempts to negotiate a new contribution amount in 2023, the annual contribution was $20,000. It was temporarily increased to $85,000, then reduced to $40,000 for the next two years,” the post read.

“The difference between the $40,000 subsidy and the required subsidy ($140,000) is to be passed along directly to village recreation users. If the village subsidy is increased, the subsidized user fees will continue to apply to all village users.”

The town plans to recoup those costs by charging village residents enrolled in an activity that use the Mel Hegland Uniplex at a cost of $1,000 per season, or enrolled in an activity that uses town outdoor facilities at $100 per activity. In addition, renting a town facility will be increased by 300 per cent of the applicable regular rate, and village resident registration in town programs will be at 100 per cent cost recovery.

Baschuk explained village council is unable to determine how they will respond to the price increase as they haven’t received all the information needed to do so. For instance, there is no data on how many village residents use the Mel and town programming, as well as data for public skating and rink rentals. She said no information was also given for how much the province is paying the town to use the facility as a fire base.

Deputy-Mayor Terry DesRoches noted an annual rate of $140,000 is a lot of money the village could use to upgrade its own recreational opportunities. He added the village just doesn’t have that kind of money in its budget and would need to either raise taxes or dip into reserves.

DesRoches mentioned it is unfair to have a majority of residents who don’t use town recreation to pay for the minority who do.

“We can’t have 93 per cent of the people paying for seven per cent to use something because it’s just wrong,” he said.

DesRoches also stated town residents should be asking their leadership why they should be paying approximately $490,000 annually to operate the aging Mel Hegland Uniplex.

Village council has the summer to decide how they will move forward with the town’s request. The two sides have until September to come up with an agreement.

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

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