The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
To the membership of the Willowpark Curling Club: Most of you will have heard a great deal of information and commentary, some accurate and some not, about the events that have unfolded over the past few months with respect to our Club. Unfortunately, the integrity of the Executive has been called into question time and again, and I want to set the record straight. In 1993, extensive work had to be done at the Club due to some problems with the rafters in the roof as well as the exterior walls. In 1998 another inspection was done and everything was fine but once again the engineering firm would only recommend we curl at Willowpark Curling Club for five years before getting inspected again. In 2002 we set up a committee to do a review of our facility. The committee came back to the membership with two options: 1) stay as we are and in 2-5 years possibly close as the building is old and worn out; 2) new club ? this proposal was rejected at that time by the members because the cost would be approximately $675,000 and in order to pay for it we would have to raise bar prices and dues. In August 2004 our permit expired. So as you can see, the vote in May to decide the fate of the Willowpark Curling Club should not have come as a surprise to anyone. In my report on May 7th, 2004 I told the members that it would cost approximately $12,000 plus $1,000 GST to fix the cracks in the rafters ? this was to fix 10 cracks, and any additional cracks would cost $950 extra. It cost us $2,000 to bring in the engineering firm and after the work is completed it will cost another $2,000. A total of $17,000 was the figure presented at the annual meeting. A concerned group has accused this Executive of giving false information. At the time this was all the information that we had. Now the figure is approximately $25,000 to fix the Curling Club, and will probably be higher. My figure at the May meeting of $17,000 to fix the building is still consistent with the figures we have now ? the low price of $25,000 to fix the building (their figure) and a conservative estimate of $7,500 to mothball the club (also their figure). I would note that this is a significant difference of ($25,000 - $7,500) $17,500 in expenditures, not a close comparison of the costs to repair vs mothball and amalgamate as previously suggested. See 'Volunteered' P.# Con't from P.# The Executive of the Willowpark Curling Club did not make the decision to move to the Uptown Curling Club and mothball Willowpark. It was the membership. Motions were made by a member on the floor, seconded by a member on the floor, and passed by the voting members present at the Annual Meeting on May 7th, 2004. One motion was to vote on three options and the majority of voters at that time voted to curl at the Uptown Club. The other was to approach the City to ensure that the facility would not be destroyed in the event of an amalgamation and this precipitated the concept of "mothballing" the rink. It was expected that we would know by the end of this curling year if the Communityplex would go. If so, we would have stayed at Uptown for one more year then moved into the new facility. If, for some reason, the project didn't go, then our Executive combined with the Uptown Executive would be committed to looking at a new Curling Club. One site that had been mentioned was possibly where the Willowpark curling rink now sits. Either way, to get a new facility we are going to have to curl somewhere for at least a year. The motion that came on the floor to mothball the Club for one year was made after my report was read, so the funds needed to mothball the Club had, of course, not been explored at that time. After all the work is done at Willowpark Curling Club, the engineering firm from Winnipeg will have to come in and re-inspect the building. If it passes, he will give us his stamp of approval for three, maybe five years. Then what? The concerned group also alleged that we were going to give Uptown Curling Club $10,000 for renovations. This was also false and gave the impression that the Executive was recklessly giving away money. We, the Executive of Willowpark Curling Club, have worked hand in hand with Uptown Curling Club Executive to try and ensure that an amalgamation went forward as smoothly as possible because we were led to believe after the May vote that this is what our membership wanted. Nobody was more surprised at the results of the May vote than the Executive, but we felt that our members had spoken and it was time to move on. Finally, did you know that a considerable percentage of our nightly curlers have already expressed their intent to curl Uptown? This could potentially reduce the revenues of the Club by $8,000 to $10,000 in curling dues plus a significant loss in bar sales. The Willowpark Curling Club made a modest $6,400 last year and this figure did not take into consideration the outstanding debts. Mr. Munson was quoted in an article in The Reminder saying that they are hopeful that the money used to fund the repairs will be recouped in two to three years ? how? I have personally been on the Executive for 12 of the last 15 years, and been the President for the last two years. I was proud to work with last year's Executive. They were there when they were needed. All of these Executive members volunteered a lot of time and effort and never charged one dime for it. This is what volunteer work is all about ? a dedicated effort with the "good and welfare of the club" as its guiding principle. This is why Willowpark has been successful over the years and has funds in the bank. Yours truly, Jim Quinn, Past President Willowpark Curling Club
