If you have ever worked on the board of BRCA, or volunteered for BRCA events or programs—or even done either of those things for a different community association—then it probably won’t surprise you to hear that we spend a lot of our time at BRCA talking about the Hall and its adjacent lands (the courtyard and parking lot, basically). How can we pay for the Hall? What needs to be fixed? What funding is available to pay for repairs? What should we charge people to use the Hall? How can we (appropriately) sometimes make a “profit” from the Hall, in order to pay for everything that must be paid for? Staffing. Utilities. Snow removal. Recycling. It’s glamorous stuff. What is the purpose of a community Hall?
Right now, BRCA is engaged in the process of updating its License of Occupation with the City of Calgary. The LOO is the legal document that gives BRCA care and custody of the Hall and its adjacent lands, all of which are owned by the City and governed by terms in Alberta’s Municipal Government Act. Among other things, the LOO structure commits BRCA to operate the Hall in compliance with the City’s “Public Use Policy” (CSPS031). And what does the “Public Use Policy” say about the purpose of a community a Hall? Well, it says that a facility like the Hall must be open “to the public” at least half the time, or else provide the opportunity for “50% public participation in programming and facility use.” It also says that “facilities must be accessible to the public without discrimination as to ability to pay,” which, in the case of a community association, can mean “offering a membership that permits general use of the facility by any resident of the community at a reasonable fee that is not restrictive.” But then it adds that “50% public use” can be achieved by a combination of rentals, classes, programs, activities, and walk-in charges. Nowhere, incidentally, does the Policy define what “public” means.
So, there you have it. Public means public. People in the community should have a financial edge. And everything should be kept as cheap as possible, while also allowing for rentals. And, of course, we must also pay the bills and keep it going. Clear as? …. Mud? Over the next while BRCA plans to tackle this topic and create some written guidance for itself so that future boards—not to mention community members—will have a foundation from which to start. What is the purpose of a community hall? Care to jump into an interesting conversation? Board meetings are the second Monday of every month, at 7:00 PM, and they are always open “to the public”!
Brian Beck
