Cochrane town council will be reviewing terms and conditions of a proposed $1 million line of credit for the SLS Recreation Park Society in late October.

Last night, park society president Hank Beisbrook and Blair Felesky, new interim chief executive officer (CEO), presented an overview of their operations, strategies and goal of reaching a 90 per cent operational cost recovery rate within three years.

Saying they are not financially nimble enough to incorporate changes to their operation and to deal with emergencies, they sought the line of credit to give them the wiggle room necessary. 

The major expansion of the facility that included an aquatic centre, curling centre and additional rental space has proven to be challenging. While it seems unlikely they will return to their original model of a 100 per cent operational cost recovery rate, they want to come close. Currently they have an 80 per cent cost recovery rate. When open, the Big Hill Leisure Pool on 5th Ave., which they did not operate, had a 50 per cent cost recovery rate.

The society charted its own path in the past, it was pointed out to council, but did not initiate the major expansion that opened in 2017.

"The last expansion was the only one not initiated by the society," explains Beisbrook, "and as a result I believe we were less prepared for the impact on every single facet of our operation, the single largest of which was the tripling of our staff from 65 to 70 to in excess of 200.

"We believed at the time that the structure we had in place could weather the change but it did not. Our first year in following the expansion was an eye-opener, to say the least."

Nor does he believe the owners of the facility, the Town of Cochrane and Rocky View County, were fully aware of what to expect.

Councillor Morgan Nagel questioned the need for a $1 million line of credited and asked if they could do with less, starting perhaps with a $100,000 line of credit.

Society officials explained they aren't sure of what the number should be but didn't want to have to return to council for a second ask if too low of a benchmark was established.

Initial discussions on the agreement would have any outstanding balance paid back to the town annually.

Both councillors Marni Fedeyko and Tara McFadden seemed concerned with the amount but all agreed to review the proposed agreement when it returns to council.

Fedeyko asked if any new partnerships were being created to help support the centre's programs.

Felesky said there are more being developed but they are not of the size, nor design, to cover capital needs. For example, a sponsorship package may be in the neighbourhood of $10,000 but an emergency mechanical repair could well exceed $100,000.

Society representatives will also be meeting with RVC officials on Oct. 3 to open up a dialogue. They hope to also receive a contribution by the county.

The county recently named Kim McKylor, of the Springbank area, as their representative on the society's board, replacing sanctioned councillor Crystal Kissel.

There has been a major overhaul of the senior management of the park society, including the CEO, in the last year. Felesky came onboard recently when the previously hired CEO took ill.