In order to fully understand the impacts and the magnitude of an initiative of this size, an industry expert was hired to review the Town's existing operating budget estimates and provide a third party opinion and recommendations.
The following analysis identifies the operational costs associated with the project which assisted in understanding both cost and benefits, allowing for an educated decision process by Council. The values and assumptions used to analyze were drawn from historic and current operating parameters and assumptions already developed by the Town.
RC Strategies - Recreation Facility Operational Analysis
Benefits of a recreation facility come in many forms. Social, personal and economic all have shown to have great impacts with the availability of a recreation facility.
Personal Benefits: Recreation is essential to the personal health and well-being of all ages and is key to maintaining balanced human development. It provides enrichment for aging residents and is the foundation for a quality of life.
Social Benefits: Having a public venue as a community anchor helps to reduced isolation, self-destructive and anti-social behaviour. It builds strong families, healthy communities and reduces health care, social service and law enforcement costs, which further benefits the community as a whole.
Economic Benefits: Having retail space within a recreation facility, it becomes a stimulus for new business & employment opportunities. It enhances tourist experiences and increase visitor spending. It also has the potential to increase market and assessment value of the residential properties that are adjacent to the facility, as evidenced by the Tri-leisure Centre in Spruce Grove.
Direct and indirect impacts are seen at the onset of the project with contractor and labour employment opportunities, but through local spending of contractors during the construction phase for gas, food and other personal spending. Indirect impacts will also be realized with the need for supplies and materials for the project in the immediate and long term for the operations of the facility, all having an economic impact in the community.