Quispamsis Mayor Opposes Arena User Fees

The mayor of Quispamsis says he is disappointed over Saint John’s decision to move forward with non-resident user fees for ice arenas.

Common Council voted this week to charge a fee of $200 plus HST for the upcoming ice season, increasing to $350 plus HST next season.

The move comes after failed attempts to develop a regional ice strategy between Saint John, Quispamsis, Rothesay, Grand Bay-Westfield, St. Martins and the local service districts (LSDs).

Gary Clark, the mayor of Quispamsis, said his residents are being penalized because a regional consensus on an ice rink strategy could not be reached.

“We stand behind what we say in Quispamsis and we do not believe that there should be user fees,” said Clark, adding other outlying communities feel the same way.

Quispamsis council heard a presentation this week from Chris Green of Hockey New Brunswick, who said he is worried the non-resident user fee will lead to drops in enrollment.

Clark said he empathizes with the organization and understands where they are coming from.

“The outlying municipalities, we certainly want to move forward with the ice strategy. I encouraged Mr. Green to move forward in doing a presentation at our next regional service commission [meeting].”

The proposed strategy skid to a halt in May after Saint John’s mayor and the LSDs voted against hiring a consultant to gather more data.

Clark said the consultant would have given them all the information they needed to make informed decisions about the proposed strategy.