Rodeo held at REACH Huron. File photo
HEATHER BOA Bullet News CLINTON – An equine centre in Central Huron should be sold if its board can’t find a way to make it profitable, a ratepayer told that municipality’s council recently.
“We are providing a grand facility for people to play at our expense,” said Carol Dutot, who calculated that $550 yearly from her municipal taxes supports the Regional Equine and Agricultural Centre of Huron Inc. (REACH) facilities and programs. REACH Huron runs educational programming and offers equine shows, after school programs, children’s camps and events, educational workshops, culinary classes and facilities rentals in a $7-million municipally owned building on Beech Street.
It operates under a three–year lease agreement with the Municipality of Central Huron that expires Jan. 31, 2013.
“The REACH board has now had three years to turn this operation around and I can’t see that many things have changed,” she said, noting that in the first 10 months of this year, the municipality contributed nearly $300,000 to operating costs and $150,000 to capital costs, while the centre reports a $315,600 loss. Mortgage payments are not included in these figures.
She said the investment in the centre is primarily for the benefit of people who live outside of Central Huron.
“There is no need to keep throwing good money after bad. I’m sure you can find some projects more worthy of the budget dollars that will benefit the whole community,” she said.
After Dutot delivered a three-page prepared statement to council, Jim Ginn, who is the mayor of Central Huron, said visitors from beyond the boundaries of Central Huron will help to stimulate the local economy.
“That’s economic development. That’s exactly what we want, is for people to come in from outside our community and spend their dollars in the community. Does it all come back to REACH? Probably not. But does it come to the gas stations and businesses?” he said, adding that about $18,000 annually is injected into the local community for each student attending college and university level programs at REACH.
“There are a lot of intangibles that don’t show up on a spreadsheet that are very important to a community,” he said.
Burkhart Metzger, who is a council-appointed REACH director, said in the past year the centre has pulled together a good budget supported by realistic planning.
“There have been a few years that have been almost lost as far as business development went because there was no great big plan in place and I think we have come a long ways to make that happen. Unfortunately, that cost a lot of money. I strongly believe it’s moving in the right direction,” he said.
In January, Richard Harding left his position as REACH’s chief executive officer and executive director as it shifted from a phase of visioning, construction and first year of operations to a phase of ongoing operations. In February 2012, REACH hired Jeff Marshall to be the centre’s executive director.
