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Committee recommends lower 2026 arena rates, keeps capital reserve
Summary
City staff recommended and the committee approved placing on the consent agenda a package of reduced 2026 community arena rates driven by lower electric costs and a shift in staffing allocation; user groups will continue annual operating-cost reconciliations while capital reserves will be modestly increased.
Bill Small told the committee the city presented Exhibit A to set 2026 arena rates and recommended council approval. He said users asked to move the reconciliation year end to March so rates align with the arena winter season and that the new schedule and staffing adjustments lowered hourly rates for major users. "We are looking at rates for ISD 544 of $225 per hour, $185 an hour for the hockey association and $175 for the skating club," Bill Small said.
Small explained the decrease comes from modestly lower electric costs and moving half of one arena employee's time into parks to reduce arena operating expenses. He said the city still performs an annual operating-cost reconciliation for user groups: "If we have collected more than our cost, we refund it. If we've undercollected, then we send them a bill." External users such as the curling club remain on a separate fee schedule and are not part of the reconciliation.
Council members asked whether hours for schools and user groups changed; Small said hours were adjusted in the 2025 contract and were broadly similar for 2026. The committee confirmed that capital funds for long-term arena maintenance are held in designated accounts and that staff plan to increase an annual capital set-aside by $10,000 to better fund future needs.
The committee moved the recommendation to place the rates on the Monday consent agenda; members voted in favor.
