Seniors' group president baffled by tenfold rent increase at Winnipeg community centre

The head of a Winnipeg organization that helps seniors stay active and social says they're grappling with rising fees at the community centre they've been renting for the past decade.

Don Bodnarchuk,president of the non-profit Archwood 55 Plus, said the organization's cost to rent space has gone from $5 per day to $50 in the past year.

Over the last decade, the grouphad been paying$100 a monthto operate out of theArchwood Community Centre for four-and-a-half days each weekbetween September and June. That amountedto $5 per day.

The centre increased the fee to $12.50 per day beginning in January, then doubled thatto $25 in May.

"Then, on the second last day of June we [were] advised that as of Sept. 1, our rent was going up to $50 a day," Bodnarchuk told CBCNews.

"Granted, the honorarium of $5 a day was way too low, but that's a tenfold increase from one September to the next September," he said.

Archwood 55 Plus has also beenadvised it will no longer be able to use the facility on Friday mornings, according to Bodnarchuk.

He says his organization considered whether it should look for a new facility to run its programming out of, but the community club has a variety of amenities that are hard to find in one place, such as a gymnasium, multipurpose room, billiard room, kitchens, office spaces and storage.

"To go to another community centre, I'm not sure it's going to be productive," he said. "We looked at options within that, but we would have to rebuild some of our programs if we were going to do that."

'No longer sustainable'

A spokesperson for Archwood Community Centre confirmed to CBC that it intends to increase rent to $50 a day for the senior's group.

The board reviewed what other community centres in the area charge in rental fees, finding that fair market value prices for gymnasiums are around $50-$60 perhour, and multipurpose rooms are $40-$60.

"Fifty dollarsper day is still below the fair market value and works out to $8.33 per hour based on a six-hour day (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) for use of the entire building," the community centre spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to CBCNews.

While the centrereceives money from the City of Winnipeg for general maintenance and utilities, its main source of income comes from rental fees, the spokesperson said.

"The reality is, since the pandemic costs have increased," the statement said. "The rental fee for our other stakeholders has increasedbut the fee for the seniors is far less than market value and is no longer sustainable."

A city spokesperson declined to speak on the dispute, as the facility is independently operated.

However, they saidall City of Winnipeg community centres have been given inflationary increases to their universal funding formula grant this year, which is meant to cover utilities, repairs and maintenance and other operational costs.

While not-for-profits are always looking for sustainable funding for programs and services, they also need funds to cover operational costs such asrent or staffing, said Amanda Macrae, chiefexecutive officer of A and O: Support Services for Older Adults.

Macrae said it's important for older adults to remain socially engaged in various forms of programming, which gives people a reason to get up in the morning and connect with others.

"We're all aging, whether or not we want to say that out loud or not," she told CBC Radio's Up to Speedprogram on Monday.

"How do we support people to age well in their community for as long as they're able and safe, and are we doing the right thing? Because I think right now, we need to do a lot better."

LISTEN | Why programming for seniors is important:

Up To Speed8:17Organization offering support services for seniors says 'ageing well in community is extremely important.'

Guest host Chloe Friesen talks to Amanda Macrae, executive director of A & O: Support Services for Older Adults, about why programming for seniors is so important.

Bodnarchukunderstands that the community centre is stuck between a rock and a hard placebut casts doubt on its claim of rising costs.

"They said that their costs had risen. Well, you'd be hard-pressed to convince me that their costs have doubled since May."

Membership is growing

Meanwhile, his organization's membership is growing, currently sitting atjust over 300 more than double what it was just a few years ago. And nearly 90 per cent of those people participated in at least oneactivityper year, Bodnarchuk said.

"We're trying to provide an alternative in the community that allows them social interaction, social prescribing interaction basically exercise programs, cognitive challenges all the things that keep elderly people healthy down the line, rather than hanging out in a drugstore," he said.

Archwood 55 Plusis exploring its options going forward, including a meeting with the area's city councillor, Bodnarchuk said.

They've also looked into provincial and federal grants, but found they're mostly aimed toward starting new programs rather than sustaining existing ones.

The group isalso considering whether to double membership feesbut Bodnarchuk said about 14 per cent of members indicated they would not return if that were to happen.

He's hoping for a corporate sponsor to help save the day.

"We can use all the help we can get at this point."