Turf Fields - A tale of two cities

Here is a story of two turf fields in neighbouring towns.  The first turf field, located at St. Maximilian Kolbe High School, is a partnership between the Town of Aurora and the York Region Catholic School Board.  The second turf field, not yet built, will be a joint venture with the Town of Newmarket and the York Public School Board.  That field is slated for Dr. J.M. Denison High School.  Both fields cost $2,000,000 and both would generate revenues of approximately $10,000 annually.  Both fields cost the municipality approximately $1,000,000 towards the cost of construction.

The Aurora turf field was constructed in 2010 and the agreement between the Town of Aurora and the Catholic school board has been termed a partnership.  

By comparison, the Era is reporting that the agreement between the Town of Newmarket and the Public school board has hit a 'snag'.  The Town wants the Board to cover 66% of the maintenance cost of the field.  The Board feels the Town should cover the entire cost because the Board is providing the land for the field and the Town is benefiting from value of the land and the parking lot (which the Board maintains at 100% of the cost).  

Of note, the Public Board has similar agreements in place throughout York Region and it is typical for the municipality to cover the maintenance costs.  

At the Aurora field, it is reported that the Town of Aurora pays approximately $5,000 towards maintenance and $8,000 for lighting according to a 2010 article in the Era. 

This week's Era story on the Denison field suggests that the annual maintenance cost of a turf field would be in the range of $60,000 annually.  

The Town of Newmarket has a pricing policy that requires a 60/40 split on recovering costs.  What this means is that 60% of the cost of operating a facility is recovered by the users and 40% is subsidized by the public.  

If a turf field has a 20 year life span (and I think that is generous), then the amount of money that the Town must collect in user fees to recover the construction cost should be $30,000 plus an additional $36,000 to cover expected annual maintenance.  (These figures are 60% of the total).  

But the Town is only expecting to collect $10,000 annually.  This leaves the public subsidizing this field to the tune of 81% of the total costs versus 19% of the cost borne by the users.  

Before voting  to approve this expense, Council needs to explain why it has deviated so greatly from the fees it charges to other user groups.  Why is Newmarket Hockey paying its fair share of the cost of ice time, but user groups for this turf field are making off with a heavily subsidized rate?