The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in many businesses, for-profit and non-profit alike.
Wednesday night three non-profit organizations appeared before Quinte West’s Corporate Finance Committee asking
for financial help because of revenue shortfalls caused by the pandemic.
They were the Quinte West Youth Centre, the National Air Force Museum of Canada, and the Batawa Ski Hill.
The Youth Centre uses a former school in Trenton and pays rent to the city of $1000 a month. It is asking that the city waive the rent charges for all of 2021 so it can continue to offer its programming to local youth. Youth Centre managment has been unable to fund raise because of the COVID-19 restrictions and has lost a major sponsor, also due to the pandemic.
The National Air Force Museum requested $25,000. Due to pandemic restrictions it has been unable to offer its facility for rent to groups wishing to hold galas and other major events causing an operating budget shortfall.
And the Batawa Ski Hill has lost over half its normal ski season due to the pandemic and revenue losses during the lockdown currently underway are projected to be around $400,000.
Management is looking for financial help from the federal and provincial governments at this time but is hoping the city could help pay with refunds to season ticket holders. That amount is estimated to be around $180,000.
While the Corporate Finance Committee approved waiving the Youth Centre’s rent for the year there was a lot of discussion surrounding the other requests.
Most agreed with Councillor Leslie Roseblade that the committee should not be making any grants to any organization without seeing detailed financial statements, pandemic or not.
Others commented that the pandemic was hurting many organizations and that many more requests for financial support are likely to come and they just couldn’t hand out money left and right.
Quinte West currently has just over $1 million set aside in a COVID relief fund but the city itself doesn’t know what its financial needs will be going forward due to the pandemic.
Mayor Jim Harrison said he would support granting $25,000 to the Air Force Museum because of its importance drawing tourism to the region and because 8 Wing Trenton was a major contributor to the city with payments of close to $10 million a year in lieu of taxes.
In the end, the committee deferred any decisions until formal financial records were produced by the museum and ski hill.
It did vote to recommend council support the ski hill in its efforts to receive money from senior government.
