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Berwick Fitness Centre back on track after COVID closures

Pandemicimposed occupancy limits impaired access

PAUL PICKREM SALTWIRE NETWORK

The Town of Berwick is looking forward to getting its fitness centre back on track after two closures due to COVID health protocols.

The Berwick Fitness Centre uses upwards of 288 square metres of space on the second floor of the Kings Mutual Century Centre (KMCC).

The fitness centre opened in October 2018.

Berwick’s chief administrative officer, Michael Payne, said the town has a lease arrangement with the Berwick & District Community Association

(BDCA) to operate the fitness centre and also manages access to the walking track.

Payne said the KMCC is owned by the community association and run by a board of volunteers.

The community association operates a hockey rink and has made space available for the Berwick Curling Club, the Berwick & District Lions Club as well as the Berwick Fitness Centre. They also have commercial arrangements with two on-site businesses: Winning Edge Sports and CBI Health.

“It’s a wonderful model for any municipality around the province. Our facility is community-owned,” Payne said.

The town pays its share of common costs based on the size of the space used by the fitness centre as a percentage of the entire KMCC. Common costs include electricity, repairs and maintenance to common areas and a portion of employees' wages required to maintain common areas.

The town provides the community association with an annual grant of $10,000. It provides additional in-kind support in the form of snow and ice removal of the parking lot and roadway access of Veterans Drive.

Payne said the town's ability to raise funds through membership drives to cover costs related to the fitness centre had been hampered by pandemic restrictions, which forced two closures lasting two to three months each, since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Payne said pandemic-imposed occupancy limits have resulted in some instances where members had to be turned away.

“With two significant closures, we extended individual memberships accordingly. That has meant a loss of revenue because those existing members didn’t renew their memberships as early as they may have because we have extended them to reflect the times we were not open,” Payne said.

Pandemic-related cleaning costs have increased expenses, and the centre remains closed daily between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. for extra cleaning of the facility.

He said revenues from fitness classes and personal training have been unavailable since the pandemic began.

“We intend to offer those services as soon as pandemic restrictions will allow,” Payne said.

Payne said COVID-related federal funding was used to offset financial shortfalls due to the closures.

“We have received some funding to keep us whole if you will,” Payne said.

Other steps to address financial shortfalls included eliminating duplication of staffing, reducing hours to reduce payroll and broadening the range of payment options and membership types to make the fitness centre more accessible to more people.

Currently, the fitness centre employs two full-time staff Monday to Friday and four part-time staff who take care of evenings and weekends.

Payne said the community could help ensure the fitness centre rebounds from the pandemic by purchasing memberships.

“We now allow credit cards as a form of payment as well as pre-authorized payment plans. Members can sign up for an annual membership for as little as $46 a month,” Payne said.

The full range of membership options can be found on the town’s website at https:// www.berwick.ca/membership.html

OPINION

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2021-07-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

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