Stratford councillors dive into swimming pool fees and charges debate

Councillors are debating introducing a lane hire charge at Wai o Rua. Photo / Ilona Hanne

“I am here on behalf of my swimmers.”

Aimee Woodhead was one of two members of the public to speak at last Tuesday’s policy and services meeting at which Stratford district councillors received a decision report on the proposed fees and charges schedule for 2023-24.

Aimee, who is manager of the Flyers Swim School and head coach of the Flyers Swim Squad, joined Stratford Flyers Swim Club president Daniel Hancock in requesting the right to speak at the meeting.

Deputy Mayor Min McKay, who was chairing the meeting, thanked the pair for attending, saying: “We appreciate you giving us your time today.” She reminded elected members that each speaker had a five-minute slot under the public deputation rules, after which elected members could ask any questions or seek points of clarification from the speaker.

Aimee said she was there for swimmers rather than herself as a business. She opposed planned price increases and potential new costs at the swimming pool, Wai o Rua, which she said would make swimming less affordable for people in the district.

Referring to a Stratford Press article from March this year, which mentioned councillors questioning whether they were subsidising a private business by having an external provider run swim lessons in the district pool, Aimee said there were clear differences between council-run programmes and private programmes like hers.

“Councils run learn-to-swim programmes around the country. They have a reputation of being very average in terms of level of service.”

She said council-run learning programmes cost $95 a term in Hāwera and $110 in New Plymouth. Her lessons were $132 a term, while other private providers in Taranaki charged between $150 and $180.

Elected members ran the risk of making “negative choices” as they tried to find ways to reduce a potential rates rise in the upcoming annual plan, she said.

Stratford had a “beautiful pool”, which needed to be marketed well, with good programmes and the right people in place.

Mayor Neil Volzke asked her how she would deal with a proposed $20 lane hire fee being introduced for external swim school providers.

“Would you try to absorb that, or would you pass it on to the swimmers?”

It wasn’t something she felt was OK, Aimee replied.

“One of my values in the swim school is making sure I provide affordable lessons, that’s my vision statement ... the feasibility of me running that (as an) in-house facility is not appropriate any more. Good luck.”

Daniel Hancock was also opposed to a lane hire charge being introduced.

Adding up the weekly swimmers coming through the doors for the swim school, which runs classes for all levels from infants upwards, plus the swimming club and the training squad, came to about 1000 pool entries a week, he said.

“If council takes over learn-to-swim, a swim coach will need to be hired and swimming fees will need to increase to cover costs, which is totally against what Aimee is about, which is having as many people swimming as possible.”

Daniel said if Aimee wasn’t teaching swimming, the club would lose swimmers as they generally came up through her programmes.

“If she isn’t involved, our swimming club will slowly disappear.”

If costs such as lane hire charges were to be added or increased, the cost would become prohibitive for many families, he said.

“If we get lower numbers, the need for higher entry fees will increase and it will become a self-professing [sic] prophecy.”

He understood elected members were under pressure to keep rates down.

“I, too, am a ratepayer. I have an 80-hectare dairy farm 3km from the centre of town with no utilities – no water, sewage, footpaths or rubbish collection, and I pay $12,000 in rates. A lift in rates is definitely unwanted, but to put the blame on the swimming community is, in my opinion, wrong.”

After hearing from both speakers, elected members started discussing proposed specific fees and charges. Chief executive Sven Hanne said all fees and charges listed were only proposed, and reminded them “you have the freedom to set them as you see fit”.

Councillor Annette Dudley asked about the number of swimmers per lane if a lane hire charge applied. “Am I correct it can be up to 10 people in a lane?”

Acting director community services Chade Julie said the council didn’t set a number. “It is up to the person hiring the lane.”

Councillor Grant Boyde said all sports faced increasing costs.

“I look around and I am involved in a lot of sport. All have had massive increases. I support a lane hire charge for external providers ... I heard what the speakers said, but as governors we need to make sure we are doing what’s right for the pool ... I see this as fair.”

Councillor Jono Erwood also supported introducing the lane hire charge. “There are increases everywhere.”

Any sport came with costs, he said, especially when it reached an “elite” level. “So I support the introduction of the lane hire charge.”

Councillor Annette Dudley was opposed to it, saying Stratford had many “low earners”.

“We have a lot of kids that go through that swim school, and I know parents do struggle to pay what they’re paying, but we are teaching our kids to swim.”

There were plenty of rivers and ponds in the area, she said, meaning it was important children could swim.

“Any increase in cost will be put on the parents, and kids will miss out.”

Councillor Ellen Hall said “things cost money”. “Everywhere prices are increasing, we see it across the board. Sports are no different. We have a facility we need to pay for.”

She supported the introduction of a lane hire charge.

Councillors Steve Beck and Clive Tongaawhikau also spoke in favour of the charge. Steve said ratepayers would still be subsidising the pool overall, with the lane hire charge just helping offset some of that.

“Aimee said we have one of the best facilities around. Well, we can’t have that facility without a price attached to it.”

Clive said that, as councillors, they had a responsibility to the community as a whole, and the community had an asset that needed to be looked after and paid for.

Mayor Neil Volzke said the pool was an asset that cost “a lot of money to run”. “But you have a very small proportion of the population who use it.”

He estimated about 90 per cent of the district’s population didn’t use it, and 10 per cent did. “That group who do use it, though, use it a lot.”

They had a perception it was expensive, he said, based on the amount of time they used it.

“But think of the other 90 per cent, who pay for it but don’t use it at all.”

He put himself in that category, he said, but didn’t begrudge it as he knew his grandchildren and other family members used it, and it was a community asset.

“We have a large group of people who are equally feeling the pinch, many older people with just a pension as a source of income, solo beneficiaries, people out of work, they all still pay rates, and it’s just as difficult for them as it is for the people who use the facility.”

He felt a lane hire charge was appropriate.

The costs Aimee quoted for other swim schools showed her school was charging notably less than other private providers in Taranaki, but it was more expensive than the council-run swim schools in the region.

If the council didn’t increase revenue through charges such as lane hire, “we have to fund from elsewhere, and that falls back on our ratepayers, many of whom don’t use the facility at all”.

Councillors also debated a range of other fees and charges, including other options at Wai o Rua – Stratford Aquatic Centre, such as spectator costs and caregiver charges, as well as across areas including building, dog registrations and licensing, cemeteries and health licensing.

Feedback on the proposed changes to fees will be invited in May when the draft Annual Plan 2023-24 is released for community input, ahead of final adoption in June 2023.

In an emailed statement after the meeting, Neil Volzke said councillors were working on reducing costs where possible.

“Much of the inflation pressures council faces across service delivery are out of our control and significantly above the consumer price index. This includes increases in interest payments, depreciation, labour market pressures and contracted supplier charges.

“In order to maintain the level of service we committed to in our Long-Term Plan, we need to find savings and revenue in other areas. At the beginning of our Annual Plan conversations, we started with a projected rate rise of 16.5 per cent, and we’re currently working down towards 8 or 9 per cent.

“We’re all aware that 8 or 9 per cent won’t be greeted with open arms from property owners, and we feel your pain. We need to increase our expenditure just to maintain existing levels of service. Managing this while keeping rates as low as possible is our priority.”

Disclaimer: Editor Ilona Hanne is married to the Stratford District Council CEO.