Patrons of ARC (the Abbotsford Recreation Centre) have had to sacrifice and adjust their exercise schedules to accommodate the Abbotsford Whalers; displaced from Centennial Pool its its failure to open at the beginning of May due to the lack common sense at City Hall. Beginning in June patrons have also had to run the gauntlet thrown up by the start of construction for ARC’s new, superfluous basketball courts.

On July first, in a show of total distain and disregard for patrons, the mere hour granted to patrons was reduced by half. With the need to leave the pool before 10PM if you want to shower and the delay in getting the Whalers from the pool and the patrons into the pool you have enough time to warm up and cool down – leaving no time to actually exercise.

To add insult to the injury they have dealt to patrons exercise programs: on July 1, 2007 the cost to use ARC went up – two months ahead of the normal September 1st date. On the day they all but eliminate the opportunity for those who must exercise in the evenings to swim they increased the fees.

My first thought was: “Only in the oxygen starved atmosphere of Abbotsford City Hall, with its total disconnection from what goes on in the real world, would reducing services and raising fees on the same day be considered an acceptable way to conduct the City’s business”.

I should not have been surprised as this year citizens have been handed enormous tax hikes while department budgets and services are cut back. Now they hike fees and cut access for ARC. Are they adopting a new city motto: “Abbotsford BC, where we tax you for deluxe services but deliver mediocre services”?

My second thought was to wonder how many other fees and charges will go up as services decrease, will go up earlier than usual and just how many inventive new fees and charges citizens will be taxed with. After all, they just announced the need for an extra million $$$ for Plan A’s steadily increasing cost.

I always thought that the purpose of the recreation department was to encourage, not discourage, people to exercise. Apparently I was mistaken about this with respect to the Abbotsford recreation department.

I am speaking of the new schedule for ARC that begins July 1st and runs until Centennial Pool opens or the Whalers competition season ends – whichever comes first. In keeping with the operating behaviour of the City of Abbotsford the decision about this schedule was made behind closed doors and without consultation with or consideration of patrons.

I accept that some inconvenience must result from the need to accommodate the Whalers due to the failure of Centennial Pool to be opened in time for the Whalers to begin training for competition. I made the necessary, though personally inconvenient, changes to my exercise (swimming) schedule to get my needed exercise in around the Whalers schedule.

This was possible because for May and June the Whalers finished by 9PM leaving the 1 hour adult swim available to those displaced swimmers and water-cisesrs. However in the proposed new (indefinite) schedule this time has been reduce to a ½ hour – inadequate time for a proper exercise regimen.

I think it only reasonable that the proposed schedule be amended to ensure at least one hour as the minimum time for an exercise workout. If it is not possible to reschedule the Whalers so that they continue to finish by 9PM, then the pool should be kept open until 10:30PM until the Whalers are able to move to Centennial Pool.

Should it be suggested that this extra expense is to onerous I suggest that the money should come from the salaries of those in City management who, lacking the common sense to hire someone who had experience in pool construction, are responsible for the need to accommodate the Whalers.

Not only would this be an equitable sharing of the pain the Whalers and patrons of ARC have had to endure for no justifiable reason, but it would hopefully serve to encourage common sense and good business practices as future behaviour from senior management.