The future of the Michipicoten Memorial Community Centre's canteen is up in the air.
During their Committee of the Whole meeting last night, Wawa Municipal Council received a staff report outlining the last decade of canteen operations, including that the canteen was closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains closed with efforts to compensate with additional snack offerings at the bar or by opening the kitchen for certain large events.
Noting the canteen's long operated at a loss, the report outlines a few options: fully shuttering it; continuing with the current compensation efforts; putting out a request for proposals for an outside operator; or returning to the municipality operating it - the report recommends seeking an outside operator.
The prospect drew spirited debate, with Councillor Mitch Hatfield asking how much the canteen's costing - as its costs aren't separated from the rest of the MMCC, it's not quite clear, though it was estimated to be $20- to $25-thousand, which Mayor Melanie Pilon hit upon being equivalent to taxes collected from about eight houses, while CAO Maury O'Neill stated the community's subsidizing the MMCC substantially more than other communities do, with user fees only covering about ten percent of the costs for the facility.
Councillor Hatfield emphasized she disagreed with the staff recommendation - saying she'd received several calls wanting the canteen open - while Mayor Pilon spoke in favour of the "creative options" that have been offered so far - claiming if there was a large demand for the canteen, then it'd be making money - while Councillor Cathy Cannon said she was in favour of a canteen but acknowledged the Municipality may need to make cuts in some places, so she favoured the outside operator and suggested reconsidering the canteen if no-one came forward, though Councillor Jim Hoffmann - who said he was in favour of a canteen - said he'd spoken with someone with experience who was willing to run it - Councillor Hatfield asked if the Municipality would help with some of the costs, with O'Neill suggesting that could be discussed, depending on the RFP - Councillor Joseph Opato emphasized he wanted a canteen, whether it was run by the Municipality or someone else.
Concluding discussion, Mayor Pilon reminded Council that the Municipality has a vision of a sustainable community, warning "decisions like this" won't help with that, though Councillor Cannon disagreed, saying they're looking toward the future.
In the end, O'Neill noted staff could put out the RFP and report back to Council on the response in their next meeting - scheduled for January 10th - letting Council decide plans for the canteen at that time.
