Lumsden and Area Aquatic Facility Proposal

Operational Costs
The LAFAC surveyed many communities to get their annual operating costs and revenue. Due to COVID,
using the most recent years’ numbers were not relevant, so we used 2019 costs and revenue amounts.
The largest annual expense was staffing, which was about 60 percent of the annual costs. The pool's
size, design and features also affect the number of staff needed to run it.
For the outdoor pools, we used two new pools that opened in the last five years as comparable. An
older pool's operating costs are lower; however, they lack the attractive and safe modern pool features.
The average population of the communities with outdoor pools is 1,617, which also makes them
comparable to the present population of the Town of Lumsden.
For indoor pools, we compared three from smaller communities, not cities. The pools generally had a
waterslide, toddler area and lap pool that many people could use. The average population of the
communities with indoor pools is 4,768, which is a good comparison for the future Town of Lumsden
[see the Population and Demographic Analysis section].
Annual Operating Revenues and Costs*
Outdoor
Indoor
Revenue $62,000 $209,000
Costs $156,000 $576,000
Net ($94,000) ($367,000)
*Based on 2019 numbers for towns of similar size. 2020 numbers were not used because COVID-19
affected revenues. The revenue does not include fundraising, grants or municipal contributions.
A main concern is how the Town of Lumsden will pay for a pool. Using the annual costs above, we
calculated the annual property tax impact on the town's property tax classes. We included two
scenarios: one to show the impacts if the town paid for the pool alone and another if it shared the costs
50/50 with another municipality (e.g. the R.M. of Lumsden).
The table below shows how much extra tax the town requires without affecting other services. The
dollar increase shows the amount for each property for the municipal portion of their taxes. The
percentage increase shows their total tax bill, including school taxes. This number will resonate with
residents, even though only their municipal portion would increase.
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