The head of a Winnipeg organization that helps seniors stay active and social says they are struggling with rising fees at the community centre they have rented for a decade.

Don Bodnarchuk, president of the nonprofit Archwood 55 Plus, said the organization’s cost to rent space has increased from $5 to $50 a day in the past year.

For the past decade, the group paid $100 a month to work four and a half days a week at the Archwood Community Centre between September and June – that was $5 a day.

Starting in January, the center increased the fee to $12.50 per day and doubled it to $25 in May.

“Then, on the second to last day of June … we were informed that our rent would increase to $50 a day starting September 1,” Bodnarchuk told CBC News.

“Admittedly, the fee of five dollars a day was far too low, but that’s a tenfold increase from one September to the next,” he said.

Archwood 55 Plus was also informed that it would no longer be able to use the facility on Friday morning, Bodnarchuk said.

He says his organization has considered looking for new facilities to conduct its programs, but the community club has a number of amenities that are difficult to find in one location, such as a gymnasium, multi-purpose room, billiards room, kitchens, office space and storage.

“I’m not sure it would be productive to go to another community center,” he said. “We’ve looked at the possibilities there, but if we did that, we would have to rebuild some of our programs.”

“No longer acceptable”

A spokesperson for the Archwood Community Centre confirmed to CBC that rent for the seniors group will be increased to $50 per day.

The board reviewed rental rates at other community centers in the area and found that market rates for gymnasiums are approximately $50 to $60 per hour and for multipurpose rooms between $40 and $60.

“Fifty dollars per day is still below market value and equates to $8.33 per hour for a six-hour day (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) for use of the entire building,” the community centre spokesperson wrote in a statement emailed to CBC News.

While the centre receives money from the City of Winnipeg for general maintenance and utilities, its main source of income is rental fees, the spokesman said.

“The reality is that costs have increased since the pandemic,” the statement said. “Rent for our other stakeholders has increased, but the fee for the seniors is well below market value and is no longer sustainable.”

A city spokesman declined to comment on the dispute because the facility is operated independently.

However, they said all City of Winnipeg community centres received an inflation-related increase in their grants this year from the general funding formula, which is designed to cover utilities, repairs and maintenance and other operating costs.

Bodnarchuk is aware that the community center is in a bind, but expresses doubts about the claim that costs are rising.

“You said your costs have increased. Well, you would be hard-pressed to convince me that your costs have doubled since May.”

Meanwhile, the membership of his organization is growing. There are currently just over 300 members – more than twice as many as a few years ago. And almost 90 percent of these people take part in at least one activity per year, says Bodnarchuk.

“We’re trying to provide an alternative in the community that allows them to have social interaction and interaction with prescription medications – essentially exercise programs, cognitive challenges – all the things that keep older people healthy in the long run, rather than hanging around in a pharmacy,” he said.

Archwood 55 Plus is currently reviewing its options for the future, including meeting with the area’s city council, Bodnarchuk said.

They also looked at provincial and federal grants, but concluded that these are more geared towards introducing new programs than maintaining existing ones.

The group is also considering doubling membership fees, but Bodnarchuk said about 14 percent of members have indicated they would not return if that were the case.

He hopes for the help of a corporate sponsor who can save the situation.

“We can use all the help we can get right now.”