The Athabasca Regional Multiplex Society (ARMS) is planning to use a first-come, first-served basis for scheduling at the Multiplex.
During their Dec. 18 meeting, the society’s board voted to have administration rewrite the policy on bumping – moving booked events in favour of others – and defer further decisions to the next meeting.
After board discussions, the plan that emerged is to rewrite the policy so it reflects a first-come, first-served basis for bookings. Responsibility would also fall to the general manager to work with groups on event rescheduling if needed, according to Multiplex general manager Dustin Pysyk.
“It makes my life very, very easy,” Pysyk said.
The Multiplex’s current bumping policy, which applies to all facilities under the ARMS umbrella, allows for bumping of user groups three times in a calendar year.
The board discussed the fact that of the eight outside communities whose administration was surveyed, none of them had a specific bumping policy outlining what events get priority use for recreational facilities.
“None of them had such a policy,” said Athabasca County manager Ryan Maier during the meeting. “I don’t know if we need to create such a policy.”
Over the past several weeks, Multiplex administration researched options for a bumping policy to get direction on how groups and events should be prioritized. Pysyk said the policy is pre-emptive as the Multiplex field house gets more bookings. He noted that birthday party bookings spiked from 21 in 2016 to 41 in 2017 due to new facility equipment.
Pysyk appeared before Athabasca County council Nov. 14 and Town of Athabasca council Nov. 20 to solicit feedback on the policy. County council voted 5-4 against recommending the Multiplex delete the bumping policy, while town council members made several recommendations before voting to accept the discussion for information.
Pysyk had drafted a bumping policy detailing how one-off events could bump regular users. But the society discussed how a first-come, first-serve system could work instead.
ARMS director and Town of Athabasca Coun. David Pacholok said the Multiplex manager could work to find compromises as required between groups.
“If you were going to get a call from the Multiplex and you say, ‘Hey, we’re in a jam, would you be able to move your event?’ Most of them (users) are accommodating,” Pacholok said. “People don’t normally take that strong a line.”
The committee also discussed whether or not funerals should be considered emergency usage, which gets additional priority in scheduling. ARMS director and Athabasca County Coun. Warren Griffin said he did not think funerals fit under that.
“You don’t have to have a funeral within 72 hours of someone passing. You can delay it, you can work around the schedule to where you can find the time,” Griffin said.
ARMS chair and Town of Athabasca Coun. Michael Arychuk agreed.
“To me, an emergency event is like Slake Lake,” Arychuk said. “Where people have to get out and you have to set up emergency tents.”
Pysyk said the updated policy would come before the committee for approval at a future meeting.
