At the Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, October 31, business manager Guy Latour presented a draft of the membership and facility rental fees for the new Community Facility.
    Memberships are broken down into adult, youth, senior, and family. The family pass would include parents and two children. An extra charge would be applied if more dependants are added.
    The memberships are further broken down to one time use, 10 days, one month, three month, six month, and year long passes.
    A year long pass in 2012 would cost $338.00 for an adult, $220.00 for youth, $200.00 for senior, and $600.00 for families with $107.50 added for each extra dependant.
    Payment options would be provided to assist users who don’t want to pay the entire cost up front.
    “The good news is that our software can debit your credit card monthly for that fee,” said business manager Guy Latour. “It’s really helpful for a lot of people, especially families.”
    With an annual pass, users will get access to the fitness centre, running track, field house, programs run by the Community Facility, and the library.
    However, a Community Facility membership does not  grant access to the Aquaplex. Users wishing to work out and then swim could purchase a membership to both facilities with a 35 per cent discount. An adult multi-facility pass would cost $439.40, $286 for youth, $260 for seniors, and families would pay $780 with $139.80 for further dependents.
    “We’re excited about the new facility and we think these are fair rates and will give everybody access to the facility,” said Latour.
    The costs for each membership would increase over three years. Initially in 2012, prices will be well below the average membership fees for comparable facilities. By year three, prices will increase to be close to the average.
    In year three an annual membership would cost $434 for adults, $287.50 for youth and seniors, and $812.50 for families. Multi-facility passes would be $564.20 for adults, $373.80 for youth and seniors, and no more than $1,000 for families.
    For leagues and other functions wishing to rent the field house, the prices were drafted as well.
    Private functions (such as a trade show) would pay $1000.00 per day or $151.75 per hour. Local functions would cost $800 per day or $100 per hour. Non profit adult functions (such as a sports league) $780 per day or $75 per hour. Non profit youth groups would pay $750 per day or $60 per hour.
    Non profit organizations wishing to rent the hall would pay $1,632 for a weekend, $720 for a day, or $120 per hour.
    For a private function, such as a wedding, the cost would be $2,000 for a weekend, $900 per day, or $150 per hour.
    Additional fees would be added for use of the terrace, kitchen, and bar service.
    The Community Facility is hoping to attract a large number of weddings every year. "It’s going to be the premier location in southern Alberta for weddings,” said Latour.
    Another aim of the Community Facility is to balance the books. “The great thing is when looking at the budget is that the facility will pay for itself,” said Latour. "Especially compared to others in the region.”
    The numbers contained herein are merely the drafted figures for the Community Facility. The Drumheller town council has yet to approve them, but will be making a decision come Monday, November 7.

    Alberta Works, located in Riverside Centre, held a job fair on Wednesday, November 2, as part of the Canada Career Week.
    “We’ve been promoting Canada Career Week throughout the month,” said Kris Bojda, Program Supervisor of Drumheller-Stettler. “We called it E-job-ony, where you match people with businesses based on their skills.”
    It’s Canada Career Week’s 15 year anniversary, and the goal was to match 15 job seekers with employers by Friday, November 4. At the time of writing, Alberta Works in Drumheller had matched 10 residents.
    Several businesses participated in the job fair, including Walmart, Canalta, McDonald’s, and D.A.R.T.S.
    “We have about 100 jobs on the job board, so there’s a lot of work in this area, which sometimes people don’t realize,” said Brojda. “It’s about creating that connection between the employers and employees."
    Canada Career Week ends on November 4, but anyone is welcome to stop by during business hours for assistance, such as going back to school, career change, finding a job, and more. All services are free of charge.
    On November 15 and 16 Alberta Works will be participating in the Oil and Gas Virtual Job Fair.
    Live online streaming will connect job seekers directly to potential employers at their booths. There are also seminars, videos, job posting, and downloadable resources available to participants.
    Interested persons are encouraged to contact Alberta Works in Drumheller at the Riverside Centre. Alberta Works has computers that people are welcome to use. Registration for the Virtual Job Fair can be done through
AlbertaJobExpo.com.
    “There’s 1711 jobs available in the oil and gas industry,” said Irene Kirkpatrick, Career and Employment Consultant.
    “We’re happy to have anybody,” said Brojda. “If you really want to find a job in Drumheller, there’s no reason we can’t help you.”