The Chestermere Whitecappers and the Chestermere Regional Community Association (CRCA) are close to finalizing a new lease agreement after negotiating for over a year.
To provide the Chestermere Whitecappers with a new lease agreement, the CRCA was legally required to terminate the previous lease and serve the seniors organization an eviction notice.
“We have gone back and forth with multiple people to try to resolve it, and we think we have come to a resolution,” President of the CRCA Board of Directors Paul Godley said.
“The CRCA has committed to providing a new lease, that we perceive will resolve the contentious issues,” he said.
The previous lease was terminated because neither organization could agree with several sections of the contract, including the calculation of the rent rate.
“We are fully committed to providing a new lease, which explicitly explains how to calculate their rent rate in a much more appropriate manner,” Godley said.
Tied to the legal requirements of the lease, the CRCA had to provide the Whitecappers with an eviction notice to provide the board of directors a timeline for when the new lease will be signed., Godley added.
“We’re following the existing lease and closing it properly so that we can execute a new lease with them.
“The expectation from the CRCA is that the Whitecappers aren’t going anywhere,” Godley said.
Throughout the past year, there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the new lease agreement.
“The CRCA values the Whitecappers as participants in the Rec Centre,” Godley said.
Although the CRCA doesn’t have a desire for the Whitecappers to leave the facility, the Board of Directors are frustrated with the time attempting to reach and agreement on a new lease has taken, and the perception that they are not flexible and accommodating.
He added that this is an example of the ongoing ownership challenges the Rec Centre faces.
“This is a ternate and a landlord issue that is now being played out in the public domain, which to me is quite inappropriate. We would much prefer to keep these conversations in house,” he said.
The Chestermere Whitecappers however are hesitant to sign the new lease agreement without the legal consultation of a lawyer.
“When the old lease was signed there was no lawyer consulted, and we want to make sure this time around that what we’re signing is OK,” Vice President of the Chestermere Whitecappers Michael Ball said.
“The unsigned lease contains a clause which states the CRCA can terminate the lease at any time without reason. We don’t think that’s very good,” Ball said.
The Whitecappers have been told the noise they experience from the gym above is to be expected.
It’s difficult for us to attract new members with those conditions, Ball added.
“Our position on it is that’s not normal. Noise can be tolerated from time to time”
The Chestermere Whitecappers want the CRCA to recognize that currently, it’s challenging to live with the noise from the above gym.
Ball added the club wants the CRCA and the gym to take steps in the near future to correct it.
“We’re not saying they have to leave. We want it identified, and we would like a timeline for when that can be addressed. I don’t think that’s too unreasonable,” Ball said.
The Chestermere Whitecappers are now battling against the deadline of May 26 to sign the new lease agreement.
“They will lock us out if we don’t sign a new lease,” Ball said.
This situation affects not only the Whitecappers members, but also any seniors in the community who wanted to attend the Seniors Week events at the beginning of June, he added.
“If we were to be locked out, that would be a major hardship for anybody in Chestermere who wanted to attend. It’s not just affecting the Whitecappers,” Ball said.
