ST. PAUL - After fielding a number of concerns from residents on Monday and meeting with community user groups, Town of St. Paul CAO Steven Jeffery says the municipality has decided to continue to operate its arenas and the swimming pool as non-REP facilities - for now.
Jeffery said that discussions have taken place about the Restrictions Exemption Program (REP) possibly being introduced full-time at its arenas and other town-operated facilities. A meeting with user groups - such as St. Paul Minor Hockey and the St. Paul Figure Skating Club - resulted in the municipality choosing to continue to operate as-is, with an emphasis on ensuring those who are using the facilities are abiding by all public health measures in place.
In an effort to clear up some misinformation that has been spread, Jeffery explained that the swimming pool will continue to operate at one-third capacity for most of its programming, such as public swimming, family swimming, and swimming lessons.
But, there will be opportunities offered under the REP program, which means adult aquasize classes could be offered to seniors who are vaccinated, for example. Or, private rentals could be offered once again, as long as those attending abide by REP.
"We're trying to offer more," says Jeffery, noting that some people have expressed concern about the REP-specific opportunities. When looking at the rules overall, Jeffery says it makes sense to stick with the one-third capacity rule at the swimming pool, which ultimately gives everyone the opportunity to take part in public swimming and swimming lessons.
Arenas
Discussions specifically around the town's arenas also took place earlier this week. After the meeting with user groups, the Town agreed to keep the arenas as non-REP facilities for youth sports, which has been the case since REP was introduced by the province. Adult groups that use the arenas - such as the St. Paul Junior Canadiens - are required to follow REP.
Speaking to when the facilities are being used by youth groups, Jeffery says "they need to follow the current public health orders" to their full intent. That means masking must be in place, distancing between households must be done, and there is to be no consumption of food.
Jeffery confirmed that recent discussions did arise from a series of concerns that had been expressed to the Town.
"If we don't follow the rules, there's fallout from that," he says.
If user groups and attendees do not follow public health measures, the Town could face a possible fine of $100,000. In the end, the Town simply does not want to prohibit youth from playing sports, and to ensure they can continue to operate facilities, public health orders must be followed.
User groups will be letting members know that this is "a last opportunity" to follow the guidelines.
Speaking to the recent discussions that have taken place, Jeffery says the municipality is trying to be proactive, and is also paying attention to what is happening in other provinces.
When asked for clarification on consumption of food during REP and non-REP events, Jeffery explains that no food can be consumed during non-REP times. This means the concessions may be open and will provide food in to-go containers, but people are asked to leave the building to eat it.
As for REP events, such as Junior B games, spectators can eat food in designated areas, such as in the stands. Once they take a seat, they can remove their mask and enjoy their food.
While there may have been a possibility of creating a REP area during non-REP times to allow people to eat inside the building, Jeffery says the Town did not want to create move division within the buildings.
