Sault Blog

If you look hard enough, you are bound to find that old tennis racket hanging in the garage, on a shelf in the shed, or buried under the Christmas ornaments in a storage locker. The 1970s and 80s were the golden age of tennis, which brought the sport to the ABC and NBC television networks; showcased the grace, skill, and beauty of women’s tennis and the speed, power, and bad behaviour of men’s tennis, all of which was enough motivation for the boomer generation to adopt it as a favourite recreational pastime.

Fortunately, the Sault built many tennis facilities for leisurely recreation and sport. Upon my recent inspection of many of these facilities, I was pleasantly surprised to find that many are still in good condition, while others, such as the Snowden Park tennis courts, require patching and resurfacing as requested by the local Pickleball enthusiasts.

This doesn’t seem like a big request; however, what I found interesting about the City Council Meeting, held on Monday, September 22, 2025, consistently returned to the topic of the affordability of our City’s recreational facilities.

Councillor Kinash brought forward a resolution that the City of Sault Ste. Marie should charge a surcharge for any non-residents who use a recreational facility in our City. A City staff member present reiterated the point that the user charges for the recreational facilities do not cover the full cost of the facilities and that the taxpayer levy bears shortfalls. Of course, Councillor Kinash was roasted online; however, we should understand that this is not a new concept. If you attend municipal golf courses in Michigan or Wisconsin, you will be asked to produce a driver’s license to prove that you are, in fact, a resident of that municipality that owns the golf course. If you are not a resident, you will be charged a surcharge to golf there. The attractive golf course fees are for municipal residents who pay municipal taxes; out-of-towners will be charged more. In the United States, the reality is that the municipal taxpayer does not want to subsidize everyone else. In the Sault, we have to understand that we have three (3) massive sports complexes that run in the red every year now.

The City Council then proceeded to discuss a Sault taxpayer favourite the Downtown Plaza. Councillor Caputo indicated that funds would be required to “activate” the Downtown Plaza, and the funds should come from the Municipal Accommodation Tax. When numerous Councillors asked, “How much money will be required?”. There was dead silence in the council chambers from the most ardent supporters of the Plaza, our Senior City Administration Staff. It is incredible to me that Senior City Administration Staff who wanted this Downtown Plaza so badly did not understand that a significant budget would be required to “activate” this venue. Activation money is required to fund various festivals, musical performances, bands, concerts, children’s activities, and other events. It is now very clear that we will have to pay a considerable amount of money to activate the Downtown Plaza, so a person like Mr. Peter Santennello doesn’t question, “Why is this Downtown Plaza empty in the middle of July on a Saturday night at 6 pm?” It has become apparently clear that the true costs of operating this Downtown Plaza was never fully understood by Senior City Administration Management.

At the Council Meeting, a City Staff member indicated that the Downtown Plaza maintenance budget is approximately $150K, which seems relatively low considering the Plaza will require daily maintenance, specialty equipment such as the Zamboni operation, constant cleaning, snow plowing and removal, security, among other expenses.

With the absorption of the Downtown Association Staff into the City coffers and the loss of the ability to charge a Downtown Business Tax, we, the taxpayers of Sault Ste. Marie are realizing another $200K in staffing and administrative expenses; easily.

From my research; the industry norm for operating and maintaining a Plaza like this falls under the 5% rule. The ongoing costs usually translate into 5% of the built cost. The Plaza cost $13 million to build; the industry average to maintain and operate is 5%, or $ 650,000, which is precisely the projected cost to maintain, administer, and activate the Downtown Plaza. At least now, finally, the taxpayer and Senior City Administration understand what the real costs of the Downtown Plaza will be every year.

Times have changed from the glory days of tennis. There were no massive sports complexes to pay for, no massive Hub Trail system to build and maintain, no Downtown Plaza money pit, and the litany of other cultural and recreational financial requests presented to City Council meeting after meeting.

As Boomers, myself included, we have enjoyed the very best of Sault Ste. Marie, affordable housing, a low cost of living, and, in the past, affordable municipal taxes. That doesn’t exist any longer. After this Council meeting, the taxpayer has come to realize that the cost of maintaining all these recreational facilities is very expensive, and part of the reason we have the highest municipal tax levy in Ontario.

With nearly 1,000 Pickleball members, please consider passing the hat around and being the very first recreational group to cover its own expenses, rather than relying on the besieged Sault municipal taxpayer to pay for everything; because times have really changed.

Mark Menean, http://www.saultblog.com
Thank you, Sault Ste. Marie, City Council Meeting September 22, 2025.