Showering after football training or swimming in a heated pool should simply be possible in the municipality of Coevorden. The municipality supports (sports) associations, swimming pools and village houses that are struggling due to rising energy costs. The municipality is also making two million euros available for a longer-term solution: sustainability.
The proposals for a ‘‘Emergency Fund Sport and Social Facilities’ of BBC2014 and making the aforementioned PvdA institutions more sustainable were adopted this evening during the city council meeting.
Last Tuesday, during the first part of the meeting, the Outdoor Sports working group already announced that many clubs are already barely able to keep their heads above water. “Energy bills of clubs have in some cases gone from 1800 euros to 3800 euros per month. That is doable for one month, but not for the rest of the year. Those costs are unaffordable for sports associations,” said speaker Anton Nevels. .
The emergency fund must ensure that substantial contribution increases are not necessary. The fees must be paid from the jar with unused corona funds. There is still about 350,000 to 400,000 euros in it. The rest must come from the general reserves of the municipality. It is necessary to find out what amounts are involved.
Michel Blanken of the PvdA wonders whether every club can immediately count on compensation for the extra costs, or whether it is checked per association whether they are eligible for the compensation. VVD member Bert Albring notes that 2.4 million euros has already been paid out in recent years for making sports clubs more sustainable, such as installing LED lighting. The submitter of the proposal, Erik Holties (BBC2014), argues for customization.
Alderman Joop Slomp (PvdA) calls the motion a sharp assignment: “We want to be a safety net for associations that get into trouble, but I don’t think there is an acute emergency yet. We are in consultation with associations a lot and I don’t get any results from this. the impression that the situation is on fire.”
The alderman expects clubs to make an effort themselves. “If we are talking about an emergency fund, where we help clubs that are in danger of falling, then we are there,” Slomp thinks. Holties (BBC2014) states that the intention is to compensate those clubs that have a variable energy contract or a renewed energy contract.
Nevertheless, the motion is tabled and passed. With retroactive effect, clubs must be compensated for their extra (variable) energy costs as of November 1. This arrangement should last at least six months, until April next year. After that, the municipality, together with associations, will look at a possible follow-up to the scheme.
The municipality of Coevorden must therefore investigate with sports clubs and social associations before the summer of next year how they can be structurally sustainable. This takes into account the previous subsidy of 2.4 million euros that was used to make sports clubs more sustainable.
Alderman Slomp also calls this task enormous. Two million from the general reserves will be used for this sustainability.