The non-profits running the Fort St John Curling Club and North Peace Cultural Centre will continue to operate without paying property taxes after city council voted in their favour.
Fort St John city council passed bylaws allowing the local curling club and cultural centre to carry on with renewed permissive property tax exemptions. These reliefs will remain in place until their respective leases expire.
The Fort St John Curling Club is operated by the city’s curling club society. Their lease of the city-owned property, for which they are the namesake, will expire in the fall of 2027.
Permissive exemptions were also allowed for the North Peace Cultural Society, who operate the North Peace Cultural Centre on 100 Avenue. Their lease has the option to be extended for two years after its initial end date, and will likely go continue until 2028.
City staff justified the exemptions in a report ahead of one of council’s meetings on this topic.
In it they said, “the North Peace Cultural Centre and the Fort St John Curling Club are both city owned facilities, leased and operated by non-profit groups under agreements.”
Renewing the exemptions prevents smaller community groups from paying large costs – according to staff, the curling club said if the exemptions were not granted, they would experience financial difficulties.
“If an exemption is not provided for the Fort St John Curling Club, there would be a significant impact to the club’s budget and finances to pay property taxes as a non-exempt occupier,” city staff said. If the cultural centre did not receive the council’s exemption, the city would have either had to cover the bill or charge additional service fees at the facility.
Losing the property taxes for such large facilities was not a concern for city staff, as they have not previously taxed these properties, and do not plan the budget with these funds in mind.
