Revitalize Thinking at MacEwan U.

Addition by subtraction is zero.

Addition: MacEwan University is amalgamating 3 satellite campuses down town and spending $20M on a Staff Service Centre. Lots of money.

                                                                                         

Subtraction : MacEwan University is closing the Aquatic Centre No money!

    

                                                                                  

How does closing a strategic community asset revitalize, enable, engage, and entice people to come down town? 

 Full disclosure, I'm a 15 year patron, at the Wellness Centre. I use the pool 3 times a week. Journey down town from the south side regularly.The Aquatic Centre is allegedly expensive to run and not busy enough. 

By The Numbers

The University allegedly lost $5.5 M due to government funding cuts. The University will allegedly save $500K by closing the Aquatic Centre.  

Except

MacEwan spokesman David Beharry clarified the school's position Friday, saying the $500,000 in savings won't be immediate."It will come over the long-term," he said.  The university will spend $700,000 to renovate the pool space. There will be additional costs for buying weights and cardio machines. Edmonton Journal . 

More numbers

"The institution will be able to cover the drop in funding with a $14-million reserve fund built up over the last several years", said Brent Quinton, MacEwan's vice-president university services. "Our plan is to use the $14 million over the next three years."  

Edmonton Journal

So if we apply $4.6M from the reserve to this year's operating loss, then the loss is $400K not $5.5M. All numbers supplied by Grant MacEwan University. 

Wow, there's a lot of figuring going on, at MacEwan U. Do those numbers make any sense?  Not to me. How about you? 

Lets move on. 

Exploring solutions to the cost challenges of running an aquatic centre.

Let's agree operating costs are a high. Let's cut the energy by 50% over three years. How about a solar based Down Town District, Distributed Energy plant.  Enmax built a Distributed Energy Centre, in Calgary.  

                                                                                   

Why can't  'we'  do that here?  Use solar energy with natural gas as a back up. How about capturing the energy leakage? Capital Power have you got any suggestions? Epcor, Stantec, PCL what about you?  We could always ask Enmax too.

Benefits

Tap community expertise in Renewable Energy
Commercialize  Renewable Energy  Research
Reduce Energy Footprint
Reduce Aquatic Centre Energy Costs
Demonstrate what a smart city is

Aquatic Centre as an asset.

Here's a suggestion. If students are too busy during the day to use the Aquatic Centre, open it to Wellness Entrepreneurs in the community, like Flo Stomp at FJS Rehab. 

FJS offers aquatic based physiotherapy. It's a niche rehabilitation procedure for folks who are unable to do traditional physio. The aquatic centre is an ideal site for a service like that. Even more so with new Seniors Condos coming.

Possibilities                                                                                                                                          Might the rehab specialists at the Glenrose Hospital be interested in using the aquatic centre? Could a relationship between the MacEwan Wellness Centre and the Glenrose lead to study, research, and breakthroughs in aquatic rehabilitation exercise?

Might that attract the best and brightest in that field, not just down town, but to Edmonton itself? Is that not a core value of the "Revitalize Edmonton"  movement, not to mention MacEwan University?  How about DND? Do our vets need a facility to heal and rehab. MacEwan's got one. 

Benefits  

Create strategic community relationships
Establish the MacEwan University brand in the community

                                                                                                                                           

Lots of revitalization platitudes on You Tube from the Arena District promoters, recently 

Let's put some ' do'  in revitalize. Build a new box. Jettison the empty one!

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