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Bonnyville bingo approaches MD in search of help

The Bonnyville Bingo Association is desperate for any help they can get. That was the message Susan Turner, bookkeeper for the organization, told the MD of Bonnyville council during their meeting on Wednesday, April 17.
WEB BINGO
Susan Turner, bookkeeper for the Bonnyville Bingo Association, expresses the importance of the group to local clubs.

The Bonnyville Bingo Association is desperate for any help they can get.

That was the message Susan Turner, bookkeeper for the organization, told the MD of Bonnyville council during their meeting on Wednesday, April 17.

“What we’re here to represent are the actual clubs that profit from the bingo. A lot of people aren’t aware that the Bonnyville Bingo Association is a non-profit organization. We don’t make money off of this. Every single penny that comes in from bingo being played, when we get our expenses paid out, everything that’s left goes directly to those charity clubs,” she expressed.

The association is being asked to relocate out of their current home at the Bonnyville Agriplex, which is located at the Centennial Centre.

This relocation comes at a cost.

“What we’re being forced with right now is a move. We have to move out of the Agriplex. We’ve secured a new building, however, that doesn’t come cheap,” stressed Turner, adding they have found a home in a building behind Tercier Motors.

They're predicting $140,000 in moving expenses and renovations, with the biggest bill coming from plumbing. 

"For a certain amount of people in that size of a building, you need washrooms, so we need four washroom stalls for the ladies and two for men, with everything else being constructed,” detailed Turner.

In order to cover the cost, the bingo association is taking out a loan from the bank, which the Town of Bonnyville has agreed to be a guarantor for.

“They’ve had their first reading and it passed unanimously, but they still have their second and third reading to go,” Turner noted.

Although they hope the town will be able to lend them a hand, the association has also turned to the members of their board, who are also users of the bingo.

According to Turner, they've agreed to increase their fees to $135 per night in order to accommodate the cost of the loan.

“We increase their fees to $135 per night that we take away from those clubs’ profits, with approximately 20 bingos per month… that will secure $2,700 per month in loan payments on that $140,000,” detailed Turner.

The group has applied for other grant funding, and are asking the MD to contribute whatever they can.

Turner said the money from the municipality would help offset some of the cost of the loan, which is an expense they will have for the next five years.

However, Turner explained how the money isn't just helping the bingo association, but all of the community groups they represent.

"We’re asking for help for these 13 clubs. It’s not for the bingo association, it’s for those 13 clubs in the community. “

She continued, “We’re applying for a grant for anything that can help. We’ve got our hands in a lot of different places... Anything that can help us reduce that monthly payment, because that’s over five years... Taking that money from the clubs for over five years, if we can get that loan paid down sooner and faster, the more money we can give back to those community clubs."

Not only do the seniors utilize bingo for entertainment, Turner said, but the clubs rely on the money they make through bingo to keep their costs down.

Coun. Marc Jubinville said, “I’ve had a couple of clubs approach me with concerns of it closing down, and that they would lose that revenue."

“What they do with their funds is helping their membership as well, whether it be football so their membership costs are lower for the parents putting their kids into some of these sports, churches as well… the Lakeland Lions Club, their money goes back into Santa’s Elves and the food bank,” Turner expressed. “Everything that these clubs make as a profit from bingo goes back into the community to help the members of the community."

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