In the small Village of Delta, Ont. the Old Town Hall and the Old Stone Mill, which is a National Historic Site, are part of the fabric of the community.
“These two buildings are our landmark buildings, they’re destinations for our tourists,” said Liz Priebe, events coordinator with the Delta Mill Society.
The historic buildings cost money to upkeep, so to help raise funds the volunteer-run Delta Mill Society hosts about a dozen events per year in the Old Town Hall where food and drinks are served.
But last year, Ontario’s fee for a special occasion permit (SOP), which allows them to sell alcohol at their events, increased from $75 dollars for a 3-day event, to $150 per day.
Priebe says the change has signficantly burdened their fundraising efforts.
“It’s been a struggle,” Priebe said. “We have come close to breaking even, maybe made a couple of bucks over.”
For the most part the profits have been abysmal. Priebe says they even took a loss at their most recent event.
The changes came in April of 2018, when the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) changed the fees for the first time in 15 years.
The $150-a-day fee is the same for every event, which means concerts held at the Delta Mill will be subject to the same fees as Ontario’s larger music festivals — something Priebe doesn’t think is exactly fair for smaller events.
When asked if the AGCO considered offering lower fees for smaller operations, the commission said that’s not currently an option.
“Only a registered charity can recover the cost through the sale of alcohol and also raise money,” said Raymond Kahnert, senior advisor of communications with AGCO.
Priebe added that Leeds-Grenville MPP Steve Clark will be attending an event at the Old Town Hall later this week where she hopes to bring up the issue once again.
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