OSOYOOS TIMES-November 18, 2009

By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times

The Town of Osoyoos and the company working to bring junior hockey back to this community have signed off on a finalized lease agreement for use of the Sun Bowl Arena.
Osoyoos town council had given approval to a draft agreement with Osoyoos Junior Hockey Inc. at its Nov. 2 meeting after amending the contract.
Council modified the agreement so the team the company is setting up in town will have to pay $400 per game played at the arena which includes 7.5 hours of practice time per week.
If the team wants more, it will have to pay more in accordance with the Town’s standard fees and charges bylaw.
Council had also re-worded some terms in the contract that would have allowed the Town to cancel the agreement if necessary, including an amendment that would have given the team two opportunities to remedy any issues that came up from a breach of the contract’s terms.
Through this amendment, the agreement would have been cancelled without recourse upon a third offence.
But council and the company came together to negotiate a finalized contract with more agreeable terms for both parties.
At its Nov. 16 meeting, council rescinded the clause concerning terminating the agreement if the company failed three times to comply with the terms of the contract.
In its place, council agreed to a clause which states that “the agreement may be terminated at any time by the mutual consent of both parties. Both parties agree that termination of the agreement will not be withheld in a wilful or unreasonable manner.”
Council then unanimously agreed to finalize the contract.
Osoyoos Junior Hockey Inc. is made up of John Kapusty of Kaleden, Roy Schultz of Penticton and Randy Bedard, who is now living in Osoyoos full time.
Earlier this year, the company’s application to set up a Junior B team in Osoyoos for the 2010-2011 season was approved by the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL).
The team will be called the Osoyoos Coyotes.
Kapusty said finalizing the lease agreement will allow the company to swing into full gear in developing marketing, outlining jobs and duties necessary to run the team and securing agreements for equipment and jerseys.
The company, he added, is also beginning to look at possible recruits for the team.

TEAM’S PROPONENTS SAY THEY UNDERSTAND COUNCIL’S INITIAL CAUTION

Kapusty said his company understands why council had initially taken a cautious approach towards working out the details of a contract for the use of the arena.
“We realize that council and the Town have had some bad experiences over the last eight, nine years. But that’s not us,” Kapusty said.
Although he was surprised council was initially “looking for additional safeguards beyond the safeguards that were already built in or that were agreed to earlier,” Kapusty said he can’t blame the Town for trying to protect itself in light of recent bad experiences with other hockey organizations.
“We can’t take that personally,” he said. “We have to take a look at what council’s doing and say they’ve got reason for it.
“There’s ample protection in the agreement already.”
The Town’s last dealings with a hockey league— the World Hockey Association (WHA) — turned sour after problems arose with the league’s management over finances and scheduling.
Osoyoos hosted a WHA team in the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 hockey seasons, but the previous council voted down a proposal from the association in September, 2008, to have the league return to Osoyoos for the 2008-2009 season.
Kapusty said it was just such an experience that made the Town step lightly when it came to opening up a new relationship with another junior hockey organization.
“Based on their past experiences, can you blame them?”
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