Exhibition Company Planning Normal Capital Budget

The COVID - 19 pandemic may have affected the capital budgets of many organizations but the same cannot be said about the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company.

“We are probably on par with other years,” George Fowler general manager with the Moose Jaw Exhibition told MJ Independent.

In 2022 the Exhibition is projecting spending of $350,000 in their capital budget.

This compares to a capital budget of $300,000 in 2020 and a 50 percent increase to $450,000 in 2021.

“We spent a little bit more in 2021 because we did huge asphalt repairs,” Fowler said.

The $450,000 spent in 2021 included $360,000 in asphalt repairs.

The Exhibition Company repairs its large parking lots by digging out soft clay soil until a firm base is found. The soil, which can be several feet deep, is then replaced and packed to form a solid base.

“We stay on top of it. If we let it go it becomes more expensive to fix and we don't want to do that,” he said.

Funding for the capital budget comes from events, rentals and funding from the Province to compensate the Exhibition for given up its casino franchise.

“We have had enough activity in the last year that we are able to do the repairs.”

The Exhibition Company leases the property they are located on from the City and although technically the City owns the facilities in their entirety they do not provide any funding for capital improvements.

The City does provide a small grant to help operate the Burrowing Owl Centre.

The capital repairs are not being made to target one certain area or activity as all projects benefit all of the Exhibition's various activities.

Not holding the Moose Jaw Hometown Fair the past two years due to the COVID - 19 pandemic had no effect on the capital budget and capital repairs are not being targeted towards the Fair which is still a go in 2022.

“They (asphalt repairs) would be more out of need than any particular event, they benefit every event,” Fowler said.

“We have done a good job keeping up with capital projects,” he said.

In 2022 the Exhibition's proposed $350,000 capital budget includes $150,000 for asphalt repairs with an additional $25,000 dedicated to an area west of the maintenance shop.

“We do as much capital repairs each year as we can,” Fowler said.

At their November monthly meeting the Exhibition Company's board will discuss their $1.2 - $1.3 million operating budget.