Paradise council asking union to help salvage seniors’ New Year’s Eve party

The Town of Paradise recently discovered itself in an awkward position with a local seniors’ club and is appealing to its unionized staff to help it get out of the jam.

Recreation Committee chairman Paul Dinn explained Tuesday the seniors’ group had booked the Recreation Centre for a New Year’s Eve dinner and dance, but those plans became jeopardized by the new collective agreement with the union which calls for the centre being closed by midnight on New Year’s Eve so that staff can have New Year’s Day off.

“We have a group that has gone and arranged to have music and catering set up for this (event),” Dinn said. “So, we looked at it from a recreation committee point of view and we’re trying to work out something that will assist them in having their event continue on. We would need staff in the building to do this. We need two people on an early shift and two people on the late shift. So we’ve reached out to staff to try to come up with people who would come in and maintain the area while they have their dinner and dance.”

Dinn said the staff will have to be paid overtime, which will cost just under $1,100, and the facility will have to be cleaned up afterwards. The rental fee that the Town will collect for the use of the building is $625, HST included.

“It comes down to liability,” said Mayor Dan Bobbett. “We must have Town staff in the building at all times during any event.”