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Physio mess at arena cleaned up A "mistake" by a municipal staff member allowed two physiotherapists to operate at Meadow Park Rec Centre for more than a month, but the problem has been rectified says Mayor Ted Nebbeling.

Physio mess at arena cleaned up A "mistake" by a municipal staff member allowed two physiotherapists to operate at Meadow Park Rec Centre for more than a month, but the problem has been rectified says Mayor Ted Nebbeling. Physiotherapists all over the valley were up in arms over what they deemed unfair competition as the municipality rented out community space at Meadow Park for a private physiotherapy practice. Nebbeling says renting out the space without a tender process was wrong. "That is community space in the rec centre and it will be community space once the one month contract runs out," Nebbeling says. "Rather than enter into a legal battle we honoured that contract for one month." The contract ends Dec. 15 and the space will revert back to its original use for "birthday parties and meetings," says Nebbeling. "That is a community room and it should not be used for commercial purposes," he says. The physio flap caused a few sparks between council members at the Nov. 20 meeting, as some felt the conflict over the room stemmed from a "grey area" in municipal policy on renting public space. Councillor Kristi Wells suggested the rental policy needs to be clarified and added the occupation hasn’t inconvenienced anyone. "The policy is black and white. We’ve never chosen one operator without tendering," Nebbeling said, adding any municipal space available for rental purposes should be available to all businesses. Nebbeling said he received a number of complaints on the issue because the space was rented at below-market rate which created unfair competition and allowed the physio operation an opportunity to showcase their business for a month before moving to a new location.