For the first time since 1993, Rocky View County council and the Town of Cochrane council entered into a recreation cost-sharing agreement.
“We’ve been working very hard with the Town of Cochrane for this cost-sharing agreement,” Dari Lang, recreation services coordinator for the county, told Rocky View council members.
She said discussions between the town and county about the new five-year agreement started a few months prior.
The new agreement focuses on a collective approach that outlines how to share operational costs for Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) Family Sports Centre and other cultural programs offered in the town and used by Rocky View residents.
The sports centre offers arenas, a field house and fitness centre, gymnasium, indoor track, indoor turf, four meeting rooms and an on-site concession.
The agreement will see a maximum contribution per year of $200,000 from the county for the sports centre. The county will also provide $36,000 a year towards operating costs to assist with programming, and will help with any replacement to individual items at the end of its lifecycle if the cost is less than $10,000 and if the budget allows.
“I think it’s a fair arrangement,” said Rocky View deputy reeve Paul McLean and councillor for the area.
“I remember the agreement in 1993 and it was a good deal then. I think this (agreement) is fair and equitable.”
Rocky View councillor Lois Habberfield said she agreed that without the partnership, these facilities wouldn’t exist for county residents. She added there are plans for a new building in the area such as a curling rink.
“I think there could be additional expectations coming down the pipe,” she said.
Lang said the agreement covers the costs of existing amenities only and that any new recreation or cultural development funding requests will be considered as projects arise.
The last recreation agreement between the two municipalities occurred 20 years ago to support equal access and fees for county residents.
After the council meeting, Lang said she doesn’t know exactly why there hasn’t been a recreation cost-sharing agreement for 20 years, but said the lack of agreement was discovered when county staff began developing a new funding model policy in 2011.
She noted that even without a formal agreement, the “county has supported recreation and cultural amenities in the town of Cochrane for many years.”
Examples of shared spaces include the SLS Centre, the Cochrane Agricultural Society’s arena and a number of community halls in the Cochrane area used by residents from both the town and county.
