Event cancellations due to shifting COVID-19 restrictions have put a strain on rural community halls, and Kneehill County council will consider how to support these hard-hit community hubs at their next council meeting following Tuesday, December 7 Committee of the Whole meeting.
Legislative Services coordinator Carolyn Van der Kuil explained there are nine community halls in the county that have struggled with bookings in 2021 and brought forward two recommendations for council to consider providing support to these facilities.
The first recommendation was for council to maintain the 2020 funding levels for these affected community halls in 2022; council previously approved maintaining the funding levels in 2021 during a January 2021 council meeting.
“If this wasn’t done, most halls would have been reclassified down to Level C (rented out less than 10 times a year) as most halls were not able to rent out their facilities due to COVID-19 regulations,” Ms. Van der Kuil explained.
The county has three funding levels for halls based on the number of times they are used in a given year; currently, there are seven halls classified as Level A, used year-round 20 or more times per year--Huxley Community Association, Sunnyslope Community Association, Wimborne Community Centre, Torrington Community Centre, Swalwell Community Association, Three Hills Rural Community Association, and Orkney Athletic Association, and two halls classified as Level C, used year-round or seasonally fewer than 10 times per year - Hesketh Community Hall Association and Mount Vernon Community Association.
There are currently no halls classed as Level B, used year-round or seasonally 10 to 20 times per year.
Funding allocations are based on the 2020 rate plus a 1.1 per cent increase based on the October consumer price index.
It was also recommended to forward a request for council to provide a one-time COVID relief grant to the nine community halls due to a grant funding surplus in the 2021 budget.
Ms. Van der Kuil explained some $58,780 was not used in the 2021 Kneehill County grant program and the community halls could benefit from a relief grant. If approved the halls will each receive $3,300 for Level C halls and $5,000 for Level A halls. While this would still leave some $20,000 surplus, Kneehill County CAO Mike Haugen noted this could be “reallocated or contributed” to an assumed yearly surplus.
Council discussed provisions for providing the relief fund and whether there should be some form of accountability for how these would be used and ensuring it was noted this is a one-time grant.
The recommendation will be brought forward at a future council meeting for consideration.
