Wheatland County council were presented with a report on the methodology used to develop a recreation cost-sharing model for both the nearby Town of Strathmore and the villages of Hussar, Rockyford, and Standard during the regular Tuesday, February 1 council meeting.
The county had previously been in discussions with Strathmore regarding various concerns with the financial and cost-sharing models, however, these discussions were paused in 2020 to allow the county time to develop a cost-sharing agreement.
“The information outlined was instrumental in determining cost-sharing amounts for the villages and the town cost-sharing negotiations,” Community Services coordinator Dave Rimes shared during the meeting. “Wheatland County residents utilize and value the community facilities, and council desired to contribute a fair cost-sharing amount to these communities.”
Based on a survey of other rural municipalities, which include neighbouring Kneehill County and County of Newell, it was found the average municipal contribution was some $403,349.06 to towns and cities within their boundaries.
This figure was used to negotiate a three-year cost-sharing agreement between Strathmore and Wheatland County with increases in 2022 and 2023 to account for inflation.
A similar survey was conducted to help council determine regional funding for the villages of Hussar, Rockyford, and Standard as the previous Community Region Infrastructure Services Program (CRIPS) ended in 2020; this program provided funds to villages and hamlets where county residents were utilizing recreation infrastructure. In the last year of CRISP funding, the county contributed a total of $251,769.54 among the three villages with Hussar receiving $62,942.39, Rockyford receiving $93,419.75, and Standard receiving $79,506.17.
While some municipalities provide funding as needed for projects, or no funding due to having no villages or only summer villages within their boundaries, the average contribution was found to be some $55,527. This amount has been proposed on a three-year funding agreement with increases in 2022 and 2023 to account for inflation and will be brought before the respective village councils for consideration.
Wheatland County council accepted Mr. Rimes’s report as information and agreed to share the report with both the Town of Strathmore and the respective villages within the county.
