Town invests in the community

Posted on: Staff Writer

From edition: March 24 2017 Strathmore Times

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

The recent Town of Strathmore Community Investment Fund (CIF) application recommendations were presented to Strathmore town council for their approval on March 15.
They included:
• $5,000 request by Embee Open Disc Golf for their July 1-2 disc golf tourney
• $2,500 for the Western District Historical Society June 9 senior’s week luncheon, where the On This Spot smartphone app will be demonstrated
• $3,952.55 in-kind donation for half the rental fee for the 2017 midget A hockey tournament running March 23-27
Tracy Simpson, Town of Strathmore community services manager, said midget hockey had originally asked for a $15,000 donation. She said the committee limited the donation, as the full requirements were not met, in that there was no spectator participation activities scheduled in the event.
“The successful bid for this event will see 10 teams coming in from across the province and will bring over 1,000 people over four days,” said Simpson, who added that the committee felt some funding in-kind would be appropriate.
Two other applicants did not receive full funding at this time.
The Celebration of Lights asked for $15,000 for the 2017-2018 season; however, some of the detail budget and supporting documents were missing. They will be contacted to resubmit by the June 5 intake.
No support for the purchase of a grand piano for the United Church group was given. The group asked for $5,000 towards the purchase and stated it would be used for community musical events, local choirs and piano lessons. However, churches are ineligible for funding under the CIF program and capital projects are not covered.
“While the committee acknowledges the need for the fine arts, and the need for the grand piano, the application is not being recommended on two points,” said Simpson.
The Wheatland Society of Arts received a reprieve on their request to Strathmore town council, after the CIF committee stated youth programming wasn’t covered under the CIF mandate; but suggested it could be covered under alternative funding programs. Council agreed to supply Wheatland Society of Arts $15,000 for youth programming under the financial stabilization fund.
Coun. Brad Walls suggested that groups denied funding be sent written confirmation and reasons for the denial.