Town council uneasy about awarding CIF funding

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

A lack of documentation and communication rubbed Strathmore town council members the wrong way last week, resulting in a decision to provide funding to only one out of three organizations requesting financial backing for their local events.
Strathmore town administration requested council consider allocating $5,000 to the EmBee Open Disc Golf Tournament, $5,000 to the Blackfoot Cultural Show and Rodeo, and $1,000 to the Off the Rails Family Fun Run – events that already occurred or were cancelled.
While the applications were submitted well in advance, the Community Investment Fund (CIF) review committee – which is established annually – faced challenges in finding members for 2018 and wasn’t fully formed and able to review the requests until mid-May.
Council awarded the Strathmore Disc Golf Club with the $5,000 – or 38 per cent of their revenue – but took issue with dishing out money for the other two requests.
Out of respect for the committee, council agreed not to approve $5,000 for the Blackfoot Cultural Show and Rodeo as was brought forward by administration, when the committee raised concern with the budget and recommended only $2,500. Council also didn’t agree with the recommendation to earmark $1,000 in the 2019 budget for the Off the Rails Family Fun Run when no application had yet been made. The event was cancelled this year, and the committee suggested the Strathmore Running Club seek a not-for-profit status or partner with a non-profit organization in the future.
“I think council made a wise decision; they gave some clear direction for the family fun run moving forward,” said Mark Pretzlaff, recreation manager with the Town of Strathmore.
“You need to apply early and obviously it’s our responsibility, and it falls on my shoulders to make sure our committee is formed in advance so we can ensure we can get in front of council and meet those requests on a timely matter.”
The Strathmore Running Club originally asked for $1,250 to cover half of the second annual Family Fun Run event’s overall revenue and to be allocated to purchasing participant medals. The event, which was supposed to take place on June 3 in Kinsmen Park with an expected 500 participants, was cancelled. While no application has yet been made for 2019, administration suggested council set aside $1,000 in next year’s budget to be available when the organization decides to request those funds. The recommendation raised red flags with some council members who did not feel comfortable setting aside money without an application.
“I’m having a problem with that,” said Councillor Bob Sobol. “If they haven’t even applied for it why are we taking money out of the pot that might be used for something else. We’re locking up $1,000. I think we should wait for an application before we start awarding money. I’m not 100 per cent comfortable with the (Blackfoot Cultural Show and Rodeo) one as well. I just feel that out of respect to the committee they should’ve had a say in bumping this up to $5,000.”
The Blackfoot Warrior Party Horsemanship and Film Society held their third annual Blackfoot Cultural Show and Rodeo at the end of June. While the application asked for $5,000 to make up 18 per cent of the estimated revenue to be used for costs including building rental and marketing materials, additional information showed a sizable deficit with $28,000 in revenue compared to $52,000 in expenses. The committee suggested providing the organization with $2,500. After receiving a revised budget and with efforts to support such events both financially and through administration, town staff increased the committee’s recommendation to $5,000.
During the regular council meeting on July 4, a decision was made to have administration present their recommendation back to the committee and receive input before moving forward.
“We’ve since gone back to them to ask those questions as to why their expenses dramatically outweigh their revenue,” said Pretzlaff. “At the end of the day I don’t think they’ll be a very successful event on a yearly basis if they’re still turning about a $20,000 loss every year. The committee wants events that are sustainable. When an organization comes forth with a request that’s asking for $5,000 and they’re still going to turn a $20,000 loss, it doesn’t make sense to them why they would support this one in the first place.”
So far in 2018, six organizations have already received funding for their events in rental donations or cash, including the Growing Families Society Dance, Project Hope Gala, Lions Club Fundraiser, the Hospice Society Roadshow and the 2018 Strathmore Roundup.
Although some applications are currently pending, Pretzlaff estimated $10,000 to $15,000 is still available for this year.
With the absence of Councillor Tari Cockx, council voted unanimously to award the Strathmore Disc Golf Club with $5,000 for the EmBee Open Disc Golf Tournament that took place June 30 to July 1. Administration was asked to discuss their $5,000 recommendation for the Blackfoot Cultural Show and Rodeo with the CIF Review Committee to be brought back at a later date.