Helping the arts

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

Wheatland County has agreed to track donations and issue tax-deductible charitable donation receipts for the Wheatland Society of the Arts (WSA).
The board contacted the county about a facility that will open participation in the arts to adults throughout Wheatland County.
“We will provide the people of Strathmore and Wheatland County with a place to go and enjoy making art, with very little cost and with positive interaction,” Vivian MacCallum, WSA director at large. “We feel this is particularly important at this time of economic recession to provide an inexpensive place for people, and especially seniors, to have a place to go and paint once more since they’ve often moved from their homes, and had to give up painting, because of space or fixed incomes.”
The approval will give incentive for patrons to donate and help the organization track supplies and operating expenses for the project.

Standard gets new
walking path
The Town of Standard Memory Lane Project needs 800 tonnes of gravel to make a nice walking surface for residents and visitors. The path stretches for one kilometre and is wide enough for two to walk side by side.
The Memory Lane organizers have raised $125,000 for the project and received $25,000 under the Community Enhancement Regional Board’s (CERB) Community Enhancement Fund, which was to go towards fencing and site development.
Purchase cost for the gravel is estimated at about $8,000.

 

Funding for Gleichen and District Library Society
Wheatland County council approved the property lease for the Gleichen and District Library Society for another five years. The building is located in the historic bank building on Main Street in Gleichen.
The society’s estimated operating budget is $26,100.
The Library calculated a raise in minimum wage and carbon tax into the 2017 request. The society also raises funds through casino participation.
The Gleichen library had 225 paid patrons in 2016, with an increased visit count of 3,492 visits. Computers and office machine use has increased; the library is the only venue in Gleichen to offer those services.
There are special programs offered all year long, such as a summer reading program, Minecraft, karaoke, Jenga night, story hour, book club and yoga.
The county has been helping with maintenance costs for the property and building, but several items are still on the to-do list. They are hoping to tackle major challenges such as a leaky roof and stairway upgrades. A new security system will be put in place at the library by the end of December.

 

Multiple conference approvals given
Wheatland County council did some housekeeping Dec. 6, by clearing various staff and council to attend conferences in 2017. One of the trips is part of a funded international exchange program.
“It is our way of keeping our voice heard,” said Coun. Alice Booth. “It is a matter of stewardship and part of economic development.”
She said often conference goers come back with new knowledge and ideas, and if the conferences are not helpful, people rarely want to go a second time.
Coun. Ben Armstrong related that an exchange group from Germany visited in the past, just after the fall of the Berlin wall.
He said that an exchange of ideas helped them solve some governance issues in their own country. He said the experience is also a reality check that makes issues at home sometimes seem a lot smaller.

 

FCSS get increase in funding
Joe Pedersen, board chair for Wheatland Family and Community Support Services (WFCSS), presented council with its funding allocation for 2017. The provincial amount was increased from $259,256 in 2016 to $311,109 for 2017.
“We are hopeful the increase in funding allotted to us by the province for 2017 will be sufficient to meet our budget needs,” said Pedersen.
Base funding of 20 per cent is required from partner municipalities within the WFCSS service area. The WFCSS annual report and invoice amounts for the various villages are attached to the Dec. 6 agenda.
The complete WFCSS budget will be released to contributing members in 2017.

 

Bids wanted for property with unpaid tax
In 2015, there were 98 properties within Wheatland County with tax arrears; after advertisement, 33 properties remained without settlement. As per guidelines, one of those properties qualifies to be put up for auction. The county is looking for bids close to the $198,000 evaluation for the property.