BARRHEAD - The Barrhead Exhibition Association and Agricultural Society will purchase six residential lots near their rodeo grounds.
Ag society president Jackie Miller said the membership decided to go ahead with the purchase at a special meeting earlier this month. This is despite the society having to take on the extra cost of private financing because of higher interest rates.
She added the transaction should be complete by the end of this month.
Miller said the society had been in discussion with the company that owned the properties for several years, and even though they could not secure financing through the Barrhead municipalities and the lower interest rate it would have afforded them, because the membership did not want to lose the opportunity.
"[The extra land] will allow us to do more for the community," she said, adding that the society, especially when planning events such as Blue Heron Fair Days, has been limited in what they have brought in due to space constraints. "It will also help us improve overall safety. We will no longer have to have [young rodeo and other event participants] have to cross the road with their horses."
Miller added that it would take the society some time to take full advantage of the extra space. Still, in the short term, event patrons should see the benefits of this year's upcoming demolition derby and rodeo.
"Even if it is just for parking, it will mean that we will be able to expand everything, so we are not so crowded," she said.
In September, the not-for-profit society approached the Barrhead municipalities, asking them if they would loan them up to the $875,000 needed to purchase the lots payable back over 20 years.
The Town of Barrhead administration said they couldn't loan the society the money directly but could act as a co-signer.
On Sept. 5, county councillors gave first reading to a bylaw to loan the society up to $875,000 by a vote of 5-2, with Reeve Doug Drozd and deputy reeve opposed. The bylaw officially died after being defeated on second reading a little over a month later by a 3-3 vote.
Councillors Bill Lane, Paul Properzi and Ron Kleinfeldt voted in favour, while Drozd, deputy reeve Marvin Schatz, and Walter Preugschas were opposed. Coun. Jared Stoik, while allowed to participate in the discussion for the second reading, was declared ineligible to vote under a Municipal Government Act rule as he had not attended the associated public hearing.
Return of Wildrose Association finals?
Miller also confirmed that representatives of the Wildrose Rodeo Association (WRA) approached the society at their October meeting, asking them to consider submitting a bid to host the organization's showcase and final event of their season, the Challenge.
It features the competitors who have earned the Top 10 point totals in the seven core rodeo events (bull riding, bareback and saddleback riding, calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling and ladies barrel racing). It also features the Top 6 junior point leaders who will compete in the steer riding, bull riding, breakaway roping, and barrel racing events.
In October 2022, the society learned that their bid to host the event for another three years had failed to be successful, losing out to Rimbey.
Barrhead had hosted the WRA finals since 1989, except for 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
In an interview with the Barrhead Leader following the announcement, WRA president Glen Nash said the board opted to go with Rimbey because their bid was based on five performances versus Barrhead's four.
After this year's WRA season, competitors chose the Barrhead Blue Heron Fair Days event to be their favourite of the 35 rodeos on the circuit.
"They contacted us and some of the other organizations that host events on the circuit," she said. "We haven't made a decision one way or another. We still need to meet as a rodeo committee and decide if we want to do that."
