BARRHEAD – Town council has delayed a decision on whether to grant the Barrhead and District Agricultural Society free use of municipal facilities for next month’s Wildrose Rodeo Association finals, citing the need for more financial information.
At their Aug. 26 meeting, councillors voted to push the request to Sept. 9, saying they want a clearer picture of how much the town already provides the Ag Society each year in in-kind services and funding.
The Challenge or rodeo finals is the WRA circuit's final event and the association's showcase event. It features the competitors who have earned the Top 10 point totals in the seven core rodeo events (bull riding, bareback and saddle bronc 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. The community has hosted the event since 1989, except for 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic and in 2023, when the Ag Society lost the bid to Rimbey.
This year's event takes place Sept. 18 to 21. If approved, it would amount to a $2,236 in-kind donation.
Parks and recreation director Shallon Touet said he received the request from Ag Society president Jackie Miller via e-mail the previous week, adding the organization used the facilities for last year's event for the first time.
"It is a significant community event that draws in visitors, generates economic activity, and promotes Barrhead as a regional hub. Approving this request would demonstrate council's support for volunteer-driven organizations and community initiatives," he said.
On the flip side, Touet said approving the request could set a precedent for other requests from other organizations.
Coun. Don Smith said that before making a decision, he wanted to know how much support, including in-kind services, the municipality provides to the organization annually.
Corporate services director Jennifer Mantay said she didn't have the amount readily available.
As part of its facility use agreement with the Ag Society, which runs until Sept. 30, 2026, the organization has the exclusive use of Agrena's foyer and ice rink for 12 days, including setup and teardown, to host the WRA finals. It also includes roughly $6,600 in-kind contributions.
"I understand the Ag Society contributes a lot to the community, but it is a fine line," Smith said, adding he believed the municipality was quite generous in its support of the Ag Society. "You have to draw the line somewhere. They can pay for some of these things and still have money coming in. We shouldn't be the ones backing these clubs in staging their events. They have to be able to do some of it on their own."
Smith later suggested that the Ag Society needs to come to council much earlier with a request, not only for what they want from the town in terms of the WRA finals, but also for the entire year.
Coun. Dave Sawatzky also wanted more information before making a decision, most notably, how much the County of Barrhead contributes to the society.
Mayor Dave McKenzie also said he would like to see how the town's contribution compares to those of its municipal counterparts.
Touet said the county provides in-kind services, preparing and transforming the ice surface into one suitable for a rodeo, but did not have a dollar value attached to the work.
Responding to a query from the Barrhead Leader, County of Barrhead finance director Tamara Molzahn stated the in-kind value of the dirt work for the finals rodeo in 2024 amounted to $13,486.
She added that the county also provided other in-kind services to the society last year, putting the estimated combined total at $16,000.
Coun. Ty Assaf asked, if council approved the request, where would the funds come from?
Mantay said it would come from the town's miscellaneous community organization fund.
Currently, the $12,500 fund has roughly $5,900 remaining, excluding the in-kind donation the municipality made to the Aug. 24 Tri on the Trail Triathlon.
Assaf said that, although he would love to be able to approve the request, sometimes the answer had to be no.
"[We understand it will chip away at your profits, but there are other groups that need assistance also," he added, noting there were still other significant community events on the horizon, referring specifically to the Polar Parade and the Festival of Trees, which would also likely have similar asks.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
