BARRHEAD - Thanks to the County of Barrhead council, the Barrhead and District Indigenous Committee will have a little more seed money to plan the community's National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations on June 21.
On April 2, councillors approved the committee's $1,500 community policy grant application by a 6-1 vote.
Coun. Paul Properzi was opposed.
The funds will offset the estimated $7,000 cost of staging the event, not including renting the Barrhead Agrena, which the committee hopes to use to host much of the event's activities.
The committee has 11 members representing several community organizations, including Alberta Health Services (AHS, Blue Heron Support Services Association (BHSSA), Barrhead Pregnancy Care Centre, the Ripple Connection Support Centre (RCSC), Barrhead and District Family Support Services (FCSS) and members from the Indigenous community.
The policy, which has been in place since February 2021, allows eligible community organizations to receive up to $2,500 in funding that can go towards a project or event that benefits county residents.
The program is capped at $15,000 annually, with funding from the recreation organizational reserve.
To be eligible for a community grant, groups must meet certain criteria. They should be a registered non-profit society, charitable organization, volunteer group, or service club providing services within or readily accessible to county residents. Additionally, groups must be in good standing with the municipality and be able to demonstrate how the grant will be used for a project, service, structure, or event that benefits the community.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun recommended approving the application, saying the event checks all the required boxes, in that the committee is a not-for-profit organization planning to host festivities open to the public and benefiting the community.
She also noted that the committee exceeds the policy's matching requirement by using volunteer hours and other fundraising efforts.
Deputy reeve Marvin Schatz said he wasn't sure if the application met the the policy's requirements.
"Our community grant policy wasn't meant to provide money to organizations that are funded provincially," he said. "Committee members are from AHS, FCSS, and Blue Heron, all groups supported by provincial funding."
Oyarzun agreed that was one way to look at it.
However, she said, how administration interpreted is that the committee while having representation from organizations that receive provincial funding is a separate entity.
"It is not like we are approving a grant for AHS to purchase something used in the medical realm, but a committee with community representation putting on the event."
Reeve Doug Drozd agreed with Oyarzun's interpretation, but admitted it might be time to review the policy's language to ensure it matches the intent.
"I don't think the intent is to use municipal funds, and leave provincial money on the table, which is what we were trying to prevent as part of the policy," he said.
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