BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead councillors approved one request for funding under the municipality's Community Grant Policy (AD-002) during their April 18 meeting.
Under the policy, which council approved in February 2021, eligible not-for-profit groups can apply for a maximum of $2,500, depending on the availability of funds. The funding for the program is capped at $15,000 and comes from the recreation organization reserve.
The first request, which councillors unanimously approved, came from the Barrhead Street Festival Committee (a Barrhead and District Chamber of Commerce subcommittee), which asked for the maximum of $2,500 to host the community's popular Main Street family event, scheduled for June 17.
Eligibility requirements are straightforward in that registered not-for-profit societies, volunteer groups, or charitable organizations must provide a service readily available to county residents and demonstrate value or a benefit to the community. Applicants can also apply for a grant for a project or an event. The policy also requires applicants to be financially viable, provide at least half of the budget, and that they need to match the county's contribution.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun noted that the application checks all the boxes.
"It is an event that definitely brings value to the community that is accessible by all," she said.
Oyarzun added the organization also meets the financial requirements of the policy, noting the committee was providing 68 per cent of the estimated $8,000 budget and that the matching requirement will be met through a combination of $500 cash and 75 hours of volunteer time.
Reeve Doug Drozd agreed it was a worthwhile event.
"It is always a fun event and one I always look forward to taking my grandchildren to every year," he said.
Golf course application
Councillors also denied a second application by the Barrhead Golf and Recreation Area Society for $2,500 under the policy by a 6-1 vote. Coun. Bill Lane was opposed.
The society is a not-for-profit and was formed in 1984 and sits on recreational lease land held by the Barrhead municipalities. Its first project was the construction of the golf course. It has since expanded to include an adjacent campground site.
The society applied in the project category for the grant to offset the $5,000 cost of repainting the lines in its golf course parking lot.
The policy describes a project as a program, service or structure.
Oyarzun noted the society met the majority of the criteria laid out in the policy, such as it being a not-for-profit and in good standing that provides a service of benefit to county residents, not only in terms of it being a public golf course that county residents can use but as an economic driver that attracts tourism to the region.
"However, a surface parking lot is considered a land improvement. It's not a structure," she said. "As administration, we did not feel it fit the description of a project as we currently have it."
However, Oyarzun said if they wanted to accept the application, council could amend the policy to include land improvements in projects.
Drozd agreed with administration, saying he is not sure why the society wants to spend the money to have a company repaint the lines.
"On a slow day (at the golf course), you can take your staff out there with a pail of paint," he said, adding the job did not have to be done all at once. "You have the volunteers. Go to the store and buy some paint instead of spending $5,000 to paint the parking lot."
Coun. Bill Lane disagreed, saying that the job needed to look "professional", adding while there might be machines they could rent to make the job easier, it wasn't as easy as just buying some paint.
He noted as it currently stands, people are left to their own devices parking, making it often difficult to impossible for people to get out of their vehicles or get out of the parking lot as drivers without the guidance of proper lines park where they shouldn't.
Coun. Walter Preugschas and Coun. Ron Kleinfeldt did not see why a parking lot was not included as a structure, agreeing with administration that they may want to rework the policy to include some categories of land improvements.
"When we developed the policy, our thinking was that the entities that apply for the grants to be strong enough to stand on their own feet," Drozd interjected. "We did not want to have them rely on us for maintenance."
Deputy reeve Marvin Schatz agreed, saying if they approved the application, the society would be back in three to four years, asking for another $2,500 when the parking lot lines needed to be touched up again.
He then moved to accept administration's recommendation.
The community policy grant fund, with the approval of the street festival committee's application, now stands at $8,750.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
