BARRHEAD - The Town of Barrhead will send several tables and chairs to Fort Assiniboine for the hamlet's bicentennial celebration from July 7-9.
Councillors decided to grant the request made by Louise Ralston, secretary/treasurer of the bicentennial committee, via a June 8 e-mail during their June 13 meeting.
In the e-mail, Ralston asked that the town provide the items and transport them to the hamlet as part of an in-kind partnership.
Councillors granted the request even though the municipality's recreation facility rentals and rates policy (Policy 72-002) does not allow the items to leave "town limits or facilities."
Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc noted if council opted to grant the request, they would be forgoing roughly $1,800 in rental fees, not including delivery.
Under the policy, table rentals are $10.50 each, while chairs are $3.15 each.
Coun. Rod Klumph suggested that council grant the request saying it was the neighbourly thing to do.
"Neighbours usually help each other," he said. "It is not like this is something we do everyday. This is their bicentennial, something that is very special for them.”
Klumph also referenced the idiom, "What goes around comes around", saying that the Town of Barrhead would be marking its 100th in 2029, and they might need the assistance of organizations in Woodlands County, including Fort Assiniboine.
He also noted that the council had previously contacted the committee and asked them if there was anything the municipality could do.
"And now there is something we can do," he said. "If we back out now, how bad does that look?"
Mayor Dave McKenzie agreed, calling the bicentennial a one-off, and therefore did not believe the municipality would be setting a precedent by granting the request.
However, he said, if councillors were concerned that they were breaching the policy, there was a workaround.
McKenzie suggested that they could donate a monetary amount to the committee with the stipulation that they use the funds to rent the tables and chairs from the town.
"The result is the same," he said.
Coun. Dave Sawatzky concurred, calling the act "neighbourly", and also proposed that it would be an excellent opportunity to help showcase Barrhead to all the tourists visiting the event.
The question, McKenzie interjected, is how much the donation would have to be, asking administration what the total cost would be.
LeBlanc replied that the rental fee would be the previously stated $1,800, but he did not know how much it would cost to deliver and pick up the tables and chairs. However, he suggested it would be under $1,000.
The agenda package states that the delivery and pickup fee during working hours was $52.50 per staff person required and $78.75 during non-working hours. But it's worth noting that as the policy only allows for rentals in the town, this amount doesn't account for the extra expense and travel time to Fort Assiniboine.
To simplify things, he suggested that the council donate $2,000 to the committee and waive the delivery/pickup fees.
LeBlanc also suggested that the municipality hold back a small amount of table and chairs in case the parks and recreation department in case another rental request came in.
Klumph then made a motion, restating LeBlanc's suggestion.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
