FORT ASSINIBOINE — Woodlands County councillors passed a motion at their Dec. 7 meeting to allocate $75,000 to the Fort Assiniboine Friendship Club to assist with covering the costs of the Bicentennial celebration planned for the coming year.
Councillors previously received a presentation at their Nov. 23 meeting about the 2023 celebration from Fort Assiniboine bicentennial committee chairperson Dale Kluin, as well as Quentin and Teresa Olson of the Voyageur Canoe Brigade.
As reported in the Dec. 6 edition of the Town & Country This Week, the committee is looking at holding an expanded version of the hamlet’s Pioneer Days, with a special focus on showcasing how people in the area lived 200 years ago.
Also, a scaled-down re-creation of the Athabasca River Brigade that took place in 2017 is also being planned, but instead of a 333-kilometre journey along the Athabasca River, the canoe trip would be limited to stops in a few different communities including Fort Assiniboine.
Economic development officer Bert Roach said administration had done some work based on the request for assistance made by the bicentennial committee and recommended that a maximum of $75,000 be allocated to the Fort Assiniboine Friendship Club, with the first $25,000 coming from the 2022 budget.
The advanced funding would help with booking entertainment, paying deposits to performers, developing advertising and creating promotional materials, Roach indicated.
Reeve John Burrows asked if there was a fundraising effort taking place as well, or if the county was effectively “backstopping” the needed funds.
Roach replied that the bicentennial committee is working on a full valuation of all the volunteer time that will be put into the event, which will assist with getting a matching Community Initiatives Program (CIP) grant of up to $75,000.
He said they are also in the process of arranging corporate partnerships, noting that there is interest from at least four potential corporate partners in providing either in-kind support or cash.
“The intent really is for council to backstop whatever funds that they can’t raise or generate through some of the event income,” Roach said.
While the intent is that all of the bicentennial celebrations will be free to the public, Roach said they could generate income from the sales of merchandise and souvenirs.
Coun. Peter Kuelken, who attended a bicentennial committee meeting, said he had told the group the county would be partnering with the committee, and it was important for them to fundraise as much as they could.
Coun. Alan Deane said he liked the language used by Kuelken in regards to this being a partnership, but he was a little uncomfortable with how this grant was being structured.
He asked if they were really going to be expecting the volunteers to pay the money back, adding that if this was the case, “I don’t like how that looks.”
Kuelken said there was some discussion among the committee whether this was a loan or a straight-up grant and acknowledged there was a risk that the county wouldn’t get all of its money back.
However, the reality is that without any seed funding, they won’t be able to start arranging for entertainment at the celebrations, he said. And even if they were short a certain amount, one has to consider the value of this money to the social and economic wellbeing of the community, he indicated.
Coun. Dave Kusch said that even though there was a risk, he was in favour of giving the money and forgiving whatever shortfall may occur.
Noting that this is a bicentennial celebration that will only ever occur once, Kusch said, “"For me anyways, this is a risk that I’m willing to take.”
Deane questioned whether any motion that council passes should state that the first $25,000 of the grant would be “entirely forgivable.”
He echoed Kusch’s point that no other community in the province would be celebrating a 200th anniversary. “Where else in this province are they celebrating something as old as that?”
Kusch said he favoured leaving it open-ended and dealing with any shortfall that may come up. Other councillors agreed.
Kuelken said he appreciated having the discussion on council as many of the same points were raised by Fort Assiniboine area residents regarding the county providing this funding.
