The Parent Link Centre’s programming at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre may be in jeopardy as the town looks to recoup more of the costs of running the facility.
Town council passed two motions at its Jan. 26 meeting — one to allow the Parent Link Centre continued free use of the facility until April 1, after which it must pay the Non Profit Facility Use Rate, and further that the setup and cleanup fee will be waived until Dec. 31, 2015.
Representatives from the Healthy Families Healthy Futures (HFHF), and its subsidiary the Parent Link Centre (PLC), made a request at the meeting for a $9,000 annual operating grant, which would cover most of the $9,500 fees the town had proposed for facility use.
With the motion waiving costs for the time setting up and cleaning up, the total proposed annual cost to the PLC would be around $6,000 — but that amount could nonetheless be a challenge for the not-for-profit group.
“We do feel we should be contributing something to the centre; unfortunately, we can’t afford the almost $10,000 it will take to continue to keep our programs there,” PLC coordinator Erin Chapotelle told council.
She explained the PLC’s annual budget is $102,000 from a provincial operating grant, which must pay for two full-time staff, office space, program staff, equipment, and snacks for playgroup. She said to find any extra money in that budget would be “pretty much impossible at this point.”
Mayor Ralph Leriger explained there is little doubt about the benefit of the program to the community, but there is also benefit from every other not-for-profit group using the centre, so it wouldn’t be fair to have them subsidize the PLC’s programs.
Furthermore, he explained the town already pays roughly 68 per cent of the facility’s annual $1-million-plus operating cost with property tax revenue, and the town is looking to reduce that to about 60 per cent, which is a typical rate of subsidy in other jurisdictions.
“Nobody wants to see the program suffer, or not go on. We accept that it’s a very valuable program for the participants,” he said. “What seems to be lost in this equation is that it’s already being subsidized by property taxes to the tune of 70 per cent.”
Coun. Sheila Foley asked whether any of the PLC’s partners contribute financially, or whether any of the program’s users contribute financially to the programs.
HFHF director Linda West explained their mandate is to offer free or low-cost programs, so that there are no barriers to participation.
Foley also suggested the PLC approach Westlock County about contributing an operating grant to the program, since some of the users may be from Westlock County as well.
Some councillors expressed hesitation about how the operating grant is being perceived — Coun. Wyatt Glebe said he felt that council wasn’t being asked to provide cash, but rather provide in-kind service.
“In my mind there’s a difference between cutting a cheque and providing the space for free,” he said.
Coun. David Truckey suggested he wasn’t sure the space would be rented by paying users at the time of day — 9:30 to 11:30 on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
Coun. Curtis Snell pointed out that while it’s not like the council would be cutting a cheque, there is nonetheless a cost in real dollars to operate the facility and it would be reasonable to seek some return on that investment.
Council also directed administration to create a policy outlining how the council’s grant money — a total of $30,000 annually — could be dispersed. That policy is expected to come back to council at a future meeting.
