The decision regarding the county’s contribution towards recreation has been made.
And it was a long time coming.
Arbitrator Deborah M. Howes’ verdict, according to County CAO Debbie Oyarzun, was made on Oct. 16 and both the town and the county were notified via e-mail Nov. 3.
All-in-all, the process of arbitration took three months to accomplish and in the end, the county is now required to pay an annual minimum of $312,679. The proposed agreement comes into effect Jan. 1, 2018 and runs until 2027, when it can then be reviewed and amended according to needs.
For the town, this moment in time should be considered a win because the county is now obligated to contribute 100 per cent more than they have in previous years.
From the county’s perspective, it is a win because, as you will read in the story on Page 1A, council is satisfied it is not a 50-50 split cost-share.
To be clear, this provincially-mandated decision is based on the county contributing towards the costs of operating the Barrhead Regional Aquatics Centre, the Barrhead Agrena and the Barrhead Curling Rink.
Other aspects of recreation were excluded from the agreement.
Though the process was a long and difficult one, at the end of the day, the fact that the first ever arbitration of its kind is now complete and the town and the county now have a functional recreational agreement that benefits both parties, we at the Barrhead Leader share mayor Dave McKenzie’s sentiment on the issue:
We are glad it is done.
With this new recreational agreement and the fire services agreement in hand, we believe it will be easier for the municipalities to forge inter-municipal collaborative frameworks (ICFs).
Granted, because the changes to the Municipal Government Act are not quite yet finalized or ratified, the town and county have a bit of time to do some more homework.
However, even when the changes are made into law, the municipalities will still have two years from the time such mandated ICFs are required to be made to complete the work.
Kudos to the town and the county for getting together and finally coming to a solution to the issue of recreation.
As McKenzie says, in the past you both worked together and did great things and now, the future looks brighter than ever.
One can only hope that other municipalities can learn from this example and bridge the gap in their own disputes before something like this becomes necessary again.
