Bashaw town council decided it will ask the local curling club to pay for building repairs over and above what a provincial grant covered. The decision was made at the Oct. 18 regular meeting of council.
Councillors read a report about repairs to a building owned by the Bashaw & District Curling Club but recently repaired by the Town of Bashaw using Government of Alberta funds.
Town Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Theresa Fuller stated expenses for other municipal work came in lower than expected, which left some room in the budget to repair the curling rink’s storage building roof.
“The town received better pricing in the overhead door and managed a repair for arena boards at a lower cost,” stated Fuller’s memo to council.
“This provided additional grant funds to repair the storage shed,” Fuller explained the work included repairing a hole in the north wall and sealing a hole in the roof.
“The repair came in $2,500 over budget,” stated the CAO. “The administration would like to know if the council would like to request funds from the Bashaw Curling Club for any amount.”
One of the first questions asked during council discussion was who owned the storage building in question. Fuller responded it belongs to the curling club, although the curling rink itself is Town of Bashaw property.
Fuller added that the storage building has been in a significant state of disrepair for some time and was also the target of a break-and-enter in the past.
Coun. Cindy Orom stated perhaps the town should review its agreement with the curling club to clarify who owns what on the curling rink property.
During discussion Fuller and other town staff stated the curling rink storage building wasn’t safe and it appeared no one else was going to repair it.
Coun. Kyle McIntosh stated that in the recent past the Town of Bashaw council decided it was not going to support non-profits, yet the repairs to this storage shed benefitted the curling club which he understood is a non-profit society.
Coun. Jackie Northey stated that non-profits of all types are struggling in the current economy and with the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; she pointed out that many non-profits actually provide services that, if the organization didn’t exist, the Town of Bashaw may have to provide itself.
Northey suggested the town look more closely at the state of non-profits in the community, including the capital needs they have.
Coun. Bryan Gust stated the town should contact the curling club and ask them to pay the shortfall, as it is the curling club’s property.
Councillors unanimously passed a resolution that the Town of Bashaw requests the Bashaw Curling Club pay the storage building repair overrun of $2,500.
Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review
