Details are scant following a Sept. 24 meeting between town and county councils regarding future funding for joint-use facilities like the Aquatic Centre.
The meeting was held in-camera, said Westlock County reeve Lou Hall, so she could not share specifics, but did state that administrators for both municipalities have been directed to draw up interim agreements for the remainder of this year and 2019 that will govern cost-sharing for recreational facilities going into intermunicipal collaboration framework (ICF) discussions.
“In my opinion it was a good meeting concerning matters that needed to be discussed between councils,” said Hall, noting ICF discussions that were scheduled to take place the between the two bodies were put off to a later date due to time constraints.
Mayor Ralph Leriger agreed, saying it was good to have a frank, open discussion.
“I think it went very well. I think it’s the best dialogue we’ve had since the election. I’m encouraged by the way the meeting went,” he said.
The last cost-sharing agreement between the two neighbours expired in 2014, but the county continued contributing until this year when the $309,000 contribution was delayed until the two councils could meet to work out a new arrangement. In late August, Hall sent a letter to town council advising “the county is not in a fiscal position to continue this contribution as in past years.”
The county also took issue with the yearly increases to the dollars it contributed to the pool, which was discussed and satisfactorily explained during the meeting, Hall said.
“We provided a bunch of information on how the original agreements were arrived at,” said Leriger, explaining that funding was initially based on a percentage of operating deficit, then when the agreement was renegotiated in 2010 it changed to a per capita basis.
“We were able to explain how the original agreements were arrived at and how the funding formula was arrived at. We presented a five-year average of user numbers of those accessing the facilities and that led to good discussion.”
The two municipalities also agreed to start meeting more regularly with monthly gatherings to discuss intermunicipal issues and to keep the lines of communication open.
“That’s an improvement,” said Hall.
