INNISFAIL - Local baseball and skateboard athletes are big winners from town council's decision to spread out the riches from a $460,190 budget surplus.
A total of $340,000 from the town's 2016 budget surplus was earmarked for seven different needs in the community. This included $50,000 for new fire equipment, $5,000 for additional bylaw equipment, $50,000 for new roads equipment, $35,000 for community trails and $50,000 towards solar energy for the modernized administration building. The remaining $120,190 is being put into the town's General Capital Reserve account.
Representatives for local baseball and the new skatepark project, who attended the March 27 regular council meeting, were clearly thrilled to hear council's official approval to allocate $100,000 for an annual maintenance program for the town's eight ball diamonds, and an additional $50,000 for the skatepark project, which has already received $50,000 from the town in the 2017 budget. With that $100,000 total directed towards the skatepark project, council has also committed another $300,000 over the next three years, bringing the total town contribution to $400,000.
"The town needs to step forward more and put more money in reserves to get this project going," said Spiller.
The mayor said if the Innisfail Kinsmen and Kinette Club of Innisfail, the lead fundraisers for the skatepark project, were successful in getting a $125,000 grant from the provincial Community Facility Enhancement Program, as well as funds from Red Deer County, the service clubs, which do not have a sports organization for financial support, would be closer to their goal of securing up to $675,000 needed for the new skatepark.
"It will go a long ways to the completion of the skatepark," said Kinsmen member Russ Klemmer, noting the clubs have just received a $5,000 donation from the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion. "It has been the intention of the Kinsmen and Kinettes to raise as much money as we can, as fast as we can." He told council the clubs are hopeful more funds will come this year from other community groups, through a fundraising casino and September's Weekend of Wheels event.
Meanwhile, local baseball representatives said the $100,000 allocated for upgrades to ball fields is the first major local infusion of maintenance funds since at least 1995.
"Right now all our diamonds are outfitted with drill stem fences. They are just makeshift fences that were put in years ago," said Desmond Bouteiller, general manager of the Innisfail Merchants that play in the Alberta AAA Baseball League. "They are not safe. With some of the diamonds the ground isn't even safe. Baseballs are flying everywhere when it hits the grass out there."
Murray Reay, president of Innisfail Minor Ball Association, said improvements to the town's eight ball diamonds by the Innisfail Aquatic Centre and Innisfail Arena will give the town a better opportunity to host major provincial tournaments, which it could not do due to the deteriorating condition of the facilities.
Reay said he hopes improvements can start this season after the association and the town sort out the priorities.
"We sure hope so. Some of the diamonds are unplayable at this point. We need to do some work this spring," he said.
In the meantime, it was announced at the March 27 council meeting that the Innisfail and District Historical Society has a good chance of acquiring a requested $18,000 for Phase 2 of the restoration of the Sinclair House. But it won't come from surplus monies.
Helen Dietz, the town's chief administrative officer, said $200,000 is budgeted to be placed in the town's current budget's contingency fund, monies that could be made available for funding applications from local groups during the fiscal year, including the historical society, which gave a presentation to council last month.
"They have been advised that council is considering their request and would bring that back to the next meeting to discuss it coming out of current year operating (funds), not surplus money," said Dietz. "Actually they are looking for the next phase money, so we have a little bit of time to work out some paperwork with them and go forward with processing their request."
Desmond Bouteiller, general manager of the Innisfail Merchants
"Right now all our diamonds are outfitted with drill stem fences. They are just makeshift fences that were put in years ago. They are not safe. With some of the diamonds the ground isn't even safe."
