Camp Kindle will be getting some new buildings, following a decision by Mountain View County's Municipal Planning Commission on Nov. 6.
The camp – which is owned and operated by Kids Cancer Care Foundation (KCCF) – is located about 10 kilometres west of Water Valley, and Mike McKay, director of operations for KCCF, said the expansion will mainly establish better staff lodging.
“Basically we are putting in an administration office and some modular housing for program staff and casual part-time seasonal staff,” said McKay.
Since opening in 2009, camp officials found that some of the buildings that have typically been used for staff housing “just aren't that comfortable.”
So they wanted to be able to provide more adequate housing, predominantly for their two full-time year-round program staffers, he noted.
In the summer when it gets busy, there are up to 40 staff members working there, so the extra housing will allow some senior staff to move out of the dorm-style residences and into more permanent-type living quarters, he said.
And having housing for some staff is important, because although the camp tries to tap into the local workforce, sometimes they need to hire staff from elsewhere.
With the commute from Calgary to the camp being unattractive to staff who would be driving back and forth every day, provided lodging is the next best option, he said.
“Without having beds for them, it's really hard to get people to come out from Calgary or further distances with no place to stay, just to work four hours here and there. So it's more about that than anything else,” he added.
Since the last major renovations in the summer of 2012, the camp has had three solid years of operation, and has also opened up to public rentals in the off-season, he said.
The camp is avaliable almost year-round for community groups and private functions to rent, and all the proceeds from the rentals go towards supporting the camp and its programs, he added.
Patricia McKean, deputy reeve and Division 2 councillor, said that county administration and Camp Kindle officials have always worked well together, and that the decision to allow the expansion was an easy one to make.
“They had the file in good order, good understanding of what was happening. So it was a simple file for us to look at and know that all the background work had been done on it,” said McKean.
County officials are happy to have a facility like that around as well, she added.
“I guess just being in the community, it is a really strong community-involved program and staffs a lot of people locally here as well, and something that benefits our whole community, so it's for sure something to support.”
