This is the first year the Town of Bowden will go it alone when it comes to paying for the operation and maintenance of the Bowden Heritage Rest Area. If Bowden council agrees to keep the facility open.
This is the first year the Town of Bowden will go it alone when it comes to paying for the operation and maintenance of the Bowden Heritage Rest Area.
If Bowden council agrees to keep the facility open.
But the town and at least one local organization are hoping the provincial government will reconsider its role in keeping what many people consider a valuable resource for Bowden businesses and motorists driving along Highway 2 up and running.
Although the town used to receive an annual $20,000 Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation grant to help with maintenance and upkeep at the rest area, that amount dwindled to $8,000 in recent years until last year when the foundation announced Bowden would only receive $4,000 for 2013.
This reduction in funding came after the town had finalized its 2013 budget and Andy Weiss, the town’s chief administrative officer, described the "unexpected" cut as "a significant negative financial impact to us."
The foundation also told the town last year the grant program would be phased out completely in 2014, namely because of a $2-million decrease in the amount of funding the foundation received from the province in the 2013 budget.
Weiss said he is budgeting for the rest stop to open as usual around the May long weekend for a season that extends until the Thanksgiving weekend in October.
He added there is some hope the province will help the town cover the costs of operating the rest stop in some way.
"I have been in touch with Alberta Transportation administration and they have assured me that they will take a very close look at options available to them and that there may be a potential for some sort of financial assistance in the short term," Weiss wrote in an email.
A spokeswoman for the provincial Transportation Ministry said the minister, Wayne Drysdale, is still waiting for a "debriefing" on the issue from ministry staff and she could comment on the matter later this week.
The town typically puts roughly $30,000 into the operation and maintenance of the rest area, which opened in 1984 and includes a campsite often used for picnics located just north of the Bowden Golf Course and adjacent to a rest stop on the southbound lanes of Highway 2.
Coun. Wayne Milaney, who in the past has commented that shuttering the rest area could make Bowden look like a "downtown Detroit slum," said if the rest area were to close, Bowden’s economy would suffer.
"For our local businesses, that’s not a good thing," he said, adding the rest area is the only place between Red Deer and Crossfield for southbound travellers to get off Highway 2 and have access to restaurants, fuel and a convenience store just off the highway.
Milaney said it’s also a great place for drivers who are tired to take a break.
While the province wants to close the rest area permanently, he said he wants them to reverse that decision, reinstate operational funding for the facility and even kick in money for some much needed "capital work" at the rest area.
"There’s some roofing issues and there should be some improvements to it to make it a bit more modern. If the government could give us some capital funding and we could share the costs for the operating then I think we can keep it open and in a viable situation."
Last month, the Olds Rural Crime Watch Association offered its opinion on the rest area funding cuts in a letter to Drysdale.
In the letter penned by association president Dave Sharek, the association encouraged the government to reinstate funding for this "important" resource for Highway 2 motorists.
"This facility is considered to be a very important, strategically situated facility that provides motorists the opportunity to take a break and use facilities," the letter stated. "Traffic volumes on (Highway 2) past this facility, in our opinion warrant resources to provide this facility."
The letter also raises concerns about vandalism to the facility due to funding cuts, but Weiss said there is only the "odd incident."
"I believe the issue regarding vandalism is a concern from the perspective of having an empty and unused building if that is the route that is eventually chosen for the facility," he said.
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