Town of Bowden council approved a motion to enter into an agreement with the Bowden Lions Club to provide $10,000 for each of the next five years to the club to maintain the Bowden Lions Hall. The motion also called for replacing the south-side sidewalk in front of the building. The motion was made at the Feb. 27 meeting.
“The hall is in not good shape. It was part of our community needs assessment and they recommended (not putting) any more money into it, but it is the only facility that will hold more than 100 people, so we have to keep it operational, it's not a choice,” said Robb Stuart, Bowden's mayor.
The funding is contingent on council's 2012 budget discussions, which will be taking place during the next few weeks. Stuart said while council has to deliberate where the money will come from, the funds will go toward the hall this year.
While the town still has to get an estimate on the cost of replacing the sidewalk, Stuart said it should not be any more than about $5,000 to replace it.
“It's in bad shape. It was poured by hand probably 40 years ago, and it's pitted and cracked,” he said.
In a letter to council, Stan Mills, secretary for the Lions club, also asked council if the town could possibly help solve a gopher problem on the property. Councillors, however, thought the town couldn't do anything about that, as it has nobody on staff who can properly handle the chemicals that would be needed. The gophers are also encroaching on the property from an adjacent private property and the town would need cooperation from the property owner before taking action.
Melanie Neale, a member of the club, also told councillors that the club is hosting a community cleanup on May 5 and is looking to get support from various community groups to pitch in on the effort, which will begin at 9 a.m. at the fire hall. Neale told councillors that the club would like some support from the town to cover costs of gloves, garbage bags and a barbecue lunch for volunteers following the cleanup.
Councillors indicated they would be more than happy for the town to support the cleanup.
“I think the Lions club has always been interested in the town and we appreciate that,” said Stuart.
“It's our community and it's an absolutely great thing to participate in,” said Andy Weiss, the town's chief administrative officer, adding that the town would be more than happy to provide its new garbage truck and other supplies to the effort.
Council passed a motion to support the cleanup.
Garbage truck now in service
The town's new $140,000 garbage truck arrived last week.
“This is a brand new truck, right off the line. It's (got) a five-year warranty,” Stuart said, noting that because the City of Red Deer quoted the town $62 per cubic metre, $43 per cubic metre less than the Mountain View Regional Waste Commission's quote to haul to the Didsbury landfill, the town will be taking its refuse to Red Deer.
"(The Lions hall) was part of our community needs assessment and they recommended (not putting) any more money into it, but it is the only facility that will hold more than 100 people, so we have to keep it operational."Robb Stuart, mayor, Town of Bowden
