The Town of Bowden is giving the Community Action Park Society a hand in finding insurance for its six directors.
The Town of Bowden is giving the Community Action Park Society a hand in finding insurance for its six directors.
The volunteer-based society, which has developed a new community park in Bowden, is looking for a quote for directors insurance from the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and has asked the town to pay the $50 fee to become an association member.
With membership in the AUMA, the society could request an insurance quote without having to spend any of the money it has fundraised for the park’s development.
The society has also asked council to consider paying the premium for the insurance once the quote is received and for the town to "umbrella" the society under its existing insurance policy with the AUMA.
At its Feb. 24 meeting, council passed a motion to pay the society’s membership fee and Andy Weiss, the town’s chief administrative officer, said it is possible for the society to "umbrella under the town’s policy."
The cost of adding the society’s directors insurance to the town’s policy is roughly $700, he added.
Weiss told council and several society members present at the meeting that it would be cheaper for the society to get insurance on its own because, as a new entity, it does not have any risk history.
Mayor Robb Stuart said he felt it was fair to consider paying the membership fee and the insurance premium since the society has acted in a responsible fashion in its efforts to build the park and in its relationship with the town.
"I think these people are acting in good faith and I think we need to do that too," he said. "I think the $50 fee is more than reasonable; even if it’s $1,000 a year, that’s only $60, $70 a month."
He added, however, that he is concerned about other organizations approaching the town for similar assistance.
Coun. Sheila Church, who is also a society member, responded to Stuart’s concern by saying the difference between the society and other organizations is that the society has "absolutely no income."
"This is a free facility, so the only income we have is from grants or from donations," she said, adding those monies are meant for the park and not insurance.
Church also said the society is hoping to have the directors insurance in place before people start to use the park in the spring and summer.
Weiss said in an interview after the meeting that the town will wait for a quote from the AUMA and then council will look at the possibility of paying the society’s insurance premium and including the society’s insurance in the town’s policy.
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