Mountain View County will contribute substantially more funding for recreation and culture facilities and services located in the town.
Councils of both municipalities signed a new inter-municipal collaboration framework master agreement this fall as well as a new sub-agreement relating to how MVC will contribute funding to culture and recreation in Sundre.
Under a previous agreement, the county contributed approximately $400,000 for recreation and culture facilities and services in Sundre in 2017, of which a large portion was dedicated to the Aquaplex, said Chris Albert, Sundre’s director of corporate services.
For the 2018 fiscal year, MVC’s total has jumped to about $572,000. Of that roughly $203,000 is earmarked for the Aquaplex, he said.
“They’ve got a pretty substantial jump of what their contribution is,” he said about the county.
The Sundre Municipal Library is also expected to see its contribution from the county increase, up to about $54,000 in 2018 from just shy of $39,000 in 2017, he said.
“That’s pretty much a 40 per cent increase.”
None of the new funds have been funnelled along to the various groups and organizations like the library and Aquaplex, since the Town of Sundre has not yet received any payments from the county, he said.
“The commitment is there and we’re just waiting for the funds,” he said. “Until we get it, we can’t pass it on.”
The director of corporate services expressed optimism that could happen before the end of the year.
At the end of October, the inter-municipal collaboration framework (ICF) master agreement was officially signed. With the signing of a new master agreement, the neighbouring municipalities’ councils aspire to pursue a new era of cooperation, reads a joint press release issued by both municipalities.
The ICF is a completely new agreement that replaces a now expired similar 10-year agreement that outlined how much the county would contribute per capita for shared services.
The modernized Municipal Government Act stipulates that neighbouring municipalities with shared services — such as fire protection and amenities including but not limited to town-owned facilities like the arena, community centre and library — develop a collaborative framework, said Linda Nelson, Sundre’s chief administrative officer.
“That’s really what the ICF agreement is all about.”
Additionally, third-party services such as the Aquaplex are also identified and included in separate sub-agreements like the recreation and culture agreement, she said.
The master plan also outlines processes to work respectfully together towards sharing the costs for services provided by Sundre that benefit both town and county residents, she said.
The new master agreement is a document that establishes guidelines for future collaboration, said Albert, adding the ICF is the foundation from which subsequent sub-agreements such as fire protection, recreation and culture as well as developmental agreements are drafted.
Developmental sub-agreements, he elaborated, pertain to the consultation process involved in developing areas that fall near the neighbouring municipalities’ boundaries.
“From normal stuff that requires funding like rec and culture, to more abstract concepts such as future developments,” the ICF covers a wide variety of items, he said, adding the master agreement itself does not actually outline any dollar amounts.
“That is where the sub-agreements come into play.”
Other sub-agreements such as fire protection services have not yet been negotiated.
“We’re actually working under the old fire services agreement. That’ll be a new agreement that’s coming forward, probably early in 2019.”
Inter-municipal discussions between the two municipalities have been ongoing for several months and featured regular meetings between negotiating teams leading to development of the master agreement as well as the recreation and culture funding sub-agreement. Each municipality’s negotiating team consists of three elected representatives along with an administrative representative from both the county and the town, the release states.
