The Town of Bonnyville won’t be applying for the Investing in Canada Infastructure Program (ICIP) grant funding this year.
Council declined moving further with their expressions of interest after the provincial government released that these projects would be funded through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funds.
“Those funds are absolutely necessary, and I think it’s insane as to the way the individuals, whoever made that decision, have a bit of a reckoning,” explained Mayor Gene Sobolewski during their regular council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
The announcement means municipalities will have to choose what they see as a top priority, and pick one project over another.
Council will be writing a letter to Alberta Municipal Affairs to ask them to change their decision, otherwise there will be a decline in projects being brought forward for the ICIP grant.
“It’s a low-blow to municipalities, and it’s going to kill a lot of cultural and recreational opportunities,” expressed Coun. Brian McEvoy.
Coun. Ray Prevost said there was no way he could support using infrastructure funding for anything but those projects.
Sobolewski noted they’re going to have to get creative when it comes to funding certain projects from now on. This includes assisting the Bonnyville Bingo Association in finding a new space.
“I really think now we’re going to have to put our thinking caps on to strategically figure out what to do, or how we’re going to work with bingo in making that happen. I now think that the Lyle Vic isn’t going to go away,“ he said, noting that residents have also been raising concerns about the pool facilities.
Coun. Elisa Brosseau found the announcement disheartening, and wondered how smaller municipalities would come up with the funding.
“It’s going to allow those people with the money to continue on because they already have the funding to allot to themselves. We’re going to have to get a lot more creative with how we allocate money because recreation and culture is just as important as roads and infrastructure. I hate that we have to kill one (project), and focus on another,” she said.
During budget deliberations, council will reach out to determine what alternative plans for there projects could look like.
Sobolewski noted, “How do we recover from something like this? Because they just killed both of our expressions of interest in a heart beat.”
The town was originally going to submit expressions of interest for a performing arts centre and an aquatics centre.
