Town gets $55,000 financial boost

The Town of Barrhead received funding to help maintain upgraded parks and pay for advertising.

The Town received a combined total of $55,000 under the Municipal Sustainability Initiative. Twenty-thousand dollars will go towards park/playground safety and enhancement initiatives, while the remaining $35,000 will be used for community marketing initiatives.

Acting Town manager Kathy Vickery said the $20,000 will be put toward six new structures that have been put in at Cecile Martin Park, North and South, Denthor Park, Rotary Park, Rosemary Empey Park and Lions Park. Marketing costs include advertising the Green Expo in the Leader, as well as on radio and television, she said.

The money for the parks will be used to maintain the new sand that was poured after new playground equipment was installed, as well as to keep the fence in place. Furthermore, the money will help maintain trees, flowers and shrubs. Last year, the Town replaced old playground equipment that did not meet current safety standards, Vickery said.

“These funds allow the Town to continue with its current operations, and for new programs,” Vickery said.

The entire project has a pricetag of $305,000 with grant funding of $101,500 from Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC).

Westlock County received $568,932 for its 2009 gravel program, and $235,000 for Township 590 Highway 2 to Highway 44 rehabilitation.

Woodlands County was given $152,761 for its recreation board’s operating subsidy program.

The summer village of Larkspur was granted $8,117 for its land use bylaw.

“Projects in the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock constituency have been accepted as qualifying under the MSI guidelines,” said MLA Ken Kowalski. “The MSI is the province of Alberta’s funding commitment to provide significant long-term funding to enhance sustainability, and to enable municipalities to meet the demands of growth.”

MSI grants are determined based on municipal populations, education, property tax requisitions and kilometres of local roads, and include base funding for all municipalities with limited local tax bases.