Ashcroft Council defeated a motion to give Winding Rivers Arts & Performance Society a $500 grant in aid... so that they could vote instead to meet with the group and discuss their plans and financial needs for a better funding strategy.
According to staff, WRAPS received a $500 grant in aid last year for the Canada Day celebrations. In addition, donations of staff time and free pool time add up to about $700.
WRAPS asked for the funding at a prior meeting, adding that they didn’t look at the funding as a grant in aid, but as assistance for putting on an event for the town. The group is also hoping to access a $500 grant in aid fro the Village for its upcoming theatrical production, but Village policy states that non-profit groups can only apply for one grant in aid per year.
Administrator Michelle Allen told Council that the actual cost of the event while the Village was hosting it would cost between $2-3,000. However, the Lions and Rotary clubs helped out with donations and subsidized food, and the Village absorbed cost of pool and staff wages. Allen added that the Village never paid for performers while it was overseeig the event.
“They feel like they’ve taken on the Canada Day celebration on behalf of the Village,” said Coun. Al Mertens.
Mayor Jack Jeyes said the policy states that if the Village grants money to a group, it is a grant in aid, and the policy says the same group can’t get more than one grant in a year.
Councillors voted against a motion to give WRAPS a $500 grant in aid and accepted another that asked them to come and discuss what they needed and how the Village could help.