Municipality likely to receive extra $300,000 for old compressor

Mac Olsen
South Peace News

The Town of High Prairie will likely receive an extra $300,000 under the provincial government’s Major Facilities Grants. This comes after the municipality sold the Sports Palace’s old compressor to the Town of McLennan for $1 in December. The Town of High Prairie was to receive $550,000 under the Major Facilities Grants but should now receive $850,000. Mayor Rick Dumont was surprised to learn about the extra $300,000. He says the money will be used to finish work on the Gordon Buchanan Recreation Centre, including the performing arts centre portion of the building. During the Premier’s Dinner in Red Deer on Oct. 18, 2007, Dumont and Lindsay Pratt, spokesman for the High Prairie and District Sports Complex Society, met with Dunvegan - Central Peace MLA Hector Goudreau. Dumont says they explained the arena’s old compressor had been up for sale for 10 months but there was no interest. Then they suggested giving the compressor to the Town of McLennan and requested additional money under the Major Facilities Grants. He agreed to consider an additional $250,000 for the Town of High Prairie. At about this time, the Town of High Prairie, the High Prairie and District Sports Complex Society, the High Prairie and District Regional Recreation Board and the Town of McLennan negotiated for the better part of two months. They announced in mid-December that a deal had been reached, whereby the Town of McLennan would receive the old compressor for $1. Mayor Dumont calls this a positive thing for High Prairie. “We did a good deed and the government sees it as a good deed,” he says. Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pearl Calah- asen also supports the sale of the old compressor. She is seeking an additional $50,000 for the Town of High Prairie for a total of $300,000 that the municipality could receive from the provincial government. “We needed it really bad for High Prairie,” says Calahasen. The government still has to approve the money. Goudreau says his staff is working on it. Goudreau says $280 million is available with one-quarter of the money going to the City of Edmonton, one-quarter to the City of Calgary, one-quarter to smaller cities in Alberta, and one-quarter to rural Alberta. He adds the government distributes the money as fairly as possible but there will not be enough for all funding applications. Goudreau also says the $250,000 was not enough for the Town of McLennan to purchase a new compressor. He said a new one would cost more than that and High Prairie’s old compressor is the better deal. “If McLennan were to apply to get a new compressor, it would probably be a lot more than the $250,000,” says Goudreau. “From my perspective, if McLennan needs one and there’s one available in High Prairie, that’s the arrangement between the two. In return, instead of giving the grant to McLennan to buy a new one, I can give it (the $250,000) to High Prairie for their project.” Goudreau says he should receive the recommendation on the $250,000 funding proposal soon.

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