At the Crossfield council meeting on Feb. 2 the Crossfield Agricultural Society Community Gardens (CASCG) asked the Town to pay part of the $2,000 water bill from the 2014 season.
“Last year RV (Rocky View Foundation Lodge) gave us the OK without the meter and agreed we would just determine the (water) usage over the previous years numbers,” said Angeline Feltham, CASCG spoksperson, adding she was surprised at the large water bill CASCG received at the end of the 2014 season.
On June 4, 2014 permission was granted by Municipal Affairs to use water from RVFL, where the garden is located.
The initial concept of the garden was that it would be a self-sufficient entity, however, when Feltham initially came to council in June 2014 to ask the Town to pay for the first year of water, she said the group needed some help getting going.
At the Feb. 2 meeting Feltham once again asked council for “anything you can spare” in terms of funding to help cover the water bill.
Council was hesitant to commit the funds.
“Inertia already has us too deep into this business and my goal is to wiggle our way back out to where general tax revenue is used primarily for water, sewer, parks, sidewalks, pathways, common facilities and any other core infrastructure,” Mayor Nathan Anderson said.
Councillor Hadi Feltham who also is part of the CASCG committee said he supported funding the CASCG.
“The community garden is dedicated to providing a service to the community and understands that outside funding is important in providing those services whether it be for water, upkeep and/or social programs,” Hadi said.
He said the challenge last year for CASCG was the shared water source, which made it challenging to accurately monitor useage.
Anderson suggested Family Community Support Services (FCSS)funding would be a better fit than the Town to cover the water funding and requested the issue be brought up at the Crossfield Recreation Board Meeting in March, where FCSS funding will be determined.
Hadi said the water at the community gardens will be addressed this year because a dedicated CASCG sprinkler system will be put in place that can be more accurately metered.
“We feel we have a good solution moving forward and do not foresee any further challenges,” he said.
