Rocky View County (RVC) council has signed off on two cost-sharing agreements with the Town of Crossfield for recreation and trash disposal services.
At its Jan. 10 public meeting, RVC council agreed to a five-year recreation cost-share agreement with the Town of Crossfield. This is the first recreational cost-sharing agreement signed between the County and the Town since the last agreement expired in 2018.
Under the terms of the agreement, RVC will provide an annual operating grant of $30,000 to the Town. This will allow equal access for equal user fees for County residents, and is solely restricted to funding operations at Crossfield’s recreational facilities. It does not include any capital costs.
The $30,000 grant must only be applied to existing recreational facilities, and does not include any potential future recreational facilities under its current five-year scope.
According to a statement included in the motion’s preamble, RVC deems recreational opportunities for its residents to be “essential” to their quality of life – and thus the reason for the five-year agreement with Crossfield.
“Recreation is essential to quality of life and is a proactive means for enhancing individual and community vitality,” the statement reads. “Participation in recreation builds family unity and social capital, strengthens volunteer and community capacity development, enhances social interactions, and promotes sensitivity and understanding of cultural diversity.”
Rocky View County also recently signed a five-year agreement with the City of Airdrie to provide equal access to recreation facilities for all residents within the two municipalities. Under this agreement, the County will also contribute six per cent, (likely somewhere between $1 million and $2.5 million annually), to the operating and general maintenance costs of three specific Airdrie-based regional facilities: the Ron Ebbesen Arena, Genesis Place Recreation Centre, and Ed Eggerer Athletic Park.
In December, RVC completed a three-year recreation agreement with the Town of Cochrane which would contribute about $100 per household, or about $300,000, between 2023 and 2025 for County residents who use Town facilities. RVC has an estimated 3,000 households that currently use Cochrane’s recreational amenities on a regular basis.
In 2026 and 2027, RVC will provide financial contributions annually based on the percentage of RVC residents who access local amenities.
In a separate decision at the Jan. 10 meeting, RVC council also agreed to contribute $20,000 annually to the Crossfield Transfer Site over the next five years to allow Rocky View County residents equal access to waste disposal at the Crossfield site.
“The proposed cost contribution agreement allows Rocky View County residents continued access to the Crossfield Transfer Site with the same rights and responsibilities as a Crossfield resident,” reads a statement in the preamble of the motion introduced on Jan. 10. “It formalizes the current practice and sets the parameters for negotiating value, terms, and services for both municipalities if needed.”
The $20,000 annual contribution from RVC is calculated based on usage and other operational factors like hauling and processing costs.
The Crossfield Transfer Site is operated under contract by Airdrie Waste Management.
