The Rocky View County (RVC) Recreation Committee has approved $1.1 million in recreation grants to help pay for an artificial turf field for the future Langdon High School, to be completed at the time of the school’s opening in September 2024.
Rocky View Schools (RVS) Associate Superintendent of Business and Operations Larry Paul made the request of the Recreation Committee on behalf of the public school division on June 14.
Paul referenced RVC’s similar donation to Cochrane High School’s new artificial turf field of $600,000, when making the funding request last week. In Langdon’s case, Paul said, the new turf field would be solely for Rocky View County residents and serve the greater Langdon area. He stated it would be available for extended use throughout the year both by students and local residents alike.
“This would be an immediate facility for the residents of Langdon,” he told the committee.
Paul said the reason the school division was requesting $1.1 million instead $600,000 this time is because County policy states that RVC will fund up to 25 per cent for recreational amenities which its residents use in nearby municipalities outside of its jurisdiction, but would be willing to fund up to 50 per cent of recreational amenities that are built within its own municipal boundaries.
The total cost of the turf in this case is projected to be $2.2 million, explained Paul, with RVC picking up half of the tab and RVS picking up the other half.
Paul acknowledged it was unusual for the public school division to ask for recreational funding directly from RVC without the intermediary of a local non-profit society. But RVS felt with the school set to open in 2024, time was of the essence if they wanted the field completed by then.
Recreation Committee member and Division 2 Coun. Don Kochan said he could not support RVS’ ask for that very reason. RVC’s Policy C-317 was clear, he argued, that recreational grant funding should only be given to a non-profit society, not a school division.
“Typically, we provide our grants to a non-profit organization,” he said. “It hasn’t been established (at Langdon High) yet … To me this seems a little premature as far as an ask.”
Recreation Committee member and Division 4 Coun. Samanntha Wright felt there was also another element at play here – a question of basic fairness.
Wright pointed to the fact recreational funding for Langdon has already been exceedingly generous in the past few years, with the County paying millions for new ball diamonds in the hamlet and tens of millions for a new recreation centre.
She felt, in her mind, this $1.1 million ask – which came out of the blue without any local non-profit group even established yet – would perhaps show extraordinary favouritism to the southeast corner of the county, if approved.
Referencing a growing number of residents within and near acreage communities like Springbank and Bearspaw on the west side of the municipality, Wright said they don’t seem to get as many advantages as Langdon does from the County’s recreational dollars.
“We don’t get $3 million for ball diamonds, a million for this, or a million for that,” she said.
Wright later clarified she was not opposed to providing some funding for the artificial turf field in Langdon, but suggested, out of fairness, that RVC provide only $600,000, and wait for a non-profit society to emerge in Langdon who could potentially contribute some independent fundraising similar to the levels seen in Cochrane.
She made a motion to that effect.
However, Committee vice-chair and Division 5 Coun. Greg Boehlke reminded Wright and his fellow committee members once again of the fundamental difference in Langdon’s case: Cochrane High School had another municipality to help contribute to its new artificial turf field, whereas Langdon falls solely within RVC’s jurisdiction.
“You've got to remember it is our kids that are getting access to this, and our communities who are getting access to these facilities after,” he stated.
Committee member and Langdon area councillor Al Schule also urged his fellow committee members to defeat Wright’s motion.
“I think this always started off as a joint use facility,” he argued. “It was always supposed to be a 50/50 split as much as it can for recreation. This (ask) is for recreation. I think we also we have to remember that this is not just Langdon. It is going to be more than just Langdon using that… It is all in Rocky View. It is all for Rocky View residents.”
Wright’s motion was then defeated by a vote of 4-2, with only Wright and Kochan in favour. Committee member and Division 3 Coun. Crystal Kissel was not present for the vote.
Schule then put his own motion on the floor which sought the full $1.1 million to help pay for the artificial turf.
The motion passed by a vote of 5-1, with only Kochan opposed.
