City councillors endorsed a plan for future playgrounds at local schools, but Mayor Nolan Crouse wants to make sure everyone else, including the provincial government, pays their fair share.
Council asked city administration to come up with a long-term plan for playgrounds after the city was overwhelmed with funding requests last year.
In 2009 council handed out more than $250,000 from its community capital grant program for four school playgrounds at Father Jan, Albert Lacombe, Bertha Kennedy and Ronald Harvey schools.
Crouse said he doesn’t want to see that grant program permanently bogged down with funding requests from parents working to replace playground equipment at local schools.
“I am worried about too much grant money going to the school playgrounds when there are many, many other things that require that grant money.”
Crouse said school playgrounds are not a municipality’s responsibility and the city should not be on the hook for them.
“I am worried about adding a permanent expense to the city that should be a provincial responsibility.”
All four playgrounds built with the help of city grant dollars also received money from provincial lottery grants, plus a lot of parent fundraising.
Administration’s new proposal would see the city enter into a formal agreement to spend up to $125,000 for ‘collaborative playgrounds’ — facilities that would serve both the community and school.
The city would work with the school board on exactly where these playgrounds should be located so they serve joint interests. Most would likely be built in new neighbourhoods.
City recreation director Monique St. Louis said school playgrounds are already accessible to the community, but do not entirely serve both needs.
“The schools are already sited on parkland. It would just mean finding a central location where the community could access the school as well.”
She said the $125,000 is what the city currently spends on its own playgrounds in local parks.
St. Albert has a total of 76 playgrounds — 21 of them on school property. St. Louis said six playgrounds, including the one at Robert Rundle, are past their useable life.
Crouse called the dual purpose playground idea a great approach for the future, but said he wants a clear plan for who will pay for replacement playgrounds at existing schools.
“The city is beginning to fund playgrounds and I want to know what the school board and the community groups are also doing.”
Crouse said the whole community benefits from playgrounds at schools, but he wants to see the costs better spread out.
“There is greater good for all of these playgrounds, because they are played on seven days a week, but I want to make sure there is fairness in it.”
The school boards have provided resources and time, but no funding to build the play structures.
Morag Pansegrau, chair of the Protestant school board said they don’t like putting a strain on parents to build and raise funds for the structures, but the province doesn’t provide the district with any money for that purpose.
“Unless the government was to provide us with some sort of a grant for the playgrounds there is not a lot we can do,” she said.
Council will review the new playground plan in June.
