Six St. Albert public-use facilities received a total of $494,937 from the province in the latest round of Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grants.
The money will help the St. Albert Rugby Football Club, which received $46,059, keep membership costs down, said Kendra Fiddler, past club president. Funding is vital at a time when some members are retiring from the club and it’s hoping to attract a fresh influx of players and fans.
The club will use the money to repair its aging parking lot, which was built in the 80s and is now a “nightmare” filled with potholes and tripping hazards, Fiddler said.
“We definitely rely on these grants,” Fiddler said. “It’s a hard cycle to be in because otherwise, it's like, we won't be doing these things … we already fundraise for jerseys and for things we need to run the program. [The parking lot] would be an additional fundraiser on top of that.”
It’s a similar story at the St. Albert Curling Club, which received $39,954 to do some painting, replace a hot water tank and repair its leaking roof.
“Without that kind of assistance, it's really hard for a not-for-profit to bring in enough money,” said Taina Smiley, the club’s manager. “We are community based, we've got a lot of seniors, our demographic is aging. So lots of fixed incomes. It's an important place for them for their physical and mental health.”
The portion of the building that contains the curling rink is roughly 40 years old. Smiley said that without grant money, she’s not sure whether the rink would be able to stay open.
The St. Albert Legion received $83,924 in grant money that will be used to replace the facility’s HVAC system.
The system is almost 30 years old and replacement parts were getting hard to find, according to Doug Delorme, past Legion president. It had also been shutting off randomly.
“Every non-profit is probably facing the same issues,” Delorme said. “These costs keep going up.”
Delorme said the Legion has been fortunate coming out of COVID-19. Thanks to its fundraising efforts and grants from the province and the city, the Legion has enough money to afford such a significant upgrade.
The rugby club, curling club and legion all received additional grants from the City of St. Albert to support the renovations, and they will pay a portion themselves.
Three additional facilities received CFEP funding: the St Albert Botanic Park ($75,000); Lodgepole Park Playground ($125,000); and Ecole Marie Poburan Elementary School Playground ($125,000).
CFEP provides a maximum of $125,000 in financial assistance to public facilities in municipalities across Alberta.
