By By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19) rdnewsNOW

Ponoka town council delivers blunt message to province

Nov 29, 2018 | 4:25 PM

Ponoka town council is taking a stand against the province; the mayor there expressing extreme disappointment with the Alberta Government’s treatment of rural municipalities.

Mayor Rick Bonnett and the rest of council will hold a news conference on the matter Friday morning at 10 a.m. inside the Ponoka Culture and Recreation Complex.

In a release, Bonnett says the province’s funding processes and how it handles the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) need to change.

“As a small municipality, we can’t afford to use our annual MSI funding to build a recreation facility. We rely on that money every year to repair our roads and underground water and sewer infrastructure. Without it, our infrastructure would fall apart,” explains Bonnett. “The mayor and town council wrote letters and met with provincial ministers in Edmonton but were told no new provincial funding could be provided due to Alberta’s current fiscal situation.”

Furthermore, the mayor points out the province had no problem committing $700 million for another winter Olympics in Calgary, but Ponoka can’t get $4.5 million for the aforementioned rec facility which he says would be a ‘vital economic driver.’

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Adding to council’s apparent frustration, the release continues, is that the Town could not access the approximately $6 million federal portion of the ICIP funding unless they first agreed to use the Town’s annual MSI funding to build a new rec facility.

Bonnett says they’ve tried repeatedly over the last several weeks to discuss this matter with the province, but have received no response.

“They appear to have shut the door on communication. We’re running out of options, which is why we have now decided it’s time to consider taking more serious action,” he says

Council has passed two resolutions, the first of which demands the province release the federal portion of ICIP funding, which represents 40 per cent of the cost of the $15 million wellness centre the Town wants to build.

As well, council voted to withhold in trust effective Jan. 1, 2019 the collected portion of the Provincial Property School Tax until the provincial portion of the ICIP funding is released, which represents 33 per cent of the well centre’s cost.

“We are using these motions as a tactic to try and bring the provincial government back to the table for meaningful dialogue. We don’t want to go down this road but we see no other option,” the mayor concludes. “We are holding the news conference on Friday to clearly explain how we got to this point and why we feel it’s a necessary step to take.”

The mayor of Stettler Sean Nolls has added that he respects and supports the intent of Ponoka town council’s decision, which is to try and prompt meaningful dialogue around the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program and the joint regional recreational facilities the two towns hope to build.