By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Ponoka town council delivers blunt message to province

Nov 29, 2018 | 3:14 PM

The Town of Ponoka is closing its wallet as council expresses its “extreme disappointment” over the province’s treatment of rural municipalities in its grant funding processes.

Mayor Rick Bonnett says the Alberta Government’s handling of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) needs to change after they were unable to secure money for a new recreation facility he says would be an ‘economic driver’ for Ponoka.

Bonnett says it’s frustrating that the province was willing to give Calgary $700 million for an Olympic bid, but not $4.5 million to Ponoka for the rec facility. Ponoka was instead told to use Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding.

“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.”

Adding to council’s frustration is that the Town could not access the approximately $6 million federal portion of the ICIP funding unless they first agreed to use MSI funding.

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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.”

Council has passed two resolutions in a bid to get the province’s attention. The first demands that the province release the federal portion of ICIP funding, which represents 40 per cent of the cost of the $15 million wellness centre Ponoka wants to build.

The second calls for the Town 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 (representing 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,” Bonnett says. “We don’t want to go down this road but we see no other option.”

Council is holding a media conference Friday morning to further explain how they got to this point and why they feel it’s necessary to take these steps.

The Town of Ponoka says Stettler Mayor Sean Nolls respects and supports the intent of Ponoka 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.