Daily Herald Contributor
City council will meet on Monday to vote on two new agreements that are up for deliberation.
Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) Agreement and the Prince Albert Historical Society 2009 Memorandum of Agreement will both be up for approval.
Financial Services Director Ramona Fauchoux will be presenting the report recommending council approve CCBF Agreement, which must be signed by Nov. 1, 2024.
Arts and Culture Manager Judy MacLeod Campbell will be presenting on Historical Society’s request to review the Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Prince Albert, which went into effect on April 6, 2009. The intent of the agreement was to formally document the relationship with respect to the function and operation of museum and heritage programming through the support of volunteers.
Fauchoux will present a report written by Audit Manager Cory Selander, who wrote that the funding received through the CCBF agreement will assist the City with various types of capital projects, including infrastructure, capacity building projects, and asset management planning.
Once signed, the City’s first 2024-25 installment payment will follow as soon as possible, in accordance with the provincial election writ period parameters and if the Municipal Compliance Strategy criteria are met.
Should the signed and returned agreement be received during the provincial election campaign, the agreement and the first installment payment will be processed and sent shortly after the provincial election.
If approved, City of Prince Albert will receive $12.089 million from 2024-2029, with the remaining five-year allocations to be determined from the 2026 Census figures. The City would be required to invest the CCBF money in projects that would improve housing needs identified through the Housing Needs Assessment (HNA).
The funding levels will be reassessed after the 2026 census.
“The CCBF supports the City’s Strategic Plan priorities of Building a Robust Economy and Investing in Infrastructure by maximizing additional revenue sources to reduce the reliance on residential property tax,” reads the report. “This additional revenue aids the development of capital and infrastructure projects within the City to support a stable and resilient economy.”
Campbell, Arts & Culture Manager will present on the Prince Albert Historical Society’s request to review the 2009 Memorandum of Agreement.
The Prince Albert Historical Society wants to ensure the full costs of the Curator/Manager (wages, benefits, and associated employer costs) and the grant for annual operations, meet clauses 8.6 and 8.10 in the Memorandum of Agreement, which say the City shall provide a reasonable grant each year for the Society, plus a monthly reimbursement for the manager’s services and vehicle allowance.
The Historical Society currently has three permanent staff. They also hire 12 museum interpreters and summer students each year.
The Historical Society and representatives of the City is expected to meet in 2024 and 2025 to review the Memorandum of Agreement and make recommendations for the 2026 budget year, and to sustain current operations and consider growth opportunities for future years.
