Kimberley group's hall usage bumps up against $3,000 limit on waiver of rental fees

Hamilton Spectator

22-05-2025

New rules and a new cap for Grey Highlands community grant program posed a few conundrums at a recent meeting.
Several items were sent back to the council table for a decision. Two are simple enough.
The first, a request that council consider adding the price increase for the tent for Flesherton Fling to get ongoing support as a 'Significant Community Event'. The second, the same request for the Flesherton-Markdale Legion for its Remembrance Day Luncheon.
The other was from the Kimberley Community Association (KCA), whose $11,000 in rental fee waiver requests for the Kimberley Hall more than tripled the $3,000 limit.
The rest of the applications will come back to council either approved or denied at the committee level.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
The final grant decisions still lie in the hands of council, and will likely be considered June 7. Staff member Rob Del Duca said he will contact groups to let them know the preliminary results of decisions by the Financial Assistance Committee.
Members of the committee are Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen, who is the chair, Coun. Tom Allwood and resident Colleen Boer.
During the 2025 budget, council decided to cap support through the Financial Assistance Program at $30,000.
That includes the estimated value of fee waivers on municipal facilities. Those requests made up most of what came before the committee.
Changes were made to the terms of reference for the committee as well, which will now meet only once a year.
The policy says that the majority of participants must be Grey Highlands residents. That's a matter that was discussed by council earlier, because many communities are near or on the border with other municipalities.
Capital improvements to privately-owned buildings or municipal buildings are not eligible.
There are three categories:
-Projects or one-time support (limit is the lesser of $2,500 or 50 percent);
-Events (Venue rentals up to $3,000);
-Staff Support (up to $250 for additional staff time for events)
TIMING
The meeting was delayed, partly because the budget was not passed until February. Staff member Rob Del Duca said further delays were caused by staff shortages.
One of the program changes reduced the intake from two times a year to once only. This year, applications were open between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31.
Given that the year is half-over, Coun. Tom Allwood observed, many of the fee waivers applied for are for events that have already taken place.
In the case of the KCA, the present value of fee waivers used is $2,600.
Coun. Tom Allwood said that perhaps a different arrangement should be made with the KCA – possibly a Memorandum of Understanding.
'I don't see how we can cherry-pick these 13 requests and come up with $400, which is all that's left in the funding envelope.'
Mr. Del Duca agreed it was a 'huge ask'. He said that the KCA didn't know how to eliminate them, and decided to submit them despite knowing they were over-budget.
Mr. Del Duca said staff had been thinking that the intake period should be moved earlier, so decisions were made before many activities had already taken place.
Coun. Allwood moved that the decision on the Kimberley Community Association requests be referred back to council, which was passed.
However, Deputy Mayor Nielsen said the timing could put staff in a pinch, because the KCA might reach its fee waiver limit before the next council.
The committee heard from staff that they would reach out and perhaps the group could scale back activities in the meantime.
The way the fee waiver limit works is the $3,000 applies to one group. In some other communities, there are many different community groups, rather than one over-arching Association, as in Kimberley.
For example, there were requests for blocks of subsidiary activities, such as 52 from bridge players and 24 from community gardens. Also, a couple of the events involved partnering with other groups, Friends of the Library, and a request for a speaker series, which has involved the Probus Club in the past.
RECOMMENDED SUPPORT
At the start of the meeting, it was announced that the remaining cash budget was just under $20,000.
Grey Highlands budget included $111,500 in commitments, but of that $60,000 is given through Memorandums of Understanding, and about $33,000 for significant community events.
Requests were approved for many fee waivers, and some cash support, including:
-Centre Grey Foundation for the Centre Grey Rec Complex for the Gran Fondo cycling fundraiser;
-Centre Grey Lions Club for business meetings and two trivia night fundraisers at the Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre in Rocklyn.
-Feversham Agricultural Society for the Osprey Community Centre for a volunteer appreciation event and business meetings and for business rentals for the Junior Fair Board.
-Feversham Kinsmen for two-day use of the Osprey Community Centre for Christmas activities, for the Heritage Dinner, the Strawberry Supper and for business meetings (limited to 15 rather than 20 to keep it under the $3,000 total.
-Friends of the Kimberley Forest, $425 cash for a community celebration for the new parking lot and trail head recognition at Sideroad 4A and 7 Line, and fee waivers for business meetings at the Kimberley Hall.
-Friends of the Rocklyn Arena - requests for fee waivers for business meetings, money to pay for outdoor portable toilets and handwash stations for events for Father's Day Classic Car and Antique Tractor Show. Another request for cash toward entertainment was delayed until the council meeting because of lack of clarity about the amount requested.
-Grey Bruce Native Seed Bank - $2,500 to promote and deliver the program. The funding is for one year, and to qualify again, there would have to be an expansion or something new.
-Grey County Farm Safety Association - $500 cash contribution to promote and deliver programming.
-Markdale Recreation Committee – for business meetings at the Centre Grey Recreation Complex, and $500 for a youth collaboration event with the library.
-Osprey Recreation Committee – for waiver of rentals of Osprey hall meeting room for business meetings.
-Pickleball Club of Grey Highlands – for waiver of fees for Flesherton Arena for five three-hour rentals.
-Priceville Improvement Committee – $400 for flowers to beautify the village; waiver of fees for fundraising events.
-Rocklyn 4-H Lifeskills – for business meeting fee waivers for Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre.
-Rocklyn Ag Society – Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre for business meetings, and five fundraisers.
-Rocklyn Country Theatre – for use of the Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre for 10 rehearsals and four-day play.
-Royal Canadian Legion Br. 333 -Flesherton Complex large hall for annual Mess Dinner and for Remembrance Day lunch.
-Temple Hill United Church – for the Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre for three fundraising events.
-VON Grey Bruce – for Markdale hall for Exercise and fall prevention. The value is $3,000, and the VON had requested waivers for more, but will be paying the balance themselves.
Applications that were denied either didn't meet the program criteria, or had operational reasons given by staff. The Feversham Ag Society had requested $2,500 toward new chairs for the Osprey Community Centre, which staff said is properly a Grey Highlands operational budget decision.
Another circumstance was a request that the municipality bring 25 picnic tables for Rocklyn arena for use at the Father's Day event, which Mr. DelDuca said staff had made an operational decision not to move municipal picnic tables to costs for staff time and equipment. A note also said the municipality did not have the tables to fulfill the request.
As well, a request made by the Rocklyn Ag Society for ball field repairs and maintenance was denied. Staff said that to bring the 'unmaintained ball field' to be ready for a tournament would take significant maintenance by staff. The diamond would be prepared to be safe and level, the committee heard, but not to the standard for recreational ball.