The Cold Lake Entertainment Society is requesting funds from the MD of Bonnyville to assist with the enhancement of the Grande Parlour.
During the municipality's committee meeting on Wednesday, May 1, Craig Konechny, executive director for the Grande Parlour, gave a presentation outlining the $75,000 project, which would see upgrades to seating and tables, an investment in lighting and equipment, and the addition of visual aspects using a projector.
"We have a growing reputation of being a first-class theatre due to the amazing talent in our area," expressed Konechny. "Now, we wish to make the audience experience a premier theatre venue worthy of travelling from the city."
The society hoped the MD would match the City of Cold Lake's contribution of roughly $25,000, which was through the city's economic development grant fund. Konechny said they're hoping to raise the remainder of the cost through the Verge Festival.
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MD talks speed limits
After receiving complaints regarding speeding in the MD, council tasked administration with drafting a speed limit policy.
One of the issues raised was implementing similar restrictions throughout the municipality.
"I think I agree with council that there are different types of speed zones in the municipality that I'm not sure what the justification was used for them," CAO Luc Mercier said. "I also agree with council that you need to be consistent with what you do."
Coun. Ben Fadeyiw noted safety is a priority.
"There are no parks (in some areas), so a lot of kids play somewhere in the yard and the open streets where it's paved with their bikes and scooters. There are some people concerned about that."
When it came to making adjustments, Reeve Greg Sawchuk was worried about ensuring drivers adhere to any changes made.
"You can put all the signs you want in the world, but unless you're actually going to enforce it, then it really makes no difference," he explained.
Administration will draft a policy and bring it to council for further consideration.
Grant policies discussed
Council reviewed the proposed policies for the community association operating and capital grants and the community action grant.
Chris McCord, director for parks, recreation, and culture, noted that while the MD has had community association operating and capital grants since 2011, there hasn't been a policy.
"What we did is we combined it. Instead of having two separate policies for the operating and capital portion, it's just all one policy," she explained.
An Oct. 15 deadline for proposals was added to the capital policy to allow council time to include the projects in their upcoming budget.
Incorporated in the operational grant was a list of events from previous years that have been approved for funding in the past.
The MD also discussed the community action grant, which McCord broke into two different criteria.
"One is a program or event, which is the more typical ones that we get. For example, your Visual Arts or rodeo, that would be falling under that (category). The bigger ones would be for capital projects," she detailed.
McCord suggested having three different deadlines for events and programs throughout the year, which would be March, September, and October, while capital funding would just have one in March.
Both policies will outline who's eligible for the funding, and the requirements for groups interested in applying.
Council accepted both items as information, and will bring the changes forward at a future meeting for a decision.
