ST. PAUL – With operational costs climbing and the municipal election just around the corner, the Town of St. Paul is pushing to update its recreation agreement with the County of St. Paul.
During the June 9 Town of St. Paul council meeting, Coun. Brad Eamon expressed disappointment that the agreement has not yet been updated.
Mayor Maureen Miller said a discussion is planned to take place, expressing hope the agreement will be updated before the October municipal next election.
In a follow-up with Lakeland This Week regarding Eamon’s comments, Miller said the Town and County’s recreational bilateral agreement is an agreement in perpetuity that began in 2018. While this means it is an agreement that lasts indefinitely, there are conditions in the document that could trigger a review, including increased operational costs.
Since operational costs have gone up and are projected to go up further, the Town is seeking to make some changes.
CAO Steven Jeffery also said the Town is considering negotiating changes to the bilateral agreement to include both municipalities putting money in for the replacement of recreational facilities.
Currently, the money that the County pays the Town funds operational costs and not the replacement or maintenance of facilities.
Jeffery said the agreement is based on a 75 per cent population and a 25 per cent equalized assessment to help fund both the operational costs of Town and the County's Class B assets.
As per the agreement, the Town pays for a portion of the County's Class B assets, and the County pays for the Town's portion of Class B assets. "Obviously, expenses of Town are much higher," said Jeffery, with the Town paying about $326,000 more compared to the County, as the Town has more Class B assets.
The Town's Class B assets include the St. Paul arenas, curling rink, the soccer fields, the skate park, the St. Paul Golf Course, the Rec Centre, Reunion Station, and the St. Paul ball diamonds.
The County's Class B assets include the County parks and the Mallaig Arena.
Under the bilateral agreement, both municipalities also help each other fund recreational events like Canada Day celebrations or the LRA Finals managed by the County, as well as costs related to maintenance of assets, including trail maintenance.
In a statement to Lakeland This Week, CAO Jason Wallsmith said while there are no scheduled dates yet to meet with the Town to update the agreement, both municipalities' administrations have been working together to bring an updated agreement to their municipal councils.
