Trail and Beaver Valley reach recreation deal
By City of Trail
The City of Trail and Beaver Valley (Fruitvale, Montrose and Area ‘A’) are pleased to announce they have successfully negotiated and approved a one-year recreation agreement that will take effect on September 1, 2015. Beaver Valley will contribute $125,000 for the one-year term which will allow their residents to use Trail Parks & Recreation facilities and participate in its services and programs at the Trail Resident fee.
Both the City of Trail Recreation Negotiating Committee, consisting of Mayor Martin, Councillor Jolly and Councillor Santori, and the Beaver Valley Recreation Committee (BV Rec), composed of Mayor Patricia Cecchini (Fruitvale), Mayor Joe Danchuk (Montrose) and Ali Grieve (Regional District of Kootenay Boundary Area ‘A’ Director) are very pleased with the outcome of the positive recreation discussions that have taken place.
“We are absolutely delighted to have reached a recreation agreement with Beaver Valley,” says Mayor Mike Martin. “It will reestablish the relationship that will provide the residents of the Beaver Valley unrestricted access to the Trail Recreation facilities. Although we were pursuing a longer-term agreement at a higher level of financial participation, we fully understood and appreciated the concerns expressed by the BV Rec negotiating team. The one-year term provides the opportunity to build a strong working relationship to effectively deal with other matters and allow for consideration of a longer-term agreement in 2016. We would like to compliment and thank the BV Rec negotiating team for their openness and willingness to engage in an effective dialogue that led to this significant milestone.”
The success of the agreement not only represents positive action with our local recreation services, but it also signifies intercommunity cooperation and strong rapport building. “This is a giant step for community collaboration and sets a new tone for future conversations,” says Ali Grieve, Chair of BV Rec. “We are especially pleased that an agreement has been achieved prior to the start of fall recreation programming.”
BV Rec withdrew from City of Trail recreation at the end of 2013 to launch its own recreation payment system, therefore the recent reinstatement with Trail’s program is of particular significance. “We did have a very successful reimbursement program in place but it was still difficult for some folks to put the money out front,” states Grieve. “This will make things much simpler for our residents and for all staff.”
The City of Trail sees immense value in recreation across the region and looks forward to the possibility of reaching agreements with the other communities in the area. “Recreation agreements with our neighbouring communities are in our collective best interest as they support healthy lifestyles and choices, provide for economic development and provide part of the social network which makes for a strong sense of community,” continues Martin. “In addition, should we reach recreation agreements across the region, we will be able to eliminate the two-tier system that has become so divisive to our region. We are most encouraged to now have agreements with both Warfield and Beaver Valley and we will continue to work with the communities of Rossland and Area ‘B’ to establish mutually acceptable agreements.”
The City will keep the residents informed of any new recreation developments and agreements.
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