Trail and Warfield reach recreation and library agreement
By City of Trail
The City of Trail and the Village of Warfield are pleased to announce they have successfully negotiated and approved a 5.5-year (66 months) recreation and library services agreement that will take effect on July 1, 2015. Warfield will contribute $631,500 over the full term and the City will allocate 68 per cent of the funding to Trail recreation and 32 per cent towards library services.
The Recreation Negotiating Committees, Trail Mayor Mike Martin, councillors Jolly and Santori and Chief Administrative Officer David Perehudoff representing Trail and Warfield Mayor Ted Pahl, Councillors Langman and Ferraro representing Warfield, have engaged in productive and positive discussions over the last several months as part of extending this critical service and funding partnership. Both parties recognized the importance and urgency of coming to terms on a new agreement with the current 18-month agreement set to expire at the end of June.
“We are absolutely delighted to have reached a recreation and library agreement with the Village of Warfield,” says City of Trail Mayor Mike Martin. “The agreement establishes long-term stability for both Warfield and Trail and provides Warfield residents with unrestricted access to the Trail recreation facilities. We would like to compliment and thank the Warfield negotiating team for the representation of their council and residents.”
“On behalf of Council and the Village, I am pleased to be able to announce a long-term deal with the City of Trail for recreation and library services,” says Ted Pahl, Mayor of Warfield. “Many thanks to Councillors Langman and Ferraro for their hard work on this, and the team from the City of Trail for working with us on a deal that fits within our five-year financial plan. Working together with the other communities in our region is something that Warfield Council is passionate about and we feel this partnership demonstrates our commitment to fostering stronger relationships.”
Negotiating agreements and building positive relationships with neighbouring communities are one of the top priorities for Trail City Council. Trail Council continues to deal with key initiatives in areas such as economic development, boundary expansion, airport and other infrastructure improvements that will provide benefit to the entire region. As part of these initiatives, and when considering the regional implications associated with recreation, Trail is keen to work directly with the other communities in hopes of reaching successful agreements that consider the unique circumstance of each community from a servicing and funding perspective.
“Recreation agreements with our neighbouring communities are in our collective best interest as it promotes and supports healthy behaviours and choices, provides for economic development opportunities, and provides 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 Trail Resident Program (TRP) which has become so divisive to our region. We are most encouraged to have the recreation agreement in place with the Village of Warfield and we will continue to work with the communities of Beaver Valley, Area B and Rossland to establish mutually acceptable agreements.”
Initial discussions with Beaver Valley and Area B have now taken place. The City also hopes to formally meet with Rossland within the next few months. The City will keep residents informed of any new developments and agreements.
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