COLD LAKE – Community groups applying for funds from the City of Cold Lake’s Community Recreation, Art, Culture and Heritage Investment (CRACH) Grant Program will have requests reviewed more often, following a policy change by council.
The applications for CRACH will be reviewed monthly instead of every two months. The change aims to address timing issues for event funding and the increasing financial assistance requests that are being made.
Applications are reviewed by the Community Grant Advisory Committee before going to council for approval.
At the Feb. 25 regular council meeting, the City of Cold Lake's Community Grant Advisory Committee (CGAC) Chair, Lacey Chyz, delivered the 2024 annual report.
Chyz said the CGAC's mandate is "to review funding requests that address a community service need and make recommendations to council for funding, which aligns with established grant and sponsorship programs within the budget allocations for the programs."
She added, "This includes both the community grant capital projects as well as the recreation, culture, arts and that section. So per our policy, the committee receives grant applications, reviews the applications to determine whether they satisfy the criteria established in the policies, and we provide council with recommendations including short summaries of the funding request."
Chyz said the committee reviewed 37 delegations over the past year, with most applications coming in the spring and summer, making March, May, and July the busiest months. She also praised the shift from quarterly to bi-monthly meetings as a positive improvement.
The CGAC has reserved two member seats for youth aged 16 and above.
"We have not filled those seats, but there is an opportunity for young people to get involved at this table." She encouraged spreading the word to potential young leaders.
Coun. Vicky Lefebvre thanked the committee's efforts and raised concerns about the declining number of volunteers, stating, "The declining volunteers is definitely a problem and you also. . . have volunteers that are aging."
She questioned the necessity of committee review for smaller grant applications, suggesting administrative approval for amounts like $500.
Coun. Chris Vining praised Chyz's dedication and inquired about granting the committee authority to approve certain funding amounts without full council approval. Chyz responded positively, referencing other governance models where staff have approval thresholds before escalating to higher boards.
Mayor Craig Copeland addressed the challenge of meeting quorums with increased meeting frequency and proposed allowing applications for events that have already occurred, provided they meet specific criteria.
Chyz agreed, suggesting that the city's brand team could manage smaller requests, while larger requests undergo committee review.
“There are a lot of groups in our community that apply for this grant and need financial assistance,” said Copeland. “But with events happening year-round, we were finding that the timing for applications being approved on time was getting tight for some organizations that were requesting a quick turnaround, and we want to make the process as smooth as possible.”
