Regional Recreation and Culture Master Plan

Regional Recreation and Culture Master Plan County of Minburn No. 27 – Town of Vegreville – Town of Mundare Final June 2019

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Foreword

Recreation is the experience that results from freely chosen participation in physical, social, intellectual, creative and spiritual pursuits that enhance individual and community wellbeing.

- The Framework for Recreation in Canada: 2015 Creative artistic activity and the goods and services produced by it, and the preservation of heritage.

- The Canadian Framework for Culture Statistics

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Recreation and culture opportunities provide many benefits to individuals and communities. Realizing these benefits and understanding that public investment in these essential services needs to be informed, coordinated, and optimized, the County of Minburn No. 27, the Town of Vegreville, and the Town of Mundare have partnered to look at public investment and desire related to the provision of recreation and culture opportunities for the Region.

This Plan provides direction for both the entire Region as well as the municipalities within in it for the enhancement of services and benefits through investment in recreation and culture. The Plan also provides guidance for the cooperative approach of these municipalities to this provision. The Master Plan is meant to be a reference for Elected Officials and Administration for decision making; it will also serve to guide the many non-profit and private organizations throughout the Region that provide opportunities for residents and visitors.

Acknowledgements

The Regional Recreation and Culture Master Plan was developed through the support, and under the guidance, of the County of Minburn No. 27, the Town of Vegreville, and the Town of Mundare.

These communities, along with a number of consultants, make up the Master Plan Team.

The general public along with a number of community stakeholders and partners were involved throughout the development of the Master Plan. Members of the regional communities of the Town of Vegreville, the Town of Mundare, the County of Minburn No. 27 and the villages of Mannville and Innisfree were engaged and provided input.

The Master Plan Team appreciates, respects, and values the efforts of everyone who participated in the process. The Team thanks residents of the regional municipalities for participating in surveys and attending public meetings.

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Appreciation is also extended to local community groups and organizations for providing input in-person and through questionnaires.

We would like to recognize the regional municipal Councils and Administrators for providing necessary background information and offering strategic guidance throughout the process.

Thanks to the project team, including all staff and administrators as well as the consulting team, for compiling, analyzing, and addressing issues and considerations related to recreation and culture in the Region both today and into the future.

Summary

The County of Minburn No.27, and the Towns of Mundare and Vegreville all invest in recreation and culture services in their own unique ways. In some cases services are provided by municipal staff while in other cases the municipalities subsidize access to facilities and spaces or provide financial support in the provision of services. All of these efforts serve to help make the Region a better place to live and visit.

There are many challenges faced by local government in the provision of recreation and culture opportunities. Realizing both the value of these services in the Region and what is on the horizon, the three municipalities have partnered to develop the Regional Recreation and Culture Master Plan.

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The Plan was intended “..to obtain each Regional Partner’s Council approval and buy-in to a comprehensive Regional Recreation & Culture Master Plan that will foster optimal utilization and long-term sustainability of relevant facilities and programs.� The recommendations on the following page are intended to do just that and are based on sound research, thorough public and stakeholder engagement, and the guidance of local decision makers.

Vegreville-Mundare-County of Minburn No. 27 Region

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Summary

Timing

Financial Impacts

1. Establish reserve funds to help sustain existing recreation and culture infrastructure.

Short-term / ongoing

$$$$$

2. When facilities and spaces require reinvestment, explore repurposing or reduction of service levels as options.

Mid-term / ongoing

n/a

Ongoing

n/a

Mid-term / ongoing

$$$$$

5. Prioritize investment and effort related to recreation and culture amenities in a transparent and diligent manner.

Ongoing

n/a

6. Consider the amenity strategies outlined and revisit them as new information becomes available, when making decisions related to recreation and culture facilities and spaces.

Ongoing

$$$$$

7. Use a consistent approach to decision making related to major public investment in recreation and culture infrastructure.

Ongoing

$

8. Work to coordinate and standardize funding support offered by regional municipalities to each other and external partners.

Ongoing

$$

9. Use the program focus areas and other considerations to help guide the animation of recreation and culture facilities.

Short-term / ongoing

$

10. Create common key messages for promoting recreation and culture opportunities and motivating participation and delivery throughout the Region.

Mid-term / ongoing

$

11. Provide support to recreation and culture stakeholders to build capacity in the delivery system.

Mid-term / ongoing

$

Recommendation

3. Increase utilization of existing facilities and spaces by encouraging more traditional and nontraditional use.

4. Introduce new facilities and spaces when possible.

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Summary

Throughout the Plan, direction is also provided on how regional municipalities can work together to implement the recommendations outlined. Should the three municipalities wish to partner in providing recreation and culture services, should only a subset of the three decide to work together, or should the three decide to invite others to the table, the following course of action is recommended to incorporate regional collaboration into recreation and culture service delivery.

1. Establish a regional body, with the appropriate stakeholders, to oversee Plan implementation.

2. Determine which types of recreation and culture facilities are “regional�.

3. Develop logic around how regional responsibility should be shared and implement a new approach to cost and responsibility sharing for the Region.

4. Review and prioritize other recommendations in the Plan and begin to execute them.

5. Use the amenity strategies outlined herein to guide future decision making related to recreation and culture amenities into the future.

6. Revisit the market from time to time to ensure the data which the Plan recommendations are based upon is still relevant and if it is not, revisit the basis for them and adjust.

The Master Plan will ensure the Region is well positioned for the future of recreation and culture while continuing to be commitment to the benefits of these essential services.

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Table of Contents

Contents 1: Introduction & Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Project Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2: Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 About the Regional Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 About Planning Influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 About the Delivery of Public Recreation and Culture Services in the Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 How the Region Compares to Other Areas in Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 What We Know About Trends in Recreation and Culture . . . . . . . . . . 6 What Regional Residents and Stakeholders Have to Say About Recreation and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3: Strategic Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 4: Facility Ownership and Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Sustaining Service Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Overall Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 More From Existing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 New Facilities and Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Prioritization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Amenity Specific Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Planning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 5: Funding Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 6: Direct Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 7: Promotions and Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 8: Capacity Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 9: Financing Recreation and Culture in the Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 10: Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Appendices A: Amenity Scoring Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

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Introduction & Methodology

Having quality and relevant recreation and culture opportunities in a community and Region improves quality of life. These opportunities enhance community cohesion, advance individual fitness, health and wellbeing, and generate an economic and social impact that can be enjoyed by both residents and visitors.

BeneďŹ ts of Recreation and Culture Provides the key to balanced human development

Essential to personal health and wellbeing Provides a foundation for quality of life Creates social capital, solidarity, cohesion, social inclusion, community empowerment, capacity building, community diversity and civic pride Increases attractiveness of the area for tourists, residents and business Is a signiďŹ cant economic generator Creates opportunity for intergenerational experience Helps us make sense out of life, give us sense of place and identity

References:

Leads to better individual health and wellbeing

Reduces self-destructive and anti-social behavior

Reduces poverty, neighbourhood crime, and delinquency and the need for communities’ at-risk-strategies

Job creation, tourism, revitalization

Builds strong families and healthy communities

Improves learning outcomes both in public education and the development of a skilled work force

Reduces health care, social service and policing costs

Green spaces are essential to environmental and ecological wellbeing

Increases volunteerism Preserves heritage Enhances community identity Enables communities to attract and retain young residents

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Builds collaboration and teamwork Provides gathering spaces Improves human capital

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Project Process The Master Plan was developed based upon a rigourous program of research and a defined process. This process is illustrated through the following graphic.

PHASE 1:

PHASE 1:

PHASE 1:

PHASE 1:

Project Initiation

Background Research

Community Input

“State of Recreation and Culture in the Region” Report

• Project start-up meeting with partnership group: » Confirm methodology; » Discuss expectations; and » Get acquainted with team and communities.

• Development of project brand/logo (if desired).

• Review of local, provincial, and national planning and initiatives explaining relevance to regional recreation and cultural planning.

• Preparation of an engagement and communications plan by a certified (IAP2) team of professionals.

• Controlled access household survey (with web version) design and facilitation.

• Leading practices and benchmarking analysis within other regions in the province.

• Group survey design and facilitation.

• Trends scanning related to recreation and culture service delivery, programming, infrastructure, and activity participation.

• Community meetings/interviews with an estimated two days spent in each community (up to four locations).

• Analysis of local population demographic s, socio-economics, and expected growth.

• Event attendance to create exposure to the project (up to three events).

• Summarize all research and input gathered.

• Outline key strategic questions to be answered and/or focus areas.

• Topics to include: » Infrastructure gaps; » Program gaps; » Service delivery gaps; » Responsibility and cost sharing; and » Regional asset/initiative identification.

• Assessment of existing regional recreation and culture assets in terms of physical condition (where data is available; assessment services are optional), utilization, and financial performance.

PHASE 2:

PHASE 2:

PHASE 2:

PHASE 1:

Draft Master Plan

Partner Feedback

Community Feedback

Final Regional Recreation and Culture Master Plan

• Facilitation of visioning workshop with partners and stakeholders to set initial strategic direction.

• Presentation of draft plan to administration and elected officials from partner municipalities (together or separate).

• Presentations and/or open houses to explain the draft plan in each municipality (up to four).

• Preparation of final Master Plan document package, including: » Results of all research and input; » Executive summary; » Relevant mapping; » Relevant business case information; » All engagement tools; » All public display materials; and » Related project documentation and collateral.

• Presentation of draft recommendations for: » Philosophy (vision, goals); » Service delivery; » Infrastructure (including prioritization); » Programs; » Regional responsibility and cost sharing; and » Other items identified through research.

• Web-based survey of partners (administration and elected officials) to enable individual feedback (if desired).

• Web-based survey and draft material to be posted on each partner’s website to enable thoughtful and convenient feedback opportunities to residents.

• Refinement of draft Master Plan.

• Refinement of draft Master Plan.

• Presentation of final plan to regional group.

• Draft implementation plan/schedule for five, ten, and twenty-five years outlining action items, roles and responsibilities, and financial and community impacts (business case).

The County of Minburn No.27, and the Towns of Mundare and Vegreville all invest in recreation and culture services in different ways. In some cases services are provided by municipal staff while in other cases the municipalities subsidize access to facilities and spaces or provide financial support in the provision of services. All of these efforts are to help make the Region a better place to live and visit.

This Plan was developed throughout 2018 and 2019 under the guidance of a steering committee with representation from the municipalities in the area.

The course of action presented herein and will guide the Region and the individual municipalities to maximize public investment in recreation and culture for years to come.

There are many challenges ahead for local government in the provision of recreation and culture opportunities. Realizing both the value of these services in the Region and what’s on the horizon, the three municipalities have partnered to develop the Regional Recreation and Culture Master Plan.

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Context

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Vegreville-Mundare-County of Minburn No. 27 Region

The Vegreville-Mundare-County of Minburn No. 27 Region is a large area with a dispersed population. Vegreville is the largest centre in the Region. The Region is close to large population centres such as Edmonton, Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan.

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The Region is home to just under 10,769 residents. Overall the population across the last 15 years in the Region has been consistent - this trend is expected to continue. The Town of Mundare has experienced the highest level of growth in the Region (29.5%) followed by Mannville (14.7%). The County of Minburn experienced a decline (-7.2%) over the same time period as did the Village of Innisfree (-11.9%).

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About the Regional Population

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Over half (53%) of the population in the Region is concentrated in Vegreville and approximately one third (30%) is in the County.

As such not all residents have the same access, geographically, to recreation and culture opportunities.

From a provincial and national perspective, asset reinvestment1, social inclusion, reconciliation, connecting people with nature, and physical inactivity (all ages, especially youth) are issues that government are actively trying to address. There is an opportunity to align local level planning in the Region to provincial and federal level policies to better demonstrate achievement of common goals and highlight where governments can work together. It is important to note that the Municipal Government Act in Alberta has recently been modernized and now requires municipalities to work with their municipal neighbours as well as the school jurisdictions operating within their boundaries as it relates to recreation and culture services.

The average age of the Region’s population is higher than the provincial mark. Looking at the median income, for the municipalities in the Region, none are above the provincial level.

The proportion of residents below the “after tax low income cutoff” is lower for the Region’s municipalities than the province’s.

Although the proportion of Indigenous residents and new Canadians in the Region is below the proportions seen at the provincial level, the ethnic make-up of the Region is still diverse and constantly changing with immigration to the area.

About Planning Influences Within each of the partner municipalities a significant amount of planning has occurred. This includes strategic planning, municipal development planning, inter-municipal development planning and facilities assessments. It is clear through local planning that each partner supports recreation and culture as an important aspect to having vibrant communities and a contributor to a high quality of life. There is also acknowledgement by the partner municipalities that regional recreation and culture planning and cooperation can enhance the Region and the communities in it.

1 The Canadian Infrastructure Report Card (2016) recommends a target rate of reinvestment of 1.7% – 2.5% of replacement value annually to life cycle reserve budgets 3

About the Delivery of Public Recreation and Culture Services in the Region

About utilization of recreation facilities...

Ice arenas in the Region are being utilized at 56.4% on average during peak times and utilization is under 10% for all arenas during non-peak times, leaving opportunities for alternative uses during both peak and non-peak times.

While the municipalities in the Region provide recreation and culture services differently they recognize that cooperation can enhance the Region and the communities within it. This would strengthen the burgeoning regional partnership.

Swim lessons make up a large majority of program registrations at the Aquatic Centre.

Utilization information is gathered inconsistently across all municipalities / facilities.

Recreation and culture program delivery in the Region relies heavily upon not-for-profit organizations. Municipalities in the Region support these groups in a variety of forms, including direct financial contributions to support specific program offerings, low or no cost access to municipally operated facilities, and financial support of facilities operated by not-for-profit organizations. Some culture programs, such as music lessons, are offered by private instructors.

The Region has a range of recreation and culture facilities/sites.

The operation of these facilities rely heavily on not-for-profit organizations.

The municipal role in recreation and culture delivery in terms of ownership and/or management of facilities and delivery of programs and opportunities is not consistent in the Region.

The Facilities Master Plan for the Town of Vegreville assessed Vegreville facilities to be in good condition, with a recommendation of $683,000 in improvements over the next five years.

For culture groups there are further opportunities to access federal and provincial funding sources. Examples of these sources include the Alberta Museums Association (AMA), the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation (AHRF), the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage (Community Stories Program).

A recent Facilities Analysis of the infrastructure in the County of Minburn No. 27 and Mundare identified $1.031 million of improvements that should be completed over the next five years.

*Note that utilization information for culture facilities in the Region was not available.

The Canadian Infrastructure Report Card (2016) has recommended that 1.7% – 2.5% of replacement value be put aside for future reinvestment on an annual basis. The total replacement value of facilities in the Region is estimated at $335.4 million. At 2.1% of capital value, $7.042 million is required annually for life cycle (see the table on the next page).

There are inconsistencies in the extent to which recreation and culture is addressed in local planning documents. In some documents goals or policies are specified and in other documents there is little detail around strategic or tactical direction and future planning.

*Note regional municipalities do not invest in reserve budgeting as recommended on the following page.

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Amenity Type Aquatics/Fitness Ball Diamonds Basketball Courts (outdoor) Campgrounds Community/Provincial Parks Community Centres/Halls Curling Facilities Golf Courses Gymnasiums Indoor Ice Arenas Libraries Museums Outdoor Rinks Tennis/Pickle Ball Courts Outdoor Fitness Centres Riding Facilities Seniors' Centres Skateboard/BMX Parks Sports Fields Spray Parks Visitor Information Centres TOTAL

Regional Quantity 1 21 8 7 22 27 5 3 10 4 4 6 4 4 1 4 4 3 17 3 3 161

Unit Population Provision Ratio*

Estimated Replacement Value

Annual Reserve Contribution (2.1%)

10,769 513 1,346 1,538 490 399 2,154 3,590 1,077 2,695 2,695 1,795 2,695 2,695 10,769 2,695 2,695 3,590 633 3,590 3,590 n/a

$20,000,000 $4,400,000 $800,000 $7,000,000 $13,500,000 $81,000,000 $25,000,000 $9,000,000 $50,000,000 $48,000,000 $8,000,000 $35,000,000 $800,000 $400,000 $50,000 $12,000,000 $8,000,000 $1,500,000 $3,400,000 $1,500,000 $6,000,000 $335,350,000

$420,000 $92,400 $16,800 $147,000 $283,500 $1,701,000 $525,000 $189,000 $1,050,000 $1,008,000 $168,000 $735,000 $16,800 $8,400 $1,050 $252,000 $168,000 $31,500 $71,400 $31,500 $126,000 $7,042,350

(2018 dollars)

* The figures in the column refer to the population served by a single amenity. They are calculated by dividing the population by the quantity of the amenity.

In order to operate , maintain, and generate use in these facilities, regional municipalities (County of Minburn No. 27, Town of Vegrevillle and Town of Mundare) in the Region invest over $5.5 million dollars annually in recreation and culture. On a per capita basis, municipalities in the Region spend an average of $589.72 annually. For other regions in Alberta the average per capita spending is $304.70. There is currently a very small amount of spending dedicated solely to culture initiatives.

From a regional partnership perspective, some collaboration is taking place, particularly in development of Intermunicipal Development Plans and the provision of grants and funding support. Regional municipalities also partner with a number of non-profit organizations and schools in facility operations and recreation provision. There are no aspects to recreation and culture service delivery that currently involve the collaboration of all regional municipalities.

Aspect of Delivery Facility Ownership and Operation Funding Support Direct Programming Promotions and Marketing Capacity Building

Delivered by Municipalities Independently     

Delivered by Municipalities in Partnership

(partial Region: less than three partners)



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Delivery by Municipalities in Partnership (entire Region: all three partners)

How the Region Compares to Other Areas in Alberta

What We Know About Trends in Recreation and Culture

Overall, the Region has a similar inventory of indoor and outdoor recreation and culture facilities when compared to other regions.

A high proportion of Albertans feel that arts and culture and recreation make their communities better and are important contributors to quality of life.

The Region has a higher provision of certain amenities such as community centres/halls, ice arenas and museums and a lower provision of certain amenities such as tennis/pickleball.

A large number of Albertans (including children) remain inactive.

There is a variation in what different municipalities in the Region are spending on recreation and culture compared to other regions. The Town of Vegreville spends well above the average of comparable municipalities and the Town of Mundare and County of Minburn No. 27 spend slightly higher and slightly lower respectively than the average of comparable municipalities on a per capita basis. The County of Minburn spends the lowest amount in the region on recreation and culture on a per capita basis.

Lack of time and cost continue to be barriers to participation.

Social barriers can also prevent participation in recreation and culture - social inclusion is a key determinant of population health. Recreation and culture providers can play an active role in ensuring access to recreation and culture opportunities.

Municipalities are taking a role in promoting programs and services to encourage participation.

Multi-use spaces and facilities can provide opportunities for citizens to participate in a variety of activities, while also ensuring that infrastructure is efficient and sustainable.

There is a move towards smaller, localized culture facilities that are more financially viable and easier to access. They provide smaller scale and increased intimacy.

Festivals and events are growing in popularity and are ways to engage citizens in culture, heritage, and the arts.

The use of technology is becoming more prevalent in terms of how services are offered as well as data collection.

Partnership creation is a tool that communities can use to reach their goals in service provision. Schools can be key partners for non-profit groups and municipalities looking to provide performing or visual arts services or spaces/places.

There has been increased emphasis on temporary exhibitions and programming to encourage repeat visitors.

Volunteers are heavily relied upon to organize and execute programs, events, and activities.

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What Regional Residents and Stakeholders Have to Say About Recreation and Culture Recreation and culture services are very important to regional households as well as the Region as a whole.

Facilities in Vegreville are utilized by higher portions of the regional population than those in other centres.

Top barriers to participation in recreation and culture in the Region include “lack of awareness”, “timing of opportunities”, and “affordability”.

Approximately one-quarter (24%) of households are willing to travel over 30 minutes to access recreation and cultural activities.

Over half (57%) of regional households and 63% of groups would like to see more investment in recreation and culture facilities and spaces.

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Top indoor priorities identified through engagement include: indoor track, leisure pool, seniors space, fitness/wellness, and indoor play spaces for children.

Top outdoor priorities identified through engagement include: multi-use trails, natural areas, campgrounds, trees, off leash dog walking areas, and toboggan hills.

There is some willingness to pay for new or enhanced facilities and spaces in the Region but support for increased taxes and/or user fees is not overwhelming.

Almost all households (95%) and groups (93%) in the Region feel that municipalities within the Region should work together to provide recreation and culture services.

The main challenges groups are encountering include declining participation and volunteerism, lack of funding, facility issues (ageing facilities and access to enough time in facilities), and inability to reach user markets.

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What does this all mean: A high level summary of the state of recreation and culture in the Region…

• Recreation and culture are important to quality of life in the Region.

• Groups and residents are generally satisfied.

• Recreation and culture infrastructure throughout the Region is both extensive and ageing.

• Significant investment has been or is being made in recreation and culture services and facilities.

• Culture receives less attention than recreation.

• There is a public and political willingness to work together as a Region.

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Strategic Foundations

Active Alberta, and the Modernized Municipal Government Act are all furthered by the actions of the Region related to recreation and culture services. Furthermore, national level initiatives like the Framework for Recreation in Canada: 2015 and the Common Vision for Increasing Physical Activity and Reducing Sedentary Living in Canada outline specific desired outcomes that municipalities are best positioned to deliver. The specific details of each of these higher order policies or initiatives are outlined in the State of Recreation and Culture report (under separate cover) and need to be considered; The Master Plan has strong linkages to provincial and national policy. These linkages are demonstrated by the highlighted icons for each recommendation in the report.

Recreation and culture opportunities provide many benefits.

These benefits impact participants in recreation and culture activities and also those who do not participate. Public investment in recreation and culture provides benefits the residents cannot escape and thus they are a public good.

These benefits help to justify municipal and stakeholder effort and investment in providing recreation and culture opportunities.

From owning and operating facilities to building capacity, regional municipalities and non-profit partners / stakeholders invest significantly in the provision of these services. In 2017 municipal investment in the provision of recreation and culture in the Region was estimated at over $5.5 million (annually).

Furthermore, an inventory of recreation and culture assets conducted in the development of this Plan suggest there is well over $300 million of indoor and outdoor spaces that facilitate activities to occur. This is a significant amount of investment especially for a Region of just under 11,000. It clearly demonstrates the importance local governments place on quality of life and ensuring residents and visitors can be healthy, creative, and connected to their community.

Finally, in the spirit of increased collaboration and efficiency and in meeting the requirements of the Modernized MGA for Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks (ICFs) the Region has developed the Master Plan to not only enhance the benefits of recreation and culture but also to see how the Region could work together to do so. There is a willingness amongst the regional partners to do so - many work together already. The Master Plan assumes a basic willingness to work together and provides scalability to do more together - if desired. It is within these terms that the following Master Plan has been developed. It starts with a vision and outcomes and moves to an exploration of each a recreation and culture service provision: Facility Ownership and Operations, Funding Support, Direct Programming, Promotions and Marketing, and Capacity Building.

The outcomes of providing recreation and culture opportunities are also sought by other sectors, including education, justice and health, and other levels of government (provincial and federal).

By investing in recreation and culture at the local, grass roots level municipalities are helping other public services achieve their respective goals. Provincial policies such as the Spirit of Alberta,

Spirit of Alberta

Active Alberta

Modernized Municipal Government Act

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A Framework for Recreation in Canada

A Common Vision for Increasing Physical Activity and Reducing Sedentary Living in Canada

Vision

Outcomes

The vision has been developed by the Region and justifies the investment of time and resources into the provision of recreation and culture opportunities. This vision provides a foundation for decision making and service delivery and creates a strategic bond between all partners.

Further to this vision, the following outcomes articulate why attention and resources are afforded to these essential public services.

The Region is a better place to live, work, and play due to public investment and effort in recreation and culture.

2. Residents and visitors have the ability to be active and creative in a variety of different activities.

1. Recreation and culture services make a positive impact in our Region and on all of our residents.

3. Residents and visitors know about recreation and culture opportunities and are motivated to take part in them.

4. The Region is positioned in a way that enables maximum benefit from investment in recreation and culture to be realized.

Supporting Research and Resident Input:

5. Volunteerism in the Region is thriving.

Over 90 percent of households in the Region believe recreation and culture are important to their households’ quality of life.

6. Investment and effort related to recreation and culture in the Region is coordinated.

In order to achieve these outcomes and to enhance the current level of recreation and culture services in the Region, there are a number of recommendations that have been developed. Each recommendation also contains direction as to how (or if) municipalities in the Region can work together in implementation.

Strategic development and planning at a local level supports recreation and culture as important aspects to vibrant communities and contribution to a high quality of life.

There is acknowledgement by the partner municipalities that regional recreation and culture planning and cooperation can enhance the Region and the communities within it.

Municipalities in the Region invest over $5.5 million dollars annually in recreation and culture.

A high proportion of Albertans feel that arts and culture and recreation make their communities better and are important contributors to quality of life.

Spirit of Alberta

Active Alberta

Modernized Municipal Government Act

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A Framework for Recreation in Canada

A Common Vision for Increasing Physical Activity and Reducing Sedentary Living in Canada

A rationale for working together as a Region...

Working together as a Region is top of mind; it is the basis for the creation of the Master Plan. During the development of the Plan the theme of working together was reiterated from multiple sources.

• Over 93% of residents believe that jurisdictions in the Region should work together to provide recreation and culture opportunities to residents.1 • Over three-quarters (80%) of residents believe that regional facilities and spaces should be supported by all municipalities in the Region.2 • Approximately two-thirds (65%) of residents believe that facilities and spaces that are used by residents throughout the Region should be categorized as regional.3 • Approximately two-thirds (60%) of residents believe that facilities and spaces should be categorized as regional if there are only one or two in the Region.4 • Trends in recreation and culture support the increasing need for, and use of partnerships to provide services, facilities and opportunities.

• The Modernized MGA requires regions to explore service delivery together.

How the Master Plan addresses regional collaboration...

Throughout the Master Plan there are graphics like the one below that describes a recommended course of action related to regional cooperation. The green icon depicting the Region indicates where on the spectrum the Region could (or should) be for each recommendation. This approach is based upon the level of willingness to work together demonstrated by municipalities, public and stakeholder input, research and leading practices, and consultant interpretation. It is also important to note that almost all recommendations can stand alone and serve each partner municipality independently. The following graphic illustrates the level of regional cooperation that could / should be achieved for each recommendation. The following text titled “What this means:” is meant to provide a bit more detail on what implementation of the recommendation on a regional level would look like.

Regional cooperation spectrum:

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Legend

The development of this Plan is an example of Joint Planning

= Recommended level of collaboration for the recommendation

What this means: • High level detail as to how the Region can work together…

1 Subsegment analysis was completed examining the findings from those municipalities with sizeable numbers of completions. These included the County of Minburn, Towns of Mundare and Vegreville, and the Village of Mannville. In each instance the figure was in the 90 percentage level.

2 Subsegment analysis was completed examining the findings from those municipalities with sizeable numbers of completions. These included the County of Minburn, Towns of Mundare and Vegreville, and the Village of Mannville. The agreement levels from each municipality was: • County of Minburn 83% • Town of Mundare 76% • Town of Vegreville 80% • Village of Mannville 68% 3 Subsegment analysis was completed examining the findings from those municipalities with sizeable numbers of completions. These included the County of Minburn, Towns of Mundare and Vegreville, and the Village of Mannville. The agreement levels from each municipality was: • County of Minburn 70% • Town of Mundare 56% • Town of Vegreville 62% • Village of Mannville 71% 4 Subsegment analysis was completed examining the findings from those municipalities with sizeable numbers of completions. These included the County of Minburn, Towns of Mundare and Vegreville, and the Village of Mannville. The agreement levels from each municipality was: • County of Minburn 66% • Town of Mundare 42% • Town of Vegreville 58% • Village of Mannville 67% 11

To simplify the continuum the terminal positions along with two mid points are also presented.

A) Independent Service Delivery Each municipality provides services in its own manner. In this model the municipality may own and operate recreation and culture facilities. As well the municipality may provide some support to other organiza­tions (e.g. curling club, agricultural society, etc.) that in turn provide a service. There may even be some cost sharing with neighboring munici­palities. A key part of this model is that each municipality sets its own priorities for the recreation and culture services it provides indepen­dently from the other regional municipalities. This most closely resembles the current method of service provision.

B) Joint Planning Each municipality provides services in its own manner as described in the Independent Approach. However in this approach the municipalities engage in joint planning regarding recreation and culture priorities on a regional basis. The jointly created plans are used by each municipal­ity when developing its priorities however each municipality ultimately makes decisions independently.

C) Shared Resources This model continues where joint planning left off. This approach builds the regional approach to a point where a staff position and other resources are funded jointly by all regional partner municipalities. Each partner municipality continues to indepen­ dently make most decisions regarding recreation and culture service provision however the shared resources ensure a regional perspective is upheld in recreation and culture service provision. This approach would also enable coordinated planning of programs and special events and the facilities in which they occur. The approach would likely entail a regional body that would be responsible for providing advice and/or coordinating the regional delivery of recreation and culture services throughout the Region.

D) Complete Integration This model would see all recreation and culture services currently offered by each regional partner municipality (including indoor and outdoor facilities and programs) owned and operated by a single regional collective. The single regional organization would have representation from each partner munici­pality. All decisions about recreation and culture service provision, priorities, and programs would be made through the regional organiza­tion rather than the individual municipalities.

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Facility Ownership and Operations

Regional cooperation spectrum:

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

What this means: • Independent ownership and operation of facilities and spaces.

• Shared responsibility and cost for facilities and spaces agreed to be regional in nature.

• Responsibility is shared via rural-urban, urban-urban, and urban-rural relationships.

• Common / standardized approaches to allocations, fees, etc. for regional assets.

The provision of indoor and outdoor recreation and culture infrastructure is a significant aspect to municipal effort and investment in the Region. Existing asset inventories are extensive and have been developed and accumulated over time in a variety of ways. That being said, the existing levels of investment (estimated at $335 million replacement in 2019) is very high and will require reinvestment just to sustain what exists.

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Further to these key messages, the study identifies recommended reinvestment rates for municipal buildings to be between 1.7% and 2.5% of current replacement value. Reserve budgeting to sustain existing recreation and culture facilities in the Region is an important consideration for decision makers. Utilizing reserve budgeting will enable future reinvestment to occur without significant capital injection at certain points in the future.

Although it is not likely that regional municipalities will be able to invest in reserves to the extent recommended, any contributions that can be afforded will help to soften the blow of reinvestment when necessary.

Sustaining Service Levels The Canadian Infrastructure Report Card was developed by the Canadian Construction Association, Canadian Public Works Association, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. The most recent iteration of the Report Card was compiled in 2016 in a document entitled “Informing the Future: the Canadian Infrastructure Report Card”. The document can be found here: http://www. canadainfrastructure.ca/downloads/Canadian_Infrastructure_ Report_2016.pdf.

The study advances the following key messages.

1. Municipalities own the core infrastructure assets that are critical to the quality of life of Canadians and the competitiveness of our country.

2. One-third of municipal infrastructure in Canada is in fair, poor or very poor condition, increasing the risk of service disruption.

3. Increasing reinvestment rates will stop the deterioration of municipal infrastructure and save money in the long-term.

4. Building for today’s communities and tomorrow’s Canada requires long-term planning.

5. All communities, particularly smaller municipalities, can benefit from increased asset management capacity.

1) Establish reserve funds to help sustain existing recreation and culture infrastructure.

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Overall Inventory

Supporting Research and Resident Input:

It is clear the overall inventory of recreation and culture infrastructure in the Region is extensive. If the Region was starting from scratch based on today’s construction market and municipal practices and protocols it is unlikely that inventories of facilities and spaces would be as extensive as they are.

52% of households leave the Region to pursue recreation needs; however, only 10% indicated that a lack of facilities is a barrier to participation.

Overall, the Region has similar inventory of indoor and outdoor recreation and culture facilities when compared to other regions.

It is estimated that sustaining existing service levels may require over $7 million annually - over double of the current level of overall annual investment in public recreation and culture services. This is likely not achievable and thus current service levels will likely not be able to be sustained in the future. For this reason, regional municipalities have to understand that reinvestment, when required, is not realistic for all recreation and culture facilities and spaces that currently exist. Therefore, careful consideration must be placed on the cost to maintain, replace, and / or reinvest in existing facilities and spaces, while contemplating the development of new facilities and spaces.

The Region has higher provision of certain amenities such as community centres/halls, ice arenas and museums and a lower provision of certain amenities such as tennis/ pickleball.

When compared to a smaller city with similar population such as Cold Lake, the Region has higher provision in most categories of infrastructure.

2) When facilities and spaces require reinvestment, explore repurposing or reduction of service levels as options.

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More From Existing

Supporting Research and Resident Input:

The Region has invested significantly in recreation and culture infrastructure. The more existing infrastructure is utilized the more benefits are realized in the Region (to both participants and non-participants).

The vast majority (90%) of regional households agreed that, “It is important to maintain or upkeep our existing facilities before we consider developing new ones.”

Two-thirds of regional residents are willing to travel at least 30-60 minutes to access recreation and culture opportunities.

In order to increase utilization, the Region first needs to have a common understanding of, and approach to, calculating utilization for facilities. The information gathered during the development of this plan was informative; however it was not complete nor consistent across regional facility and space operators. Once a standardized approach to understanding utilization is developed, the Region can respond by being deliberate to either increase traditional utilization of spaces (i.e. helping connect ice users in one part of the Region to facilities with capacity in other parts) or introducing nontraditional activities to existing spaces (i.e. leaving the ice out of an underutilized ice arena to accommodate dry-land activities like pickle ball, soccer, or ball hockey year round). This includes facilitating and/or encouraging more use of publicly owned, operated and/or supported facilities and spaces controlled by municipalities, non-profits, and schools.

Facilities in Vegreville are utilized by higher portions of the entire Region than in other centres.

Joint use planning agreements (JUPA’s) will be required to be developed between municipalities and school authorities as part of the Modernized Municipal Government Act. Top barriers to participation in recreation and culture in the Region include “lack of awareness”, “timing of opportunities”, and “affordability”.

User fees and allocations policies and protocols have a direct impact on the utilization of recreation and culture facilities and spaces as well as joint-use agreements (between municipalities and schools). Having modern and relevant policies and agreements in place related to allocations, fees, and joint use is an important step in optimizing use of facilities. Currently, these types of policies and agreements do not exist throughout the Region and where they do, they require updating.

3) Increase utilization of existing facilities and spaces by encouraging more traditional and non-traditional use.

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New Facilities and Spaces

Supporting Research and Resident Input:

Although the Region has an extensive complement of recreation and culture facilities and spaces, there is appetite for investment in both improving and enhancing (modernizing) existing facilities and spaces as well as introducing new spaces.

Over half (57%) of households would like to see new or upgraded facilities developed in the Region.

Less than half (42%) of regional households indicated they would support a tax increase to pay for new or enhanced recreation and culture services; 39% indicated they would not.

As existing facilities are reinvested in, re-programmed, or decommissioned there may be opportunities to add new program areas and meet new and emerging demand for recreation and culture. In order for recreation and culture investment and effort to remain both relevant and effective, investment will need to be made in ensuring existing facilities meet program needs and address regional demands.

Approximately two-thirds (63%) of regional stakeholder groups would like to see new or upgraded facilities developed in the Region.

There is some willingness to pay for new or enhanced facilities and spaces in the Region but support for increased taxes and/or user fees is not overwhelming.

4) Introduce new facilities and spaces when possible.

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Prioritization

Supporting Research and Resident Input:

Whether decision makers are deciding whether to reinvest in a recreation and culture facility or space, build a new one, or reprogram an existing facility prioritization of recreation and culture amenities needs to occur. Although all recreation and culture amenities provide value and benefit some can have more significant impact on meeting demands and helping regional municipalities achieve their strategic intent for investment. The following list of criteria has been developed by regional partners with input from stakeholder groups and the general public to help prioritize the amenities. The criteria and the associated weighting reflects the strategic agenda of public investment in recreation and culture and help to translate current market conditions into recreation and culture amenity priorities.

Recreation and culture services have significant and tangible benefits to individuals, communities and the Region, continued investment is warranted.

Approximately two-thirds (83%) of regional households agree that, “residents benefit even if they do not use recreation and culture services directly”.

The Region currently has over $335 million in capital investment into recreation and culture assets; limited resources will force the Region to invest simply to sustain these assets and prioritize and balance that reinvestment with the introduction of new assets .

Criteria General public demand indicators

User group and stakeholder demand indicators

Cost savings through partnerships or grants

Community accessibility

Financial impact

Alignment with expected trends and demographic/ population shift

Metrics 3 points — for top 2 points — for "6-10" "1-5" household survey household survey amenity priorities amenity priorities

1 point — for "10-20" household survey amenity priorities

2 — for amenities that have moderate indications of support from the majority of user groups and stakeholders 2 — partnership and/ or grant opportunities exist in development and/or operating that equate to 25%–49% or more of the overall amenity cost 2 — the amenity would primarily be financially and physically accessible to all residents 2 — the amenity has a 3 — the amenity has a moderate overall cost low overall cost impact impact 3 — for amenities 2 — for amenities that are positioned to that are positioned to respond to more than respond to more than two observed trends 2 observed trends and expected shifts or expected shifts in demographics/ in demographics/ population population

1 — for amenities that have strong indications of support from one or two user groups or interest areas 1 — partnership and/ or grant opportunities exist in development and/or operating that equate to 10%–24% or more of the overall amenity cost 1 — the amenity would be accessible to all residents via programmed/rental use 1 — the amenity has a high overall cost impact 1 — for amenities that are positioned to respond to one observed trend or expected shift in demographics/ population

3 — for amenities that have strong indications of support from the majority of user groups and stakeholders 3 — partnership and/ or grant opportunities exist in development and/or operating that equate to 50% or more of the overall amenity cost 3 — the amenity would be completely financially and physically accessible to all residents

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Weight 0 points — for amenity priorities that are beyond the top 20 and/or not in scope

5

0 — for amenities that have no indications of support from user groups and stakeholders

5

0 — no potential partnership or grant opportunities exist at this point in time

5

0 — the amenity would not be accessible to residents

4

0 — the amenity is not likely to be feasible

4

0 — for amenities that are not positioned to respond to observed trends or expected shifts in demographics/ population

3

Criteria

Current provision in the Region

Service balance

Economic impact

Metrics 2 — the facility space 1 — the facility space 3 — the facility space would significantly would moderately would add completely improve provision of improve provision of new activity to existing recreation and existing recreation and recreation and culture culture activity in the culture activity in the in the Region Region Region 3 — the amenity 2 — the amenity 1 — the amenity dramatically improves moderately improves improves service service balance service balance balance between between recreation between recreation recreation and culture and culture and culture in a minor way 3 — the amenity will draw significant non2 — the amenity will 1 — the amenity will local spending into the draw significant nondraw moderate nonRegion and catalyze local spending into the local spending into the provincial, national Region Region and/or international exposure

Weight 0 — the amenity is already adequately provided in the Region

3

0 — the amenity has no impact on service balance between recreation and culture

2

0 — the amenity will not draw any significant non-local spending into the Region

2

Utilizing the criteria and weighting and scoring each amenity based on current market conditions (2019) the following list of indoor and outdoor amenity priorities has been developed. It is important to note that these priorities will change as the Region evolves and the ranking process should be revisited as new information becomes available. It is also important to note that the ranked list of priorities is meant to be a reference for decision makers and may not reflect ultimate decision making.

Outdoor Amenity Dog Walking Areas Multi-Use Trails Natural Areas More Trees Downtown Landscaping Toboggan Hills Picnic Areas Outdoor Bandstands/ Amphitheatres Campgrounds Mechanized Trails Outdoor Public Art Outdoor Interpretive Areas Playgrounds and Tot Lots Pickleball Courts BMX Bicycle Parks Mountain Bike Park Disc Golf Ball Diamonds Agricultural Areas Event Grounds for Special Events Ornamental Parks Outdoor Water/Spray Parks Fire Pits

Score Rank Indoor Amenity 64 1 Indoor Track 61 2 Fitness/Wellness Facilities 61 2 Indoor Child Play Spaces 61 2 Fine Arts Spaces 54 5 Indoor Public Art 53 6 Performing Arts Theatre 52 7 Indoor Field Sports 51 8 Library 50 9 Leisure Swimming Pool 48 10 Dance Program Spaces 48 10 Multi-purpose Sports Surfaces 48 10 Indoor Courts 45 13 Meeting Spaces 45 13 Program Spaces 45 13 Seniors’ Activity Spaces 45 13 Indoor Pool Climbing Wall 45 13 Community Group Office Spaces 44 18 Youth Centre Spaces 44 18 Combative Sports Space 44 18 Historical Display Spaces 44 18 Show Facilities 43 22 Agricultural Facilities 43 22 Indoor Ice Leisure Skating

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Score Rank 59 1 56 2 55 3 52 4 52 4 51 6 50 7 50 7 49 9 48 10 47 11 44 12 43 13 43 13 42 15 42 15 42 15 40 18 39 19 39 19 38 21 37 22 37 22

Outdoor Amenity Athletic Grounds Outdoor Recreation Skating Winter Skating Trails Cross Country Ski/Snowshoe Trails Beach Volleyball Courts Outdoor Hockey Rinks Heritage Preservation Areas Outdoor Swimming Pool Skateboard Parks Soccer Fields Tennis Courts Football Fields Hard Surfaces Rugby Fields Golf Courses

Score Rank Indoor Amenity 42 24 Indoor Ice Arena 42 24 Lane Swimming Pool 41 26 Indoor Event Facilities 40 27 Social/Banquet Facilities 39 28 Rifle/Archery Range 36 29 Court Sports 36 29 Curling Facilities 35 31 35 31 34 33 32 34 32 34 32 34 32 34 24 38

Score Rank 34 24 34 24 34 24 33 27 30 28 30 28 28 30

*Note those facilities highlighted include possible regional assets (to be further discussed/negotiated during plan implementation)

5) Prioritize investment and effort related to recreation and culture amenities in a transparent and diligent manner.

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Amenity Specific Strategies

Supporting Research and Resident Input:

Providing specific direction for recreation and culture amenities is an important aspect of planning. The following list of amenity specific actions have been based on the findings of engagement and research and considers the current (2019) amenity rankings as presented in the previous section. As new information becomes available, these strategies may need to be revisited.

There is significant investment in the recreation and culture amenities in the Region; maintaining existing services levels will be challenging as current facilities age.

Top indoor priorities from the household survey were: indoor track, leisure swimming pool and seniors’ activity spaces. A number of residents and stakeholders mentioned the need for a theatre or performing arts space.

The following table is meant to provide high level direction for each amenity in the Region that may have some level of regional draw or benefit. Amenities not listed are considered to be the sole responsibility of the municipality where they are located and thus setting direction at a regional level is not appropriate. For each amenity, a priority ranking, current and future service level, and key considerations are outlined.

Potential Regional Indoor Amenity

Top outdoor facility priorities from the household survey were: multi-use trails (non-mechanized), natural areas and campgrounds. Some stakeholders and residents mentioned the need for a theatre or performing arts space.

Rank

Current Service Level

Indoor track

1

0/10,769

To be introduced as part of an existing or new facility; can not be built as a stand alone

Performing arts spaces

6

0/10,769

Feasibility to be reviewed when regional population reaches 15,000+ or significant partnership opportunities are presented; could include repurposing existing facilities

Indoor fields

7

0/10,769

Feasibility to be reviewed (if confirmed as a regional asset); could include repurposing existing facility

9, 15, 24

1/10,769

Indoor multi-purpose courts

11, 12

1/1,000

Show / event facilities

21, 22, 24

0/10,769

Ice arenas

22, 24

1/2,695

Swimming pools

Future Direction

Key Considerations

Reinvest and sustain existing including modernization No additional amenity required Reinvest and sustain existing Explore potential to include indoor track in existing facility No additional amenities required unless partnership opportunities are presented Feasibility to be reviewed when regional population reaches 15,000+ or significant partnership opportunities are presented; could include repurposing existing facilities No additional amenities required When significant reinvestment is required, reducing service levels should be an option to review Explore regional scheduling / allocation of existing facilities No additional amenities required

Curling rinks

30

1/2,154

When significant reinvestment is required, reducing service levels should be an option to review

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Potential Regional Outdoor Amenity

Regional multi-use trails

Event areas / bandstands

Rank

1

8, 18

Current Service Level 0/10,769

Future Direction

*No regional trail system exists although local trails are found throughout Region

Key Considerations

Look to develop regional trail system to connect municipalities and recreation and culture resources throughout area

1/10,769

Reinvest and sustain existing

0/10,769 Mechanized trails

10

*Areas exist throughout Region

Athletic grounds

24

1/5,385

Outdoor pools

31

0/10,769

Football fields (performance)

34

0/10,769

Feasibility to be reviewed if significant partnership opportunities are presented Reinvest and sustain existing Not feasible for Region

n/a

Indoor pool meets aquatic needs in the Region Feasibility to be reviewed if significant partnership opportunities are presented

Although not always identified as such, public art exists throughout the Region and includes things like murals, community statues, sculptures, etc. Community assets such as the world’s largest pysanka or sausage are public art and contribute to community identity.

The maintenance of public art into the future is likely a local, non-regional responsibility however regional work could be done in promoting and coordinating efforts related to public art.

A common tool that municipalities and regions use to help identify, assess, maintain, and maximize benefit from historical resources is through the development of Heritage Resources Management Plan. The Region should consider developing this type of Plan to better define assets as well as regional or local roles, responsibilities, and strategic intent. It is important to note that there are dedicated funding sources (grants) available for this type of planning work from Alberta Historical Resources Foundation (AHRF).

6) Consider the amenity strategies outlined and revisit them as new information becomes available when making decisions related to recreation and culture facilities and spaces.

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Planning Process When contemplating investment in new or existing recreation and culture infrastructure it is important that projects, especially those considered regional in nature, be explored and decide upon in a consistent fashion. This means decision makers should require similar types of information and input about projects; information that considers both public and stakeholder input but also a variety of other things that have to be understood in order to justify public investment. The following process is recommended for regional municipalities and the Region (if applicable). Details to support the recommendations (thresholds and descriptions) are provided in the appendix.

Preliminary Need

Needs Assessment

Feasibility Study

Design & Construction

7) Use a consistent approach to decision making related to major public investment in recreation and culture infrastructure.

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Funding Support

Regional cooperation spectrum:

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

What this means: • Independent ownership and operation of facilities and spaces • Shared responsibility and cost for services agreed to be regional in nature • Responsibility is shared via rural-urban, urban-urban, and urban-rural relationships

Regional municipalities provide significant subsidies related to the recreation and culture facilities they operate directly. There are also a number of instances where regional municipalities provide funding, via grants or other forms of financial assistance, directly to local non-profit and/or private groups that provide recreation and culture opportunities to both residents and visitors. Currently, this funding support offered to non-municipal service providers does not occur in a standardized fashion throughout the Region.

Each municipality funds partners in different ways and to different levels. The funding support provided between municipalities (municipality to municipality) is not conducted in a consistent and coordinated fashion.

One of the purest approaches to regional cost sharing is explained below. This approach should be considered if the Region decides to pursue more standardized funding support for recreation and culture services.

Step 1: Determine what types of recreation and culture facilities and services are “regional” in nature.

Step 2: Categorize the level of impact for each “regional” asset (if applicable).

Although it is not completely necessary to standardize funding support through the Region, there would be a number of benefits to doing so (particularly for “regional assets”). Standardized and transparent provision of funding support would/could: • Help partners understand why they receive the levels of support they do.

Step 3: Determine an agreed to way to share responsibility and cost for “regional” assets that reflects a benefitting market area (geographic) and is based on both population and ability to pay (likely through assessment).

• Enable regional municipalities to justify public investment based upon strategic outcomes (as listed herein or elsewhere).

Step 4: Calculate net (incoming less outgoing) responsibility / cost contributions on an annual basis filtered through a regional account / ledger.

• Help to coordinate the provision of public funding to partner organizations.

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When looking at a standardized approach to providing funding support, municipal cost sharing agreements would also need to be reviewed and revitalized. This might include the flow of funds from rural to urban municipalities as well as urban to rural and urban to urban cost sharing scenarios. If regional municipalities decide to pursue a more standardized approach to providing funding support, both funding provided to non-municipal and municipal partners should be included.

Regional facilities could be defined by: 1. The type of facility.

2. The cost of the facility to build and operate.

3. The level of regional utilization.

4. Geographic location within the Region.

8) Work to coordinate and standardize funding support offered by regional municipalities to each other and external partners.

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Direct Programming

Regional cooperation spectrum:

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

What this means: • Municipalities and partners work independently towards delivering regional program focus areas.

• Communication and collaboration throughout the Region is encouraged.

• Programs are delivered throughout the Region in rural and urban areas.

Regional municipalities approach programming and the animation (generating participation and visitation at facilities or spaces) of recreation and culture spaces in different ways. Some municipalities have staff who deliver programs while others rely completely on volunteers or the private sector to bring facilities and spaces to life. As there is no “best” approach to facility and space animation and abilities are unique to each community’s available resources, program delivery should remain as is unless a major shift to regional programming is intended. That being said, more could be done in the following recreation and culture program focus areas based on the 2019 market context. As new information becomes available, these focus areas could change.

It is also important to note that in areas where municipal partners do not have direct control over programming efforts, they can still influence program focus by educating delivery agents and by utilizing allocations and user fees to influence action.

Supporting Research and Resident Input: Three-quarters (75%) of regional households were either very or somewhat satisfied with recreation and culture programs and services available to them in the Region.

Approximately one-quarter (22%) of regional households indicated that programming for adults aged 20-64 is inadequate while 18% indicated the same for youth aged 13-19.

Over thirty percent of household respondents identified marketing of programs and greater variety of programs as needed improvements to programming and events.

A number of residents and stakeholders mentioned the need for greater culture diversity in the types of events offered.

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Further to focus programming and animation efforts on the areas outlined, there are a number of other considerations for municipalities. The first is that municipalities could have a role in helping connect and educate program providers. Local delivery groups can learn a lot from each other and can also identify ways to share and optimize resources. In many cases this can happen without municipal intervention and can improve overall services for residents.

Another consideration is to promote and facilitate mobile service delivery - designing recreation and culture programs that can be delivered at different sites throughout the Region.

Examples could be “book mobiles”, “traveling yoga”, “traveling recording studio”, and “rotating pickleball drop-in”.

Municipalities can influence and catalyze these types of traveling activities through direct programming or by incenting external agents to do so through user fee reductions, grants, and other means.

Aligning programming efforts with school curriculums warrants attention.

Curriculum based programming, focusing on things like heritage and museums as well as physical activity, can help coordinate child and youth development, strengthen partnerships with school jurisdictions, and create efficiencies between recreation and culture and the education system.

Opportunities for Nature Interpretation and Spending Time Outdoors (year round)

Opportunities for Physical Fitness Activity

Program / Animation Focus Area

General Recreation and Culture Programming for Adults (age 20-64)

Arts and Culture Programming, Including But Not Limited to the Performing Arts

Festivals and events are important aspects to the Region; they drive community pride, improve quality of life, and generate tourism and economic development. The introduction of new events and festivals (such as agri-tourism or artist studio tours) as well as the constant renewal or re-imagining of existing festivals should be top of mind for all stakeholders.

9) Use the program focus areas and other considerations to help guide the animation of recreation and culture facilities.

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Promotions and Marketing

Regional cooperation spectrum:

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

What this means: • Municipalities develop common key messaging regarding inventory of recreation and culture opportunities and benefits of participation.

• Municipalities and partners independently deliver key messages.

Although community benefits are not only related to levels of participation, the more people that participate in recreation and culture activities the better. Promoting and marketing the vast array of recreation and culture opportunities in the Region is one way that participation can be enhanced. Further to simply sharing the types of opportunities available, motivational messaging can be added for limited incremental cost and might catalyse increased use of facilities and spaces.

Supporting Research and Resident Input: From the research, over one-third (37%) of residents felt that marketing of programs could be improved.

One-third (33%) of residents felt they were “inadequately informed” while 50% felt there were “adequately informed” about recreation and culture services.

The “inability to reach user markets” was a challenge raised by local stakeholder groups.

Keeping complete inventories of recreation and culture assets in the Region and sharing them with residents and visitors are important tasks that can be easily achieved by regional municipalities. Finding content for key messaging about benefits of recreation and culture investment and participation can be done through staying in touch with recreation and culture industry publications, having staff and decision makers attend conferences and events related to recreation, and by sharing real world success stories from across the Region. Coordinating effort related to promotions and marketing will reduce costs or design and delivery, demonstrate a level of solidarity throughout the Region, and strengthen overall messaging.

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10) Create common key messages for promoting recreation and culture opportunities and motivating participation and delivery throughout the Region.

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Capacity Building

Regional cooperation spectrum:

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

What this means: • Municipalities partner to offer regional group support initiatives such as grant development workshops, volunteer training, etc.

• Workshops delivered by external contractor or a regional partner and supported by the Region.

As is the case across Canada, in the Region much of the recreation and culture opportunities that residents enjoy are delivered by non-profit groups that rely heavily on volunteers. It is clear that if volunteers were not in the picture, existing services levels would be compromised. This is especially apparent for some of the communities in the Region that have facilities that are owned and operated by non-profit, volunteer groups.

Supporting Research and Resident Input: When asked “what the single most important action that municipalities in the Region could do to provide support”, respondents indicated the following actions.

• Help with awareness of community issues.

With this understanding, and knowing that municipalities could not replace all of the volunteer efforts aimed towards recreation and culture in the Region with public resources, it is in their best interest to support groups where possible to increase capacity and improve viability and sustainability. This can be done in a variety of ways beyond the traditional subsidies given to recreation and culture groups to access facilities and spaces or existing grant programs. Capacity building can be as simple as sharing knowledge with non-profit groups, providing assistance in preparing strategic plans and grant applications, or helping groups promote and market their activities. It is important to note that there are programs available from the Government of Alberta to help with board governance, and volunteerism. These programs change from time to time.

• Financial support in the form of donations, grants, and supporting events.

• Employment to attract new residents.

• Help address facility needs.

• Work with provincial and federal governments around issues such as utility costs.

• Promote the importance of “working better together”.

Volunteers are heavily relied upon to organize and execute programs, events, and activities.

30

11) Provide support to recreation and culture stakeholders to build capacity in the delivery system.

Spirit of Alberta

Active Alberta

Modernized Municipal Government Act

31

A Framework for Recreation in Canada

A Common Vision for Increasing Physical Activity and Reducing Sedentary Living in Canada

9

Financing Recreation and Culture in the Region

The reality of public recreation and culture facilities, spaces, and services is that where funding is required to build or operate resources, financing is primarily the responsibility of local government (municipalities). Millions are spent annually on operating costs throughout the Region on recreation and culture services and more has been spent developing the complement of recreation and culture facilities enjoyed throughout the Region.

Supporting Research and Resident Input: When asked if their household would be willing to pay additional property taxes if the money was used to support enhancements to recreation and culture opportunities in the Region, 42% of respondents said ‘yes’ while 39% of respondents said ‘no’.

This trend is not expected to change significantly. By demonstrating alignment with provincial and federal level planning, similar to what has been done herein, should government provide more support for recreation and culture through grants, the Region is well positioned. Grants from these senior levels of government should not be expected or taken for granted but would help.

When asked if they would pay increased user fees to support enhanced recreation and culture services, 49% of regional households indicated that they would.

74% of regional households suggested that recreation and culture services should be paid for through a combination of user fees and taxes.

Partnerships between neighbouring municipalities, between municipalities and school authorities, or between municipalities and not-for-profit or private groups may emerge and may enable public funding to be leveraged. Regional municipalities should not expect or take for granted that partnerships will hold the key to removing financial constraints for recreation and culture services. If partnerships are implemented, it is important to note that municipalities should expect partners to follow the same planning and decision making process they are held accountable to (as described herein). Once a partnership is in place it is important that there are clear performance measurement attributes to the agreement that ensure public strategic intentions are achieved.

User fees are currently charged to offset operating costs for some regional recreation and culture assets in the Region (user fees are more common for recreation amenities than they are for culture amenities). That said, the level of fees charged do not cover the operating costs of recreation and culture infrastructure. There is also limited willingness to pay increased user fees in the Region.

Although there are many other sources of funds for recreation and culture, the primary source will still need to be the municipal tax base. That said, 42% of regional households indicated they would pay higher taxes to support enhancements to recreation and culture services (39% said they would not). With only 10,000 residents, limited industrial and commercial tax base and over $300 million worth of ageing infrastructure in the Region, the financing of both sustaining existing and building anything new will be challenging and will rely heavily on local taxpayers.

Sponsorships are a form of partnership that in some jurisdictions impact service delivery. However in this Region and in the current economic climate (2019) municipalities should not expect or take for granted that sponsorships will enhance affordability to a measurable degree.

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10

Implementation

This Plan was created to provide guidance for regional municipalities to enhance the current state of recreation and culture in the Region and to provide guidance on what could be done in a more collaborative fashion. The various recommendations have been presented to do just that. The following table summarizes each recommendation, associated timing and financial impacts, and relates the level to which the Region should work together in achieving them (as demonstrated in the Level of Collaboration imagery).

Legend Timing

Financial Impact

Short-term < 5 years Mid-term 5-10 years Long - term 1-+ years

$$$$$ > $1,000,000 $$$$ = $500,000 - $1,000,000 $$$ = $100,000-$500,000 $$ = $25,000-$100,000 $ < $25,000 n/a = No incremental costs expected

Timing

Financial Impacts

1. Establish reserve funds to help sustain existing recreation and culture infrastructure.

Short-term / ongoing

$$$$$

2. When facilities and spaces require reinvestment, explore repurposing or reduction of service levels as options.

Mid-term / ongoing

n/a

3. Increase utilization of existing facilities and spaces by encouraging more traditional and nontraditional use.

Ongoing

n/a

Recommendation

4. Introduce new facilities Mid-term / and spaces when possible. ongoing

$$$$$

Level of Collaboration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

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Recommendation

Timing

Financial Impacts

5. Prioritize investment and effort related to recreation and culture amenities in a transparent and diligent manner.

Ongoing

n/a

6. Consider the amenity strategies outlined and revisit them as new information becomes available, when making decisions related to recreation and culture facilities and spaces.

Ongoing

$$$$$

7. Use a consistent approach to decision making related to major public investment in recreation and culture infrastructure.

Ongoing

$

8. Work to coordinate and standardize funding support offered by regional municipalities to each other and external partners.

Ongoing

$$

9. Use the program focus areas and other considerations to help guide the animation of recreation and culture facilities.

Short-term / ongoing

$

10. Create common key messages for promoting recreation and culture opportunities and motivating participation and delivery throughout the Region.

Mid-term / ongoing

$

11. Provide support to recreation and culture stakeholders to build capacity in the delivery system.

Mid-term / ongoing

$

Level of Collaboration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

Independent Service Delivery

Joint Planning

Shared Resources

Complete Integration

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As outlined herein, the primary source of funding for recreation and culture services, including the implementation of the recommendations herein, will be through the local tax base. This will increase the importance of following the amenity strategies and other recommendations outlined herein, and doing so with a regional perspective. In order for implementation to occur ensuring a regional perspective and approach is taken, the following next steps are provided.

1. Establish a regional body, with the appropriate stakeholders, to oversee Plan implementation.

2. Determine which types of recreation and culture facilities are “regional”.

3. Develop logic around how regional responsibility should be shared and implement a new approach to cost and responsibility sharing for the Region.

4. Review and prioritize other recommendations in the Plan and begin to execute them.

5. Use the amenity strategies outlined herein to guide future decision making related to recreation and culture amenities into the future.

6. Revisit the market from time to time to ensure the data which the Plan recommendations are based upon is still relevant and if it is not, revisit the basis for them and adjust.

The Plan was intended “..to obtain each Regional Partner’s Council approval and buy-in to a comprehensive Regional Recreation & Culture Master Plan that will foster optimal utilization and long-term sustainability of relevant facilities and programs.” The recommendations outlined in the Plan are intended to do just that and are based on sound research, thorough public and stakeholder engagement, and the guidance of local decision makers. The Master Plan will ensure the Region is well positioned for the future of recreation and culture while continuing to be commitment to the benefits of these essential services.

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Cost savings through partnerships or grants

Community accessibility

Financial impact

Alignment with expected trends and demographic/ population shift

Current provision in the Region

Service balance

Economic impact

Score

Rank

Indoor Track Leisure Swimming Pool Seniorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Activity Spaces Fitness/Wellness Facilities Indoor Child Play Spaces Indoor Courts Performing Arts Theatre Youth Centre Spaces Indoor Field Sports Multi-purpose Sports Surfaces Library Fine Arts Spaces Dance Program Spaces Meeting Spaces Combative Sports Space Program Spaces Agricultural Facilities Indoor Pool Climbing Wall Indoor Public Art Indoor Ice Arena Show Facilities Lane Swimming Pool Social/Banquet Facilities Rifle/Archery Range Indoor Ice Leisure Skating Historical Display Spaces Curling Facilities Community Group Office Spaces Indoor Event Facilities Court Sports

User group and stakeholder demand indicators

Indoor Amenity

General public demand indicators

A

Appendix: Amenity Scoring Tables

3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1

2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1

3 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 2 2

3 2 1 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 2 1 2 3 1 1 3 2 2

0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

59 49 42 56 55 44 51 40 50 47 50 52 48 43 39 43 37 42 52 34 38 34 33 30 37 39 28 42 34 30

1 9 15 2 3 12 6 18 7 11 7 4 10 13 19 13 22 15 4 24 21 24 27 28 22 19 30 15 24 28

36

User group and stakeholder demand indicators

Cost savings through partnerships or grants

Community accessibility

Financial impact

Alignment with expected trends and demographic/ population shift

Current provision in the Region

Service balance

Economic impact

Score

Rank

Multi-Use Trails Natural Areas Campgrounds More Trees Dog Walking Areas Toboggan Hills Playgrounds and Tot Lots Downtown Landscaping Picnic Areas Ball Diamonds Outdoor Swimming Pool Outdoor Bandstands/ Amphitheatres Outdoor Water/Spray Parks Cross Country Ski/Snowshoe Trails Agricultural Areas Mechanized Trails Athletic Grounds Golf Courses Outdoor Public Art Event Grounds for Special Events Ornamental Parks Winter Skating Trails Outdoor Recreation Skating Pickleball Courts Outdoor Hockey Rinks Soccer Fields Beach Volleyball Courts Heritage Preservation Areas BMX Bicycle Parks Mountain Bike Park Disc Golf Outdoor Interpretive Areas Skateboard Parks Fire Pits Tennis Courts Football Fields Hard Surfaces Rugby Fields

General public demand indicators

Outdoor Amenity

3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3 3 1 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 2

3 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 0

3 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 1 1

1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

61 61 50 61 64 53 45 54 52 44 35

2 2 9 2 1 6 13 5 7 18 31

2

1

0

2

2

2

2

3

1

51

8

1

2

0

3

1

2

2

0

0

43

22

2

1

0

2

2

2

1

0

0

40

27

2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 3 2 1 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2

2 3 2 1 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 2 2 1 3 2 3 1 1 2 1 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

1 0 0 0 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

44 48 42 24 48 44 44 41 42 45 36 34 39 36 45 45 45 48 35 43 32 32 32 32

18 10 24 38 10 18 18 26 24 13 29 33 28 29 13 13 13 10 31 22 34 34 34 34

37

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