Council approved during its June 12 meeting a request to help cover the cost for the local RCMP detachment to provide enhanced policing during the Sundre Pro Rodeo weekend, which takes place this Friday to Sunday.
Jim Bowhay, vice-president of the Sundre Rodeo and Race Association, the volunteer organization that puts on the annual rodeo, addressed municipal officials with a funding request to help cover the cost of providing enhanced policing throughout the event.
"It's not just the rodeo we're talking about ó it's the parade, it's the pancake breakfast, it's everything else," he said.
The association has in the past paid for the expense ó which had usually run up anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 ó and had planned to do so again this year, but had not anticipated the cost to run up close to about $5,000. Bowhay told council that as the event has over the years continued to grow in terms of visitor numbers ó to about 10,500 in 2016 from roughly 8,800 in 2014 ó so too has the cost of providing enhanced policing as more officers are required on shift in response to the increasing number of people.
"I don't know what else comes to town that brings that volume of people from greater distances," he said.
Although the association's budget for the pro rodeo amounts to upwards of $400,000, those expenses were all tightly budgeted, including $2,000 for enhanced policing, leaving the organization to make its request, he said.
Mayor Terry Leslie recognized as "remarkable" the number of people the pro rodeo brings to Sundre, and several of his council colleagues also expressed praise for the association's efforts.
"Last year was a phenomenal year," said Coun. Chris Vardas.
"What that rodeo does for our community is unbelievable ó it's unbelievable what it brings in and how everybody thrives off of it."
Following a discussion later in the meeting regarding where to allocate the requested funds from, council unanimously carried a motion to approve a contribution of $2,500 to be covered from the municipality's community events reserve.
