Coaldale councillors approve policy that will ‘ensure equitable, fair and efficient use of town facilities’

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Sunny South News

– Town councillors vote on Recreation Booking and Allocation Policy at April 7, regular council meeting

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

Town of Coaldale councillors unanimously approved the Recreation Booking and Allocation Policy, CS-0003 as presented by the town’s director of recreation and community services Russ Tanner, at the April 7 regular council meeting.

“This policy was initially included in the new recreation center which is now known as the Shift Community Recreation Center – it was originally included in the operational plan, was presented to council some time ago and it was never separately approved as an official policy,” said Tanner. “Since then the attached draft has been expanded to also include other town-owned facilities, most recently, Civic Square Plaza. Following recent discussion with council, legislative services has recommended that this policy be brought before council to allow feedback on the draft, before it’s formally approved,” he added. 

Tanner noted in his presentation that the draft recreation booking allocation policy has been developed to ensure the equitable, fair and efficient use of town facilities.

“It’s purpose is to align with current best practices within the industry and reflect proven methods,” he said. “Overall, this policy represents a comprehensive approach to managing town facilites, promoting fairness, transparency and efficiency in all aspects of recreational bookings.” 

The policy includes clear and precise definitions for key components involved in the booking process, ensuring that all terms and procedures are easily understood by both staff and facility users. It also addresses important aspects such as cancellations and refunds, providing guidelines to manage these situations fairly for all parties involved. Additionally, the policy references the rules and regulations that govern the use of the facilities, ensuring that all users are aware of and adhere to the required standards of behaviour and safety. The document lays out detailed booking procedures for each category of user and type of space, ensuring a streamlined and transparent process that can accommodate the diverse needs of the community. 

Tanner also pointed out that with such current practices, these policies won’t surprise user groups as these are “policies and practices that we’ve been doing for some time” he said, pointing out for the most part, the same types of practices are also followed and used and by the industry.

“However, it’s also important to point out that if reflects some priority sequences within there, that allows the town, as owner of these facilities to be able to look at situations where there may be conflicts (that) arise and things like that,” said Tanner. “Also the growth of programs and the desire for certain programs to come in and have the ability for the town to look at that and make adjustments to those historical bookings.”

Councillors provided some feedback and asked several questions for clarification including those on allocation policy review and update, vetting done through user-groups with regards to policy updates and a question around dry sport facility bookings, in particular with regards to pickleball. Tanner noted the outdoor pickleball courts (at tennis courts) are not bookable space because they are considered a park setting and are a spontaneous use facility.