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Lacombe spending under fire

Critics of the City of Lacombe’s spending plans should weigh each item on its own merit rather than trying to lump them into a single theme, says its chief administrative officer.

Critics of the City of Lacombe’s spending plans should weigh each item on its own merit rather than trying to lump them into a single theme, says its chief administrative officer.

A letter being circulated by Jack Friesen, who served three terms on council when Lacombe was still a town, criticizes the city for a variety of programs that he terms “galloping socialism.”

Friesen told the Advocate this week he is concerned that Lacombe city council is embarking on a number of programs in which taxpayers are subsidizing or will subsidize projects that compete directly with private-sector businesses.

Friesen cited a variety of projects that are at various stages, including some that have been approved and others that are still being discussed. They include:

l A proposed children’s services centre estimated at just under $8 million and to be partly funded through lease of office spaces on the second floor

l A plan to install additional murals on the sides of buildings in the city core at just over $95,000

l $150,000 on a recently-approved parking lot for heavy trucks

l $50,000 a year in losses to the city-operated coffee shop in the Lacombe Memorial Centre

l A forgivable loan in the form of a $214,000 grant to the Lacombe Skateboard Committee

“They really do tromp on the toes of private enterprise, in my opinion,” said Friesen, 73, a former schoolteacher.

“I’m looking at it from the principle of a former councillor and of just a citizen who gets sick and tired of them taking my tax money and spending it wherever they please,” he said.

His concerns are backed by city Councillor Grant Creasey, who said Lacombe is creating a climate that discourages new business, because private enterprise does not savour competition from the public sector.

Some of the projects were brought forward from the former council while others, including the children’s services centre, are being proposed as future capital projects.

“The most objectionable portion that I have, and not specifically against a daycare, is the way the administration is going about justifying the substantial cost of this daycare and the obvious deficit it is going to create for operations,” said Creasey.

Renting out office space to fund the project is not appropriate for the municipality, he said.

The truck parking lot is also an inappropriate business for the city, he said.

“All of the trucking companies in town here pay to develop their own lots, pay property taxes and put people to work and then they’ve got to pay again (through taxes) to subsidize the competition to have a free place to park. It’s just wrong,” said Creasey.

Lacombe CAO Norma MacQuarrie said each of the projects raised by Friesen should be evaluated on its own merit, explaining that the city will not undercut the private sector.

The daycare space is to be contracted to an existing operator, Lacombe Day Care, whose current building is badly in need of repair. Rates will be established by the contractor and based on each family’s ability to pay while the office space will be offered at market value, she said.

Council is now discussing fees for parking in the truck lot and how those fees should be paid, said MacQuarrie.

The mural project is part of an effort to create a more friendly environment in the city core, including the back alleys. Additionally, graffiti artists are not as likely to tag a mural as they are to tag a plain wall, she said.

Operation costs of coffee shop in the Memorial Centre are being reviewed along with the rest of the costs of running the facility.

MacQuarrie said the $214,000 provided to the skatepark committee was given as a forgivable loan in the form of a grant, with the understanding that the group would continue its fundraising efforts and pay the money back over time.

The grant was just approved early in June, so it’s a little early to judge how long it will take the group to pay the money back, she said.

bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com