The Beaver Valley Parks and Recreation Committee recently made a recreation deal with the City of Trail, but it doesn’t look as if talks between Trail and Rossland will resume anytime soon.
Last November, the City of Trail and the City of Rossland both announced that they had failed to reach a recreation agreement, that would have allowed Rossland residents to use Trail recreation facilities without paying any additional fees. Trail had offered Rossland a two-year deal for $90,000 per year — which based on 2011 census date (the most recent available) works out to $25.31 per person annually — and Rossland offered $50,000 per year, with a cost of living increase each year, for three years — which works out to $14.06 per person annually. Negotiations ended unsuccessfully when the two parties were unable to bridge the gap.
Beaver Valley, on the other hand, successfully negotiated an agreement with Trail in 2015, paying $125,000 for the year. The deal was then extended by two months to give both sides time to work out the details, and in September, both parties agreed to $125,000 per year for the next five years, which works out to $25.56 per person annually.
Negotiations unlikely to resume
Rossland Mayor Kathy Moore says negotiations between the two cities are unlikely to resume, as Rossland city council looks at cutting $250,000 from its 2017 budget.
“Given that we are trying to cut [$250,000] out of [the] budget from last year, it’s unlikely there will be any progress on the recreation file this year,” she says. “But never say never!”
As for Trail Mayor Mike Martin, he says Trail council is happy to return to the negotiation table.
“Our door is open and Mayor Moore and council are aware of that, it’s just that we could not come to an agreement — we could not reach a financial agreement — and if, in fact, there’s a willingness to come back to the table, we’re fully prepared to have some discussions,” he says. “We’d be delighted to have Rossland be part of the recreation agreement.”
