Prince Edward County has approved a new funding arrangement for the Prince Edward County Fitness and Aquatic Centre.
During Tuesday’s council meeting, council discussed a proposal to provide the centre with an additional $80,000 of funding annually, in order to assist the centre in remaining sustainable at it’s current location.
The aquatic centre previously requested help in securing funding after the building it occupies was put up for sale by the owner. That request had two parts, one was declaring their fundraising efforts a project of community interest, and the other was to provide additional funding in the 2026 budget beyond the $70,000 already included in their arrangement with the municipality.
Council previously approved additional funds for the aquatic centre as part of the budget, on the condition that a member of council be appointed to the board to support accountability, cooperation and transparency. While a council member previously has been part of the board, that practice ended after laws were put in place preventing a person from being appointed to the board of a non-profit, as all board members must be elected by members. To comply with this law, the motion before council changes the arrangement from appointing a full board member to a non-voting board observer.
Council voted to approve the motion after a brief discussion, appointing councillor John Hirsch as the council’s representative.
