County council has sent the Edmonton Garrison $300,000 to make sure its residents keep getting discounts for on-base recreation.
Sturgeon County councillors unanimously approved a $300,000 grant to Canadian Forces Base Edmonton March 23 to give county residents cheap access to the base’s recreational facilities and programs. The grant was part of the county’s 2021 budget.
County council first issued this grant in 2019 after it ended its deal to have Edmonton Transit run a bus to the base (commonly known as the Edmonton Garrison) and decided to use the money it would have spent on that bus for recreation. The grant gives county residents up to 50 per cent discounts on memberships wat the Edmonton Garrison Fitness Centre and reduced rates at the base’s golf and curling club.
County chief operations officer Scott MacDougall told council that an additional 450 county residents joined the base’s fitness centre last year despite the pandemic, allowing base officials to offer more programming. County and base officials were now working on joint recreational projects.
Coun. Kristin Toms said this arrangement had helped her residents meet their recreation needs and could help bring military members and the broader community closer together.
