County block parties will soon be available for residents again

Before restrictions got in the way of gatherings, Woodlands County had a Block Party Policy that allowed residents to apply for reimbursement up to a certain amount towards holding a gathering of their neighbours. With restrictions gone, Woodlands County staff looked at potentially changing some parts of the policy and brought those recommendations to a recent Governance & Priorities Committee meeting.

“In 2020, the provincial regulations came in and basically encouraged us to shut down our Block Party Policy to not encourage gatherings. In that time, the Community Services Committee said, why don’t we review this policy,” explained Heather Anderson, Community Services Coordinator. She said they wanted to ensure the policy was still meeting its original needs or if changes needed to be made to update it. “We did a review at our October 2021 meeting, and the committee members gave some feedback. We put that into the new policy and sent that to our lawyers for some vetting to see if we missed anything,” said Anderson.

In speaking with their lawyer, Anderson said they asked why Woodlands County provided a permit for the parties as it could open them up to liability. “(The lawyer) said that is the main thing that will give you the liability issue and put you at risk for any legal action for anyone who is injured at a party,” said Anderson. The lawyer suggested that Woodlands County stick to providing funding but not requiring a permit.

The point of the Block Party Policy, as Anderson explained it, is to encourage Woodlands County residents to gather, meet each other and “build that sense of community within their small subdivisions or areas.” Sticking to funding, rather than an attached permit, kept in line with the original goal of the policy but removed parts that might cause a future issue.

“Today, we bring back to you a grant policy. It’s suggesting that they (applicants) follow provincial rules,” said Anderson. She said the policy would guide applicants to have liability insurance and to do many of the things in the permit without actually needing the permit. “By not saying we put a rubber stamp on this party, it removes us from being liable. It cleaned it up and shortened it up.”

The application that residents would fill out and provide to the County is about the event and why it’s being held. “Tell us why you want to gather. It can’t be for your sister-in-law’s bachelorette party, but it could be for if you have new neighbours, or you purchased in a new subdivision, and you want to get to know them. The application would just be about who you are, where you live, why you want to do this, and whether your neighbours support it,” stated Anderson.

Once an application is received, it will go to the Community Services Committee. “Their scope of work is to approve this grant, and then based on how many people you have at the event, you could go up to a $500 grant. (It’s) basically, to buy some food, some burgers, or decorations if you want or rent a bouncy castle and such.”

Councillor Williams asked for clarification on if funds were given before a party or after. “They don’t get the funds first and then say they will have 100 people there, and only their own family shows up, and they get $500? It’s only a reimbursement based on how many attend?” Anderson said yes. “In previous years, we did ask for a list of attendees, and the lawyer said that’s really a (privacy) concern, so she said we could ask for how many people attended and reimburse based on that.”

Anderson also explained that the grant is not retroactive, meaning a resident can’t apply after a party has taken place. “You can’t come to the County and say, I had a party in June when you’re asking in August. You have to be approved before you purchase and submit for reimbursement.” As per policy, a single resident can only apply once a calendar year.

Councillor Wilhelm asked about potentially changing the name of the policy, moving away from the word “block,” and changing it to something more rural-like. He wondered what his colleagues would like to see it be called instead. Anderson mentioned that two name change suggestions had popped up in the Community Services Committee meeting, one of which was a Cut Block Party, which brought about some giggles from Council. Councillor Deane suggested calling it the Rural Block Party. Councillor Kusch suggested it be named the Woodlands Community Party Grant, which received nods of agreement. Anderson said the name change discussion could be sent back to the committee.

Switching angles, Deane asked about the finances available in 2022 to support the policy. Anderson said nothing was budgeted for 2022 and that the previous amount budgeted in past years was about $1,500, roughly three parties. Councillor Deane noted if there isn’t money set aside, they likely won’t entertain any applications. CAO Gordon Frank said that residents could apply once Council voted on the policy. “There’s no money in the budget right now, so if we send it to council, we could have residents apply for it,” asked Deane? “Yes, because the policy is in place then,” responded Frank. Frank then explained that the Block Party Grant would return to the Community Services Committee to look at changing the name. From there, the policy would head to Council for consideration of implementation. He said that Council could choose to allocate some funding to it if a request came in. Councillor Williams noted that Council could decide to make the policy effective in 2023 if they wanted.

Councillor Wilhelm said he knew of a few residents waiting for the policy to be set so they could apply for it, hoping there’s money to be found in the budget. Councillor Williams responded that they could “potentially find some if a few people wanted to apply.” Councillor Deane stated that he wanted a budget attached when it eventually reached Council.

The name suggested by Councillor Kusch, Woodlands Community Party Grant, was voted unanimously to be sent to the Community Services Committee as a potential name replacement. Once the committee decides on the name, the final decision will be in Council’s hands at an upcoming meeting.