Rossland council asked to investigate sponsorship, trail funding changes
Rossland Arena.
File photo.
ROSSLAND — Rossland council will be asked Monday to support recreation staff in further investigating recommendations that include a City sponsorship framework, naming recognition, annual trail-maintenance funding and a more formal public review of major recreation capital projects.
The recommendations are contained in Recreation Master Plan White Paper Three, the final white paper prepared through the current master-plan implementation process. Council's Oct. 5 decision would support staff in further investigating how the recommendations could be implemented. It would not adopt the proposed policies or commit the City to new spending.
Staff say no additional costs are expected at this stage and the work is expected to help shape the City's 2027 Corporate Management Workplan. Proposals requiring council approval or budget commitments would return to council separately.
On sponsorship and advertising, the paper recommends expanding the City's existing advertising policy, developing a sponsorship policy for recreation facilities, programs and equipment, and establishing rules for when sponsorships can be accepted by staff and when council approval would be required. It also recommends establishing parameters for naming recognition and publishing a list of assets available for sponsorship and their costs.
The City already sells advertising at the Rossland Arena. The committee recommends reviewing that process, considering additional advertising opportunities, including digital advertising, and reporting sponsorship and advertising activity and revenue to council annually.
Trail funding is another area identified for further work. The committee recommends including an annual allocation for trail maintenance in the City budget and establishing multi-year funding agreements with the Kootenay Columbia Trail Society, which manages and maintains much of the regional trail network. The paper does not recommend a dollar amount or specify how long an agreement should run.
White Paper Three also proposes a more formal process for major recreation capital projects. It recommends evaluating each major investment before work begins, including its future operating implications, and making the evaluation public. Rossland already has a Recreation Project Evaluation Matrix created after the Recreation, Parks and Culture Master Plan was adopted, but the new recommendations would expand how that process is used and explained to community groups proposing projects.
Other ideas include developing a broader strategy for grants, sponsorship and fundraising; examining whether the City could hold and invest money earmarked for future recreation infrastructure; and considering partnerships with private developments that could provide public access to recreation amenities. Those proposals are also at the investigation stage.
Rossland adopted its Recreation, Parks and Culture Master Plan in 2023. Subsequent implementation work was divided into three white papers. Earlier papers addressed the Rossland Pool and recreation spaces and infrastructure, while White Paper Three focuses on revenue, partnerships, project evaluation and trails.
Rossland council will be asked Monday to support recreation staff in further investigating recommendations that include a City sponsorship framework, naming recognition, annual trail-maintenance funding and a more formal public review of major recreation capital projects.