By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
The City of Martensville’s Waiver or Reduction of Rental Fees policy may need to be re-visited in the near future after a number of local service groups submitted requests that conflict with the policy’s original intent.
During the September 15 council meeting, Director of Recreation and Planning Roxane Melnyk asked councillors for their feedback on Policy 120/25, which establishes eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, application procedures and timelines for requests relating to the waiver or reduction of rental fees for city-owned facilities.
For instance, the policy states that non-profit or volunteer-based organizations that operate within the City of Martensville, or regional organizations that provide services to Martensville residents, will be given priority when considering applications for waivers.
As noted in an administration report, the city allocated $36,000 in the 2026 budget for the waiver/reduction of rental fees, though the total amount of requests received has exceeded $39,500.
Now that applications are coming in for 2027, an issue has arisen with user groups requesting waivers relating to their regular programming, as opposed to one-time fundraisers and unique events.
“That wasn’t the intent of the policy when I wrote it. However, the way the policy reads, it can definitely be interpreted that way,” Melnyk said.
The problem, as noted in the administration report, is that while the city recognizes the value local service groups provide to the community, facility rental revenues contribute to offsetting operating expenses such as utilities, maintenance, custodial services, and lifecycle replacement costs.
Ultimately, Melnyk asked if council agreed with the original intent of the policy or if they wanted waivers to be applied to regular events. In general, council favoured the original intent of the policy.
In the administration report, Melnyk indicated that council’s input would help shape her consideration of applications, and if necessary, an amended policy may come back to council.