Clearwater County will release $200,000, along with an additional $24,638 for insurance costs, to help bring the Ferrier Community Hall project to completion after a series of budgetary setbacks and regulatory challenges stalled construction.
The Ferrier project is in the state of near-completion with over 2,000 volunteer hours sunk into the project. However, the Ferrier Community Association has come up against a barrier with a series of setbacks and budgetary challenges.
Following lengthy debates at its April 8 and April 22 meetings, council heard that while $200,000 had been earmarked for the project, the funds had not been released to the association.
During a spirited debate, Deputy Reeve Bryan Cermak said in order to support the $200,000 being released, he wanted to make sure the public purse was protected.
“I do not want to put taxpayer money in jeopardy if the [the hall] gets burnt down,” said Cermak. “Then, [with no insurance], our money’s lost.”
Councillor Genny Mehlhaff, a vocal proponent of the project, said the need is significant enough that the county needs to find a way to be a partner.
“The community needs a hall, they don’t have a hall in a community that’s bigger than Leslieville and Condor combined,” said Mehlhaff. “We just need to get it done.”
Since last year, the hall’s effort to apply for matching provincial grants has stalled due to low funds. The association was forced to withdraw its application for the 2024 Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant intake due to a lack of funds in its account.
For insurance, Financial Services Manager Rhonda Serhan said the hall project would be on the county’s rider, with the municipality itself cutting the cheque to the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) insurance.
Council passed a motion to release the $200,000 for the project, with the $24,638 coming from contingency.
Inside the fledgling Ferrier Community Hall as seen March 2025. (Ferrier Community Association)
Elsie Nelson, fundraising chair for the Ferrier Community Association said $200,000 is a good start.
“We all know that the costs have gone up, and it’s hard to judge what it’s going to cost us now,” she says. “If the county’s engineer thinks it’s going to cost another $589,000 to completion— with the volunteers we have, we think that is more than what is needed.”
She says a number of projects have yet to be completed including bathrooms, duct work, a kitchen facility and fire suppression systems.
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Amid the talks, Nelson says there’s a perception of favoritism to the east side of the county. She points to improvements to the two fire halls on the east side, recent projects in Leslieville, as well as immediate needs identified in the newly amalgamated hamlet of Caroline.
“We know there’s 16 halls in the community,” says Nelson. “Condor and Leslieville have gotten a lot for their communities— whether its playgrounds or paved roads, while a lot of other halls are forgotten.”
Clearwater County Reeve Michelle Swanson says other community halls around the county will indeed be watching the Ferrier proceedings.
“It’s setting a precedent for other halls that are coming down the pipe,” she says. “[Other halls] are going to be coming to this council.”
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The Ferrier Community Association began planning a replacement hall in 2016 after deeming the original facility inadequate.
Nelson estimates around two thirds of the building has been finished, largely thanks to the effort of volunteers, with around $500,000 spent on the project.
Documents presented to council show if the project misses another building season, rising costs and inflation could further increase the shortfall by an estimated 15 per cent.
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