By Barb McKay

The Municipality of Kincardine will dole out $80,300 in community grants this year, but not all of them will go to local organizations.

Kincardine council agreed at its meeting last Wednesday to accept a list of community grant recipients for 2013 and the amounts allocated to them. The Municipality budgeted $130,300 for 2013, $50,000 of which was to come from Enbridge. However, this year Enbridge upped its contribution to $60,175.

The list of recipients this year is a fairly extensive one with allocations going to a range of organizations, including service clubs; arts, cultural and heritage organizations non-profit groups; recreation-based organizations; agricultural societies; and environmental groups.

Notable recipients include Community Living Kincardine and District, which will receive a $10,000 Enbridge grant and $25,000 community grant; the Elgin Market Home and School Association - $5,000 Enbridge grant for smart boards for the school; Kincardine Scottish Festival and Highland Games - $5,000 Enbridge grant; Kincardine Summer Music Festival - $5,000 Enbridge grant and $1,500 community grant.

The Lake Huron Fishing club will receive a $4,000 Enbridge grant and $500 community grant.  The Lighthouse Blues Festival will receive a $2,500 Enbridge grant and $2,500 community grant. Women’s House Serving Grey and Bruce will receive a $5,000 Enbridge grant and a $4,000 community grant. The Saugeen Valley Children’s Safety Village will receive a $3,400 Enbridge grant.

Enbridge will also allocate $25,000 of its contribution to minor sports.

Concerns were raised around the council table by some, however, that community grants perhaps shouldn’t be used to support organizations outside the Municipality of Kincardine. The Parkinson Society of Southwestern Ontario, for example, will receive a grant of $1,000 and is based in London.  PRANCE, a therapeutic equestrian program in Port Elgin for individuals with disabilities will receive a community grant of $300. The Paisley Agricultural Society will also receive a $300 community grant.

“I’d like to see us work on a policy that makes the (grant program) more explicit and a lot more local,” said councillor Jacqueline Faubert.

Clerk Donna MacDougall pointed out that residents from Kincardine utilize services and programs outside the municipality that aren’t offered locally. Some allocations for non-local organizations actually go to events that are held in Kincardine, such as the Parkinson Superwalk.

Councillor Ron Coristine said it would be worth taking a deeper look at the grant application process to see who is applying and where the grants are going so that the municipality has a better idea of how much to budget for.

Faubert clarified that she didn’t mean any affront to municipal staff who she said did a great job of going through the applications and allocating the grants.

“I would just like to have a policy that wouldn’t make staff have to work so hard at this,” she said.

The grant report will be brought back to tonight’s council meeting for final approval.