The unfinished walls of Pincher Creek’s new curling rink moved a step closer to completion last week, after the MD of Pincher Creek approved up to $1 million in additional funding. Council attached a series of conditions meant to protect taxpayers while construction continues.

Council’s decision follows public debate over whether municipal governments should commit more public money to a project that ran short of funds after construction was underway.

The funding will be released only after agreements are signed with the Pincher Creek Curling Club and the Town of Pincher Creek. Payments will be tied to construction progress, with provisions allowing the MD to recover its contribution if the club later secures provincial grant funding.

To ensure construction is not delayed while those agreements are finalized, council also authorized an instalment of $340,212 for the project’s next progress payment.

Deputy reeve Tony Bruder chaired the July 14 meeting in the absence of Reeve Rick Lemire. He says the instalment is intended to keep construction moving while the required agreements are completed.

The payment is part of the approved contribution of up to $1 million and is expected to be issued by the end of July.

Bruder says the MD will not provide the entire amount up front. Instead, funds will be released as construction bills are submitted, with the final total depending on what construction actually costs.

Funding tied to agreements

The MD’s approval includes several conditions before the full funding commitment proceeds.

The first motion, which approves up to a maximum of $1 million, directs the funding to come from the Community Initiatives Reserve.

The curling club must sign a funding agreement with the MD. Under the agreement, payments will be provided in instalments and may be recoverable depending on the terms.

The MD also requires the Town of Pincher Creek to sign an agreement ensuring the building remains a curling facility for the life of the structure.

Only once both agreements are signed will the MD advance further money beyond the progress payment. That payment was carved out specifically so construction crews get paid regardless of how long the paperwork takes.

“We don’t want to hold up the process,” Bruder says. “In case all the agreements aren’t signed in time, that fourth motion makes sure that the next monthly instalment is covered. So the construction can carry on.”

Repayment tied to grants

The MD and curling club are still finalizing an agreement on repayment. Any provincial grant money the club secures would be used to repay the MD’s contribution, Bruder says.

The club has applied for a $1.5-million Active Communities Initiative grant after an earlier application was declined. Should that application succeed, the club has committed to repaying both the town and MD for their respective shares of the additional funding.

Dispute over ownership

The ownership issue has been a key difference between the town and MD throughout discussions.

During its June 22 meeting, town council approved up to $1 million in additional funding, but attached its own conditions. Those included amendments to the lease agreement to formalize town ownership of the facility before additional money is released.

“From the start of all this, the MD has had the opinion that we want the curling club to own the building,” Bruder says. “We still have that opinion.”

However, because the building sits on town-owned land, he says the MD cannot prevent the town from establishing ownership.

“The town has unilaterally decided that they’re going to own the building. We don’t agree with it, but we can’t stop it because the town owns the land,” Bruder says. “I guess the MD just has to follow along with [what] the town wants.”

Council says project must be completed

Councillors expressed concerns about how the project reached its current financial position but Bruder says they did not want to see the partially completed facility abandoned.

“All of us councillors have discussed this with a lot of our ratepayers in our separate divisions. We’re all kind of disappointed that it got to this point,” he says. “We don’t want to leave a building half built and then put a fence around it and watch it just fall down.”

How the shortfall happened

Discussion of a new curling rink in Pincher Creek dates back more than a decade. The curling club first asked the MD to match town funding for a replacement facility in March 2015, when the project was estimated at $3 million.

In 2017, the town, MD and curling club shared the cost of a new ice plant, with the condition that it could be moved to a future facility.

In 2018, the club again requested municipal support for a new rink.

The proposal moved through multiple sites and stalled repeatedly over the following years. A $4-million borrowing bylaw failed in 2023, withdrawn after a petition opposed it, and a task force on the project was later dissolved.

A memorandum of understanding signed in June 2023 cleared the way for the club to build on land occupied by the town’s golf course, before the club shifted the project to its current site on Chief Mountain Avenue.

Construction began in October 2025, with the project’s budget standing at $5.23 million, supported by $1.25 million from the town, $1 million from the MD and a $1-million provincial Community Facility Enhancement Program grant.

In November 2025, the club learned it was unsuccessful in attaining a $1.5-million Active Communities Initiative grant after construction had already started.

In April 2026, club representatives met with MD officials and requested bridge funding while reapplying for the ACI grant. The club told council it would repay municipal contributions if it successfully secured the $1.5-million grant or other funding sources.

Bruder confirms that repayment remains part of the MD agreement.

“If they get the grant, our portion of the million dollars, or whatever of the million dollars that is used, then they pay us back that amount,” he says.

Community debate preceded decisions

The municipal decisions followed a June 17 public input session that brought together about 130 residents from the town and MD. The meeting featured both support and criticism of additional municipal funding.

Supporters highlighted the curling rink’s role as a community gathering space and pointed to opportunities beyond curling, including youth programs, tournaments and other community uses.

Critics questioned why the project reached a funding shortfall and whether additional taxpayer money should be committed.

Several residents raised concerns about cost increases and accountability, asking why construction started before all funding sources were secured.

The discussion continued when town council considered the issue on June 22. Councillors were divided on whether to provide additional funding.

A motion from Coun. Brian McGillivray to provide no additional funding was defeated in a 4-3 vote.

Coun. Bernice Cyr later brought forward a motion to provide up to $1 million, conditional on matching funds from the MD. That motion passed 4-3.

The town’s funding would be released through monthly instalments tied to construction costs and would require amendments to the lease agreement to formalize town ownership of the facility.

Next steps

MD council’s decision satisfies its side of the matching-funds condition set by the town, but does not resolve remaining uncertainties.

Both the curling club’s agreement with the MD and the town’s agreement guaranteeing the building’s long-term use as a curling facility still need to be signed before the bulk of the $1-million commitment is released.

The town’s lease amendment formalizing its ownership of the building, directed by council in June, also has yet to return for final approval.

The curling club’s application for the ACI grant is also still pending.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of September 2026.