Coun. Susan Flowers is hopeful that her fellow councillors will grant an $20,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area to open a safe teen space. The request will be presented at the next council meeting on June 11. Representatives of the club indicated through a presentation earlier this spring that $20,000 was needed for initial start-up costs for a teen hub - something that Flowers maintains fills a growing need in the community, with no hangout place for youth in this age group. "The social infrastructure has to keep up, along with the roads and other infrastructure in the community," said Flowers. The need was brought forward at the May 28 meeting in conjunction with the 2018 community grants, as a separate ask out of the operating grant budget. Council opted to wait for additional information on the $20,000 request and financial implications that could arise by asking for the increase in the operating grant, with ongoing implications, rather than as a one-time request. Flowers maintained that she would be sorry to see the teen hub put on hold with a delay until fall budget deliberations for the 2019 fiscal year. "I think we could commit to one year and help them locate more funding for next year," said Flowers, a retired manager of Cochrane Family and Community Support Services. If council had approved the request the other night, that would have meant an overspend of $20,000 in operating grants. The community grants were under spent this year by $15,835. There is also an option to fund the club's ask one-time through operating reserve funds. Community Grants: totalled $29,165 Big Hill Creek Preservation Society $1,000 Cochrane Activettes $2,500 Cochrane & Area Events Society $900 Cochrane BMX Association $2,500 Cochrane Classic Car Club $2,500 Cochrane Historical & Archival Preservation Society (CHAPS) $2,500 Cochrane Music Society $2,500 Cochrane Public Library $2,500 Friends of Fireside School Society $2,500 Footstock Race Weekend $2,500 Helping Hands Society of Cochrane and Area $2,500 Seniors on the Bow $2,265 Teatro Dell’Eco $2,500
