Cold Lake funding Parent Link Centre until end of April, await province’s decision

Cold Lake city council will back the Parent Link Centre in April until they know more from the province.

The City decided to fund the additional month of Parent Link Centre at the Cold Lake and District FCSS after the province cancelled the grants and contracts on Nov. 4.

in the meantime, Family and Community Support Service centre’s across the Lakeland have put in bids for programs they want to offer in their communities while understanding the new boundaries.

The provincial government’s new method begins on April 1, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about what will happen.

“Bottom line for Cold Lake is Parent Link is hugely successful,” said Mayor Craig Copeland on The Morning After.

“Over 22,000 visits to Parent Link in a year. Massive numbers. Council over the years has invested in that building and a lot of families use it. The issue right now is we don’t know if we’re going to meet the provincial funding.

“We’re hoping to understand if we can continue the program with provincial dollars. Council over the years has topped up the Parent Link program and further enhanced it with taxpayer dollars, so council decided to do is extend funding for the month of April.”

In 2018, the Cold Lake Parent Link Centre had 22,554 visits which was below the three previous years where the PLC saw between 26,800 and 28,300 visits.

If the province rejects Cold Lake’s bid Family Resource Network bid, they can choose to take it over.

However, with still no decision on the industrial taxes the City will receive from ID 349, they went with a measured approach.

“Right now everything is supposed to be finished March 31. You’re talking about people’s lives that are employed over at Parent Link and all the parents that utilize the facility with their little kids, so we’ll use taxpayers dollar and backstop Parent Link for the month of April while we’re trying to understand what’s going on with the province,” said Copeland.