Councillor Corey Woods has questioned why Guelph-Eramosa Township would collect money for road reserves from local races and athletic events only to donate it back to a few organizers.
“If we have a policy it should be enforced equally,” Woods said at a meeting last week.
He was responding to a report from chief administrative officer Janice Sheppard, who recommended the $2 participant fee for the third annual Avery’s Bravery Race on April 28 be donated to Sick Kids hospital in Toronto.
“The intent was for that money to go towards roads,” Woods said.
The $2 fee was recently introduced as part of a new policy to deal with an inundation of requests over the last couple years to close township roads for athletic events – most notably bicycle races.
The policy states the fee will help the township recover administration costs and build up roads reserves.
Mayor Chris White said the intent of the policy was to get some money back from the more “intrusive” events organized by outside groups.
“The objective wasn’t to kill off community events; it was to manage the proliferation of big events coming through,” White said.
He added he understands Woods’ point, but for local charity events with little impact on local roads – the township also agreed to give back fees collected from the Marden Marathon – the municipality could give back the money.
Woods seemed to accept the explanation, as he voted along with the rest of council to approve donating the funds to the Toronto hospital.
