Ernie Sirski admits it was a long and arduous process.
That process has officially come to an end. The City of Dauphin and the Rural Municipality of Dauphin have both approved a new recreation agreement that establishes a fair and sustainable approach to the long-term operation and funding of Dauphin Recreation Services.
City of Dauphin Council unanimously approved the agreement on September 29. On October 7, the RM of Dauphin Council unanimously approved it.
Ernie Sirski is the Reeve for the RM of Dauphin.
"I'm glad that we have reached a resolution," said Sirski. "It's for the betterment of Dauphin Rec Services moving forward. Hopefully, now we can put this behind us for at least three years."
The agreement sees the RM provide $419,000 in recreation funding in 2026.
Contributions in 2027 and 2028 would be on a per capita basis with a cost-of-living cap on any annual increases.
The RM will also contribute $50,000 per year for capital requirements over and above its operating contributions.
The agreement also introduces an upgraded governance structure for DRS to strengthen collaboration and transparency in decision-making.
When we caught up with the Mayor of Dauphin, David Bosiak, he was thrilled.
The new agreement takes effect on January 1, 2026. Both municipalities have expressed appreciation for the cooperative approach taken throughout the final stages of the negotiation process.
This is great news for recreation at the Parkland Rec Complex for now and down the road.
"Well, I sincerely hope so," ended Sirski. "There are other issues besides recreation that we have to deal with at both the City and Rural Municipality side. Now we can park this, put it aside, we've got a deal together. Now we can go on to other issues."
Mayor Bosiak says upgrades under the new agreement could include, but not be limited to:
"Like the normal wear and tear, you want to replace the carpets when they're worn out," ended Bosiak. "You want new chairs in the hallway when they're old. Those sorts of things kept getting pushed down the line because DRS wasn't sure about the budget. Those are the things that we hope to address in the next little while."
Recreation in Dauphin is in a great spot.
