Grande Prairie City Council’s Invest GP Committee greenlit a change to a policy regarding the Barrier Free Grant funding cap on March 19th.
The Barrier Free Grant is a funding model that allows businesses and property owners to apply for matching funding from the city to improve a property’s accessibility for residents in wheelchairs, suffering from an injury, or mothers with strollers.
Until recently, businesses and property owners were only able to receive up to a matching $10K from the grant, which Deputy Mayor Gladys Blackmore sees as inadequate for any significant projects.
“At $10,000 that means that they have to have at least $10,000 to match the grant, and really $20,000 is not sufficient to create those accessible avenues,” she says.
According to city administration, from 2021 to 2023, eight of fifteen applicants would have received more than the $10K they were given, if the cap was higher.
Ultimately, the decision was made to up the cap by an additional $10K bringing the allotted amount for eligible applicants to $20K in city funding, or $40K in total.
“This allows companies greater access to funds,” Blackmore says. “By increasing the amount of the grant, we’re allowing for bigger projects, more important projects, or more projects where the issue is more of an issue to start with.”
Interested businesses and property owners can apply by contacting the City of Grande Prairie.
