The City of Langford was feeling the heat Thursday after its community advisory committee rejected a request to help fund this year’s Sarah Beckett Memorial Run.
The request from Beckett’s husband, Brad Aschenbrenner, asked the committee for $2,500, but it was declined on a tie vote based on two technicalities in the city’s grant policies — the request was a month past the deadline for applications and the run foundation passed along the funding to other groups, in this case the Boys and Girls Club and Goldstream Food Bank.
Sarah Beckett died in the line of duty in April 2016 in the course of apprehending an impaired driver, who sped through a red light and struck Beckett’s police cruiser. Beckett, 32, was an 11-year veteran of the RCMP and had recently returned from maternity leave after having her second son. She was pronounced dead in hospital shortly after the crash.
Since then, Beckett has been honoured every year by the West Shore RCMP, a playground has been built and named for her at Langford City Centre and the Sarah Beckett Memorial Run has happened around Mother’s Day, raising funds for the youth-related causes.
MLA Ravi Parmar said Thursday the province has stepped in with $2,500 to help fund the memorial run. The event is on May 12, with the run and walk starting from Starlight Stadium at 10 a.m.
Several individuals and businesses on social media platforms said they were supporting the run in light of the committee’s decision.
Langford Coun. Colby Harder, who sits on the community advisory committee with councillors Keith Yacucha and Mark Morley and private citizens, said that while the Sarah Beckett Memorial Run was not considered due to its late submission and criteria for eligibility, the city is backing the run with “in-kind support.”
She said that support will be waiving permit and rental fees at Starlight Stadium Plaza, which equates to $2,525. Previous runs were supported through donations from former mayor Stew Young’s charity golf tournament and the city supplied the plaza.
Aschenbrenner said in an interview Thursday he isn’t interested in the controversy surrounding his request or the division the decision to refuse funding has created between the new council and some members of the public.
“We want to focus on the run and on the positive effects it has on youth in our community,” Aschenbrenner said, noting the run has raised more than $65,000 over the past three years. “If you want to help good causes and help kids in our city, become a sponsor and come out and run. It’s about the community, not council.”
Aschenbrenner said he is meeting with Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson today to remind him and new councillors who his wife was and what she stood for as a police officer and a mother. But he refuses to discuss council policies and the controversies that arise, saying it’s painful for both sides of his family.
He will point out the benefits the memorial run brings to youth in the community. Aschenbrenner said businesses like Cedar Vista Stables in Metchosin give therapeutic riding services to youth in need, the Boys and Girls Club is building new outreach programs and organizations such as the Victoria HarbourCats give season tickets while youth baseball and boxing groups to provide opportunities not available to youths because of cost or social status.
He said the run’s donations to the Goldstream Food Bank have supported families in need, especially those with young children who struggle to provide daily healthy meals. “We need to promote the run, not the division of council and community. We need partnerships.”
Chris Foxall, a Langford resident who sits on the community advisory council and brought a letter from Aschenbrenner requesting the funds, said the funding request was “defeated on technicalities.”
He said the Sarah Beckett Memorial Fund request was also denied last year because it was past the deadline for submissions. Other funding requests were also denied, said Foxall, because some had already happened and didn’t qualify.
“I thought everyone would be happy and it would go through, but I found out that if the committee vote is tied, it’s defeated,” said Foxall. “After it was denied, I was speechless.”
Foxall said Beckett’s death remains a heartbreaking memory for the community.
“Such a sad event … officer on duty, lives in Langford, grew up in Langford, went to school in Langford, serving in Langford and died in our community. That’s one of the most tragic things we can ever go through,” said Foxall. “There can’t be anybody who is against anything dealing with this for an event like this.”
But all three councillors and one citizen on the committee voted against funding.
“This is one of the times when this is what people like us on [committees] are bought here for, to bring up things that we think are important to the community,” said Foxall. “I though this is easy, a no brainer that will go through without a problem.”
“They missed deadline, but we get to make decisions beyond that,” said Foxall.
Harder said about 20 applications for funding were received before the Jan. 15 deadline. “The city does receive many grant requests throughout the year and we strive to adhere to the policy just to be fair to all members of the community.”
She said this year $80,000 was budgeted for grants and the advisory committee is recommending it be increased to $99,350. The recommendation goes to council for approval at the March 4 meeting.
Registration and information for the run are at sarahbeckett memorialrun.com/event-details.
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