By CHARLES TWEED
It’s exactly what Rimoka residents wanted to hear — reassurance.
Members of the Bethany Group met with Ponoka County council on at its March 17 meeting.
“We are here today to inform you that the Rimoka Foundation has now contracted with the Bethany Group as the new CAO of the Rimoka Foundation,” said chairman Joe Anglin.
Anglin introduced three key members to the foundation: Dennis Beasley, CEO of the Bethany Group, Dave Buist, director of housing and community services, and John Davis, director of health services.
“The Rimoka Housing Foundation stays intact, has its own bank account, its own audited financial statements, they are not connected with anything else — it is its own entity and in some ways you would have had normally a CAO, we are the CAO but because things are so complex these days we have a senior leadership team — it’s a CAO chunked up into pieces and we all have expertise to bring,” explained Beasley.
Dave Buist will handle the day-to-day happenings of the care centres in Ponoka and Rimbey.
Beasley reassured council that the Bethany Group had no intention of bidding on the home care contract. Part of the agreement between Rimoka and Bethany Group is a non-compete clause that prohibits them from bidding against Family and Community Support Services (FCSS).
The contract is current a three-month interim contract while the two finish negotiations on a yearlong deal. The contracts will run year to year.
Another important aspect is there is no pay out to Bethany Group if either side decides they don’t want to renew or another more suitable group is found.
No property changes title in the deal and Beasley stressed he would like to see the residences in Ponoka and Rimbey continue doing what they are already doing.
“It’s all about looking after our residents and giving them quality,” said Beasley.