The Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre will soon offer a two-hour weekly music program using Room 102 at the community hall.
Council approved renting the room at $8.50 an hour and charging the centre $1 a year to use the storage room within Room 102.
“As the District does not currently have the equipment or staff capacity to offer youth programs of this nature, working with the Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre to facilitate music programs for youth would bring great value to our community,” wrote District leisure services director Cassie Ofner in a memo to District chief administrative officer Michael Dewar.
The hourly rate is a discount and falls under a bylaw outlining fees and charges.
Legion grant request approved
Council has approved a Royal Canadian Legion Pleasant Valley Branch No. 249 grant request of $5,000 to help it buy furniture more appropriate to pandemic-related social distancing and sanitizing needs.
That, along with $25,000 the branch is hoping to get from the federal New Horizon for Seniors Program, would cover the lion’s share of the projected $32,000 cost for new tables and chairs.
“We would purchase tables which seat a maximum of four people, encouraging groups to stay within their bubble,” branch president Don Woodbeck wrote in asking council for the $5,000.
“These smaller tables would allow us to set up for each private group to be two metres apart. Also, with these funds, we would purchase new chairs covered in commercial grade vinyl that can be easily cleaned and maintained.”
These would replace the current long and narrow tables at the branch which can seat 10 to 12 people, making it difficult to keep at a safer social distance. And chair seats are cloth, making proper sanitizing impossible.
The money will come from an account set up by the District to assist social services groups and other entities affected by the pandemic.
This fund began with $100,000 and was set up using a portion of a provincial COVID-19 relief grant provided by the provincial government in 2020.
With this latest approval, there is now just under $67,000 left in the account.