For 2016, the District of Sicamous will be distributing $36,500 in community service grants.
The amount being disbursed is $17,840 less than the total of requests, but falls under the $40,000 budgeted for the grants. This includes a $2,500 administrative fee for the Shuswap Community Foundation to manage and disperse district grant monies, and $1,000 for a mayor’s “serendipity” fund, to be dispersed at the mayor and council’s discretion.
This is the first year the district has utilized the Shuswap Community Foundation to oversee the district’s grant process. Coun. Malcolm Makayev, who sits on the committee tasked with deciding who gets what, said the process worked well. Mayor Terry Rysz agrees.
“I think they did a very good job and I haven’t really had any negative feedback at this point,” said Rysz. “It’s in the hands of the community foundation and so far so good.”
Grants were as follows: Community Banner Project for the hanging of banners: $500 requested and approved; Eagle Valley Arts Council, operating expenses and programming: requested $3,500, $3,000 approved; Eagle Valley Rescue Society, training, operational and maintenance: $5,000 requested/approved; Eagle Valley Seniors Meals Society, seniors meals: $1,500 requested/approved; Eagle Valley Snowmobile Society, Sno-Cat purchase and marketing: $20,000 requested, $15,000 approved; Royal Canadian Legion Branch #99, operations of upstairs community hall: $7,500 requested, $5,500 approved; Sicamous and District Museum and Historical Society, host and website upgrade: $3,750 requested, $2,000 approved; Sicamous and District Seniors Society, asphalt for parking lot, $4,000 requested, $2,000 approved; Sicamous Beach Park Walk/Run, pavilion: $3,500 requested, $1,000 approved; Shuswap Lifeboat Society, laptop purchase: $5,090.49 requested, $2,500 approved.