The BC government has appointed former Nelson mayor John Dooley to the board of the Columbia Basin Trust.
“I feel quite honoured,” Dooley told the Star. “I have always had opinions on the Columbia Basin Trust and its responsibility to the basin as a whole. As an outsider you are never sure how an organization operates, and I look forward to being on the inside.”
Other new members of the board are Larry Binks from Creston, Loni Parker from Revelstoke, Vickie Thomas from the St. Mary’s Band, and Jeannette Townsend from Valemount.
The provincial government appoints the Trust’s 12-member Board — six from among the nominees of the five regional districts and the Ktunaxa Nation Council and six others. All directors must be residents of the Columbia Basin.
In addition to Dooley, Nelson resident Am Naqvi also serves on the Trust board. Greg Deck of Radium is the chair.
The Columbia Basin Trust was set up in 1995 to invest and locally spend money allocated to Canada from the US as a result of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty.
In 2013-14, the Trust spent $25.6 million on social, economic, and environmental initiatives in the region.
Dooley served on Nelson city council from 1999 to 2014, the last nine years as mayor.