by John Boivin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Valley Voice
Organizers of the Kaslo Jazz Fest will be able to move ahead on several aspects of this year’s event – though they didn’t get everything they were looking for from council.
The biggest ask council approved was to have staff prepare a multi-year agreement for the festival, allowing it to plan for events up until 2025. Council approved the request at its March 14 meeting after the festival withdrew its plan to ask for permission to expand the festival into a four-day event.
Council also approved allowing camping at the arena/riding club grounds, a noise bylaw exemption, banners to be erected at the town limits, a beer garden, port-a-potty rentals, and dust control for Kaslo Bay Road.
However, there were still a few asks council wanted more information on before approving.
A request for extending the hours to midnight prompted a discussion about the benefits for the rest of the community.
“I have heard from local businesses that when the Jazz Fest was extended to midnight, there was a significant reduction in the income they were making from Jazz Fest,” says Councillor Matthew Brown. “The period from 10 p.m. to midnight seems to be a popular time for local businesses to have music and draw people up into the community. … I was wondering if there was consultation between Jazz Fest and local businesses to ensure that all the local businesses are equally gaining benefits from this economic driver?”
“People have questions as to whether Jazz Fest is the economic driver it is thought to be, because there are already people coming to Kaslo, not for Jazz Fest … so there are two sides to that,” agreed Mayor Suzan Hewat.
Council referred the decision on extending the festival’s hours to its April meeting, and to contact organizers to ask them to consult with local businesses.
Councillors also had outstanding questions about closing a portion of Kaslo Bay Road to non-festival goers, handicapped parking spaces in Kaslo Shipyards, as well as allowing access for local boaters to the municipal dock during the event. Until those details are settled, council referred those decisions to future meetings.
The festival is scheduled for August 4, 5 and 6.
Municipal grants
The Village’s remaining municipal grants have been announced, with a little bit extra thrown in to sweeten the pot for worthy community groups this year.
The Village usually issues $5,000 in grants to community groups, school organizations, and special events. In February, council voted to let out $3,500 of the grant fund, while awaiting more information from some groups before releasing the rest.
But with $4,000 in community requests still outstanding, and only $1,500 left in the kitty, council decided the best course of action was to top up the fund to meet the need.
“It would be very difficult to say ‘no’ to the [remaining] grants, when we are just receiving a significant influx of cash,” said Hewat, referring to a nearly $1-million infrastructure grant received from the province.
The money will come from the Village’s community development fund controlled by the RDCK, as well as the COVID relief funds.
The recipients of the $500 grants include the library, J.V. Humphries’ Aboriginal Education program, Kaslo Search and Rescue, the Kaslo Racquet Club, and the Seniors’ Association.
New sculpture
A new piece of public art is coming to the village courtesy of Castlegar’s Sculpturewalk rental program.
The village will spend $2,380 to lease “Reflect and Connect,” a work of aluminum, stainless steel and acrylic plastic by Bill Frymire of Kamloops.
“Castlegar Sculpturewalk has indicated that the selected artwork is durable and does not require any special maintenance,” a staff report notes. “They have advised that installation without a plinth is recommended (so that the details are at eye-level for viewing) but it can be installed on the existing plinth.”
The sculpture was chosen by the Village’s Art and Heritage Committee. It’s the third year the Village has rented a piece of artwork for public display in Legacy Park. The new work will replace ‘Interaction’ by Lynn Van Pelt, which was installed last year.
Equipment shelter
Work on a new equipment shelter to keep Village machinery out of the elements is proceeding, but it’s going to cost a little extra.
Council first approved spending $75,000 on a new, locally manufactured shelter last year. But a review found it needed to be beefed up more than initially thought.
“The engineering design review found that the shelter requires additional bracing and shoring to meet wind and snow load requirements for a commercial structure due it its excess height,” says a staff report.
Those changes would mean buying 20 per cent more timber for the shoring-up project. The engineering, permit fees and additional hardware costs result in a total $14,000 of extra charges over the original budget.
Council approved the extra funds for the project. They’ll come out of the COVID Rapid Restart Fund, so there’ll be no impact on taxes.