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Kaslo council roundup: Village funds $10,000 to Kaslo Seniors’ Hall

All the news from the Feb. 22 meeting
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Kaslo Village Hall. File photo

by John Boivin

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Valley Voice

The Village is going to pitch in $10,000 to support improvements to the Kaslo Seniors’ Hall.

The Kaslo Senior Citizens’ Association has successfully secured a $60,413 grant from the Columbia Basin Trust’s Seniors and Elders Activity Fund towards building accessibility and energy efficiency, and to make it FireSmart. So the Village will come through with the $10,000 it promised for the project last year through the Community Development Fund.

Noting the $10,000 investment supports a $75,500 project, staff said the project would also align with corporate asset management goals.

“The grant funding will cover 80 per cent of the cost of much-needed capital improvements for this historic municipal asset, without imposing a significant burden on municipal taxpayers,” the report concluded.

The Senior’s Association also received an $8,100 grant from the Columbia Basin Trust under their Technology Grant program. Council approved administering those funds to the group without charge.

Website upgrade

The Village website is going to get an early upgrade.

“Although we like the look of the new website we got last year, it’s a bit too onerous to maintain, kind of complicated and not very well organized,” said CAO Ian Dunlop at council’s Feb. 22 meeting. “It’s clear we need something a bit more focused on what the municipality needs.”

It’s also being prompted by the news that the system that houses all the Village’s agendas, minutes, bylaws, policies and forms is being shut down in November 2022. That affects everything the public needs to get from the Village, from a beer tent licence to bylaw information to details on every council meeting held in the last seven years.

All-Net Municipal Solutions, a Winnipeg-based company that develops software and web services for municipal governments, won the three-year contract. Council approved spending $5,575 for this first year of the contract.

2022 municipal grants awarded

The Village has announced its funding to community groups and organizations for the spring of 2022: Kaslo Baseball Association - $500; Hospice Society of North Kootenay Lake - $350; Kaslo and Area Youth Council - $500; Kootenay Lake Innovation Centre - $350; KLISS/Periwinkle - $350; Kaslo Outdoor Recreation and Trails - $500; Kaslo Search and Rescue - $350; Ladies Auxiliary RCL #74 - $500; Kaslo and District Library Association - $500; Kaslo Racquet Club - $350; Kaslo Senior Citizens’ Association - $350; JVH Bursary - $400.

Costly engine swap

The Village’s 10-year-old loader is getting some emergency surgery.

Last month the loader broke down when a cracked piston sleeve allowed coolant to get into the engine. The engine’s a loss, but the machine should be good for several thousand more hours of life. And with the cost of buying a full replacement going up, staff suggested an alternative.

“The most time-effective solution is a drop-in replacement motor, which takes a couple of weeks and has a one-year warranty,” said Dunlop, noting that the loader is an essential piece of equipment, especially in winter.

It’s a nasty unplanned $35,000 hit to the budget, including having to withdraw $15,000 from the equipment reserve. The Village will put off buying new tires for the loader for a year as a result. Staff will report on where the rest of the money will come from at a council meeting in March.

The machine will have to be shipped to Castlegar for the work to be done. It should add another three to five years to the life of the loader.