The March 7 regular meeting of Keremeos Village Council dealt with a light agenda.
Council received a letter from Keremeos Elks expressing their wish to withdraw an offer made to transfer the Elks rodeo grounds to the Village.
The offer, initially made in 2005, was being rescinded after the Elks, reviewed the lease back arrangements with the village. They felt that there was a possibility that in adhering to the municipal and provincial regulations involved in the transfer, there may be impediments to the way the Elks operated.
The village remains the beneficiary of the property should the rodeo cease operations.
Council agreed to donate, as they have for the past several years, $100 towards a trophy for the Kars Under the K festival.
The possibility of assistance to the Keremeos Bargain Centre in disposing of unuseable donations is close to being realized, as council agreed to provide the facitlity with $100 towards disposal costs, along with Areas “G” and “B”.
An upper bench resident applied for financial hardship assistance in a letter to council, stating that poor health and financial distress was making it difficult to pay for sewer hook up. Council was sympathetic to some degree, agreeing to table the motion to deny the request until the next council meeting, pending the receipt of more information.
Keremeos Search and Rescue requested a rental reduction for the Search and Rescue building for 2011from council.
Council agreed to reduce the monthly rate from $1,200 to $600, along with a query as to the group’s present funding status.
Anna McIndoe, Environmental Planner, was on hand to guide council through a summary of possible options for a trail connecting lower Keremeos with the upper bench.
A feasibility analysis considered such items as location, cost, maintenance issues, property ownership, and current and potential frequency of use in the final summary, which considered five locations for the trail along the bench.
Possible locations under consideration are:
1. Seventh Avenue and Tenth Street
2. Sixth Avenue and Highway 3 / 3A
3. Highway 3 to Ninth Street
4. Fourth Street and K-View Crescent
5. Boundary Road and Second Avenue
McIndoe recommended to council development of a trail from Fourth Street to K-View Crescent because of its central location and current moderate use. The bench would be accessed using a metal staircase.
Potential funding sources could include a Towns for Tomorrow grant, which potentially could fund up to 80 per cent of the project cost, estimated at between 30 and 60 thousand dollars.
Councillor Minshull asked McIndoe about the feasibility of a trail from Sportsman’s Corner following Crown Land up to the bench as a possiblity, citing easier grades and the need for a cooperative effort from Area “G”.
McIndoe had not considered such a route, but a consensus among council was that such a route warranted consideration.
Council agreed that grant funding was a necessity in seeing the project come to fruition, although the village has budgeted $15,000 towards the trail, which can be carried forward to later budgets if necessary.