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Communities get Halloween grants

Highlights of TNRD meeting held Oct. 6
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During its Thursday,Oct. 6 meeting in Kamloops, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board approved grants-in-aid for three initiatives in Electoral Area “A” (Wells Gray Country):

• $500 to Birch Island Recreation Society for fireworks for a Birch Island community Halloween event;

• $500 to Vavenby Recreation and Trails Society for fireworks for a Vavenby community Halloween event;

• $300 to Blackpool Fireman’s Association for items to support a Halloween community safety drive-by event.

NEW TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR WELLS GRAY COUNTRY SERVICES COMMITTEE

The TNRD board also considered new terms of reference for the Wells Gray Country Services committee.

According to a report to the board, the services committee was first established in 2003, after the TNRD hired a services coordinator for Electoral Area “A” and before Clearwater incorporated as a municipality.

WGCSC was established to manage the Sportsplex, street lighting, TV rebroadcasting, community parks, plus tourism development and marketing. With the incorporation of Clearwater, those responsibilities were reduced.

The WGCSC was responsible for overseeing day to day operations through the services coordinator, and making recommendations to the TNRD board. The committee reviewed and approved Service Coordinator’s draft budgets, which then went to the CFO to include in budget for Board approval.

In June of this year the TNRD board considered but rejected a recommendation that WGCSC be dissolved and replaced with a broad community consultation and stakeholder input and engagement process.

The new terms of reference are intended to restructure the services committee so that it complies with local government legislation and to ensure the committee members are only providing advice and recommendations to the board.

The services committee is comprised of five community members, the director for Electoral Area “A” and the alternate director.

The five services committee members are Mitch Miller representing Birch Island, Mike Savage representing Blackpool, Bill Ludtke representing East Blackpool, Rob Vesak representing Upper Clearwater and Charlotte Cederholm representing Vavenby. The alternate director is Hazel Wadlegger. The five members plus the alternate director are all appointed by the director, Carol Schaffer, who is, in turn, chosen by the residents and property owners of Wells Gray Country.