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Sechelt council to consider Legacy Fund grants

Councillors in Sechelt are expected to vote Jan. 16 on approving $325,500 in grants from the Sunshine Coast Community Forest’s Legacy Fund.
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Councillors in Sechelt are expected to vote Jan. 16 on approving $325,500 in grants from the Sunshine Coast Community Forest’s Legacy Fund.

A letter from Peter Moonen, chair of the Legacy Fund Assessment Committee, said the committee received more than $900,000 in requests for support, which was more than twice the amount available in the fund.

The committee has recommended seven grants for approval:

• $35,000 for the Nicholas Sonntag Marine Education Centre to install a solar array.

• $100,000 for the Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre to aid with the costs of the centre’s renovation and expansion project.

• $20,000 for the Sunshine Coast Baseball Association for a new batting cage to replace the one in Brothers Park in Gibsons that was demolished in 2012 to make room for a new RCMP building.

• $50,000 to the Sunshine Coast Fastball League for safety upgrades at Hackett Park.  The League was prohibited from playing at Hackett Park last season because of safety concerns.

• $10,000 for the Syiyaya Reconciliation Project to cover the remaining costs of carving a reconciliation totem pole. The Community Forest had already provided $30,000 through its operating budget.

• $30,500 for the Sunshine Coast Salmonid Enhancement Society for a well assessment and hydrologic study at its hatchery property off Field Road. The assessment is needed to support the Society’s application for a water licence from the province, which would allow it to use wells as a back-up water supply when levels in Chapman Creek are low.

• $80,000 for the Gibsons Marine Rescue Society, the fundraising arm of RCM-SAR Station 14, for a new boathouse.

If they’re all approved as recommended, the grants will leave the fund with approximately $57,000, which will be topped up when the next round of dividends from logging operations come in to the district.

In his third quarter report, Community Forest chair Geoff Craig predicted that with net income as of Sept. 31 at $1,278,378, last year could be the corporation’s best in terms of financial performance since the Community Forest was established in 2006.

As the sole shareholder of Sechelt Community Projects, the operating company that manages the Community Forest, the District of Sechelt has authority over how dividends generated by the company are used.