Town of Osoyoos council has rejected a request from the Desert Park Exhibition Society (DPES) for the Town to act as the sponsoring agent (SA) as it applies for $10,000 grant to purchase a new water truck.
The society wants to apply to the South Okanagan Community Foundation to purchase and replace an old and noisy water truck with a newer vehicle.
“In order to receive funds directly from the foundation, the society must also be a registered charity,” said Town CAO Barry Romanko during a council meeting Monday. “The society is not a registered federal charity. The foundation will allow a municipality to receive the funds for the society provided the municipality agrees to the terms and conditions of being a sponsoring agent.”
The sponsoring agent takes on all responsibility for receiving the funds and ensuring the project is completed, said Romanko.
In the past, the Town has received funds from the foundation and provided them to organizations identified by the foundation, however, the Town has never been an SA and incurred the financial liability for a project, he said.
Because of this issue, Romanko recommended council reject the request for the Town to become the SA for the Desert Park society.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said she couldn’t support the Town becoming a sponsoring agent for a non-profit group like Desert Park Exhibition Society as it could set a precedent.
She did, however, support the Town sending a letter of support to whichever sponsoring agent the society is able to line up to complete their funding request.
Council unanimously voted to reject the request by the society, but in favour of sending a letter of support if requested.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
