By Sebastian Kanally
Oliver has decided to spend the last of their 2023 grant-in-aid budget at their Dec. 4 meeting, spreading the remaining funds to three different local projects.
The Oliver Food Bank will receive $4,480.50 of the $15,088.58 they requested from the town to contribute to their project of building a fence around their property.
The Oliver Food Bank’s request for the money goes back to September 24. At the October 23 council meeting the town requested staff to reach out and investigate whether the food bank could repurpose fencing the town had recently taken down.
The food bank then informed mayor and council on Nov. 9 that the new fencing had already been installed and again requested a contribution to the cost.
The Oliver Curling Club Society (OCCS) will also receive $4,480.50 in grant-in-aid towards their accessibility project. The OCCS was denied a $200,000 ask last month when they presented to council on Nov. 3 where they sought financial support for their two phase project that will see accessible washrooms and an elevator installed at the Oliver curling rink.
The Okanagan Gleaners Society will also receive a $500 contribution from the 2023 grant-in-aid budget. Councillor Terry Schafer brought a motion forward for council to contribute this amount after the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) requested the town match their donation at the grand opening of the Gleaners new storage building.
The Penticton & Area Centre’s Access Centre also sent a request to the town asking for $22,464 in grant in aid to go towards the annual operating costs of a satellite outreach legal center in Oliver but did not receive the funds.
The Access Centre is looking for funding to expand the reach of the Outreach Legal Advocacy Program. They provide assistance to people with legal matters related to tenancy, debt, human rights, and employment standards in Penticton, Summerland, Oliver, Osoyoos, Okanagan Falls among other places.
The group uses a satellite office at the Park Drive Church in Oliver to meet with clients. Their application says the funding would be used for the annual wage and benefit costs for a poverty law advocate to be based in the Oliver satellite office one day a week.
Councillor Aimee Grice noted “I do see value in bringing this program to Oliver. Obviously, their ask is more than the entirety of our 2024 grant-in-aid budget, so we couldn’t fund it out of that fund in its entirety. Looking for that large amount, I feel this is more a budget discussion.”
Council passed a motion that town staff ask the applicant to present their request to council for consideration in the 2024 Financial Plan.
