Council Votes on CIP Grant Applications
By Sara Golling
At their Committee-of-the-Whole meeting Wednesday evening, Council’s deliberations were focused on the topic of Community Infrastructure Program (CIP) grant applications. Mayor Kathy Moore first invited people in the gallery to provide Council with any information about the projects competing for a CIP grant that was not already provided to Council in the information package prepared by Planner Stacey Lightbourne and Interim CAO Mike Maturo.
After hearing all who wanted to speak, Council decided that the City will apply for a CIP grant for the Miners Union Hall renovation project. Council also voted to supply a strong letter of support for the Rossland Public Library’s application for a CIP grant for the Library Renewal Project. When Museum Director Joelle Hodgins indicated that the Museum might also apply for a CIP grant on its own, Council agreed to supply a letter of support for that application as well.
Councillor Aaron Cosbey reiterated that the skate park is not eligible for a CIP grant, and Moore noted that the concept of developing the former Emcon lot into a community facility does not meet the required criteria for these grants either. Council made its decision based on its best judgment on the various projects’ likelihood of success in obtaining a grant, based on the eligibility criteria available.
Committee-of-the-Whole (CoW) meetings do not make binding decisions; they make recommendations to the next regular Council meeting. Those recommendations are adopted at the regular Council meeting with a motion to “adopt the minutes (of the specified meeting) and any recommendations therein” so that unless there is additional discussion about a recommendation, it is adopted by Council with no further notice or fanfare. Council may re-think a recommendation from a CoW meeting and make an entirely different decision instead, but that is unusual and tends to be the result of new information.
