Back to SearchBoard Highlights - December 6th, 2024
2025 Grants for Assistance approved
The Board of Directors has provided preliminary approval for numerous grants for assistance for 2025. 25 community organizations in the South Cariboo will be receiving grants totaling $36,100 from Electoral Areas G, H, and L, while 17 community organizations in the Central Cariboo and Chilcotin will be receiving funding from a $60,815 allocation of funds from the Areas D, E, F, J, and K. Additionally, $12,000 will be provided to two organizations in the North Cariboo: $2,000 to the Bouchie Lake Community Association from Electoral Area B, and $10,000 to the North Cariboo Senior’s Council, with funding split equally between Electoral Areas A, B, and I.
CRD Staff are in the process of contacting applicants to the program to communicate the results of the Board’s decisions on their application. Other community organizations in the North Cariboo and the City of Quesnel can contact the Quesnel Community Foundation about grant funding. Electoral Areas A, B, C, and I each contribute funding towards this grant program to support community organizations serving the North Cariboo area. Applications for their 2025 grant cycle will be accepted from January 1 to February 28, 2025.
Approval given for new food waste composter for Frizzi Road site
The Board has authorized staff to proceed with a direct award purchase of a “Earth Flow” in-vessel food waste composting system for the Frizzi Road transfer station in Williams Lake. The “in-vessel” composting process occurs inside a contained unit that will limit access by vectors as well as manage odour, leachate, and temperature. This purchase aligns with the CRD’s proposed new solid waste management plan, which remains under review by the Ministry of Environment and Parks. The funds required for this purchase will be sourced from the Cariboo Regional District’s apportionment of the Community Works Fund.
Burning prohibitions in the Chilcotin discussed
Representatives from the BC Wildfire Service’s Cariboo Fire Centre attended the Board meeting to discuss how burning prohibitions are managed for the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. They discussed how burning prohibitions are currently established, noting that they rely on existing jurisdictional boundaries for where the prohibitions will apply. Forest districts, major rivers, and fire center boundaries were highlighted as notable examples of typical geographic boundaries. The Board and BC Wildfire representatives discussed the challenges of having burning prohibitions for areas where higher elevations may still have dead wood that presents a fire hazard along with snow and low temperatures during a burning prohibition. CRD Board members raised concerns about ensuring that rural property owners and ranchers would be able to obtain reasonable exemptions for preventative burning if there was snow still present on the ground, and BC Wildfire committed to investigate opportunities to support wildfire prevention for these areas.
Ministry of Agriculture highlights ALR benefits
Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food attended to present information to the Board on how the Agricultural Land Reserve is intended to support the agricultural industry. They identified several significant land use pressures facing the agricultural industry across the Province. They noted that competing demands to expand residential areas and industry into the agricultural land reserve along with the rising costs of land as major pressures facing the agricultural community. Additionally, the average workforce in the sector is getting much older than the rest of the population, placing difficulties on retiring farmers and ranchers who are unable to transfer ownership to a younger workforce. Directors expressed concern about the rising age of farmers, and lack of workforce to take over for them. Discussions were held about how local governments can provide regulatory and policy support for the industry, and how existing provincial programs would continue supporting ranchers and farmers in the industry.
Upcoming Meetings:
Jan. 23 @ 1:00 p.m. – Finance-Budget Committee
Jan. 24 @ 9:30 a.m. – CCRHD / CRD Board
See the full CCRHD and CRD agendas and minutes at cariboord.ca/agendasminutes.
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