The Greater Vernon Cultural Centre project is in need of as much funding as it can get to mitigate its tax impact to residents, and staff are eyeing a $4.36 million grant that could potentially be a major windfall.
At the Wednesday, July 2 Greater Vernon Advisory Committee meeting, members approved the application to be submitted to the Capital Infrastructure Stream of the Strategic Priorities Fund Program.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) is administering the intake of the funding applications, with the intent of the program to fund projects that are large in scale, regional in impact or innovative, and align with the national objectives of productivity and economic growth.
The $4.36 million is just 10 per cent of the cost of the GVCC, as the project is entering its construction tendering stage.
Fundraising is still ongoing for the $46 million project, with $5.3 million expected to be raised, in an effort to lessen the cost to taxpayers.
Staff are taking a strategic approach with the grant application. The report says the maximum that could be applied for is $7 million but it adds the program has been "significantly oversubscribed in previous intakes," and while projects are evaluated based on the program's selection criteria and not the level of funding requested, there appears to be a risk that the regional district could lose out on the money if it applied for the maximum amount.
"For this reason an application for $4.36 million is being recommended to balance the consideration of other needs in the province while ensuring that the request would result in a meaningful funding contribution to the project," the report states.
The cultural centre project is nearing the construction tendering stage and the first building permit application has been submitted to the City of Vernon, the report says.
"To ensure project eligibility, the grant application will be submitted well in advance of the issuance of the construction tender," reads the report.
