Phase 1 of the Rossland Museum Renewal Project is proceeding after council awarded tender for the project on Monday night.
The tender was awarded to NDB Contracting for a total price of $413,276 — $340,757 for the base amount, $67,019 for an enhancement to the entrance gallery and $5,500 for the boardroom exhaust and bulkheads.
The request from the Rossland Museum for council to approve the tender was accompanied by an updated project budget showing that the museum application for a $100,000 Canada Cultural Spaces Fund Grant was successful. The museum is now waiting to hear back on whether or not it will also receive the $50,000 BC Collaborative Spaces Program grant it applied for.
Until the museum hears back, the Collaborative Spaces grant has not been included in the $526,837 total project budget — which includes not just construction costs, but additional project expenses — but that budget does include the $45,000 contribution from the City of Rossland.
Council conceives concept for Midtown Lands
Before Monday night’s council meeting, council met at a community of the whole meeting to discuss the future of Rossland’s Midtown Lands, which include the old Emcon lot, city owned land across from the Emcon lot on Third Ave. and the Rossland Arena property.
By the end of the meeting, council had discussed the possibility of building a mixed use residential and commercial building with a restaurant or café on the Emcon lot, while also allowing for some public space and a walkway connecting Jubilee Park and the future skatepark to the arena. They’d also discussed the possibility of building residential on the Third Ave. property, with the potential to include some affordable housing.
Stakeholders who attended the meeting included representatives from Thoughtexchange and a group of local doctors, who expressed interest in being the tenants of a building constructed on the Emcon lot.
Council postpones renewal of BC SPCA Kenneling Agreement
During the regular meeting, council agreed to postpone renewing its kenneling agreement with the BC SPCA.
The Trail BC SPCA facility houses dogs impounded by the City of Rossland, for which the city has paid the organization a base rate of $530 per month, or $6360 a year, though that rate would increase in 2017 and 2018. The city also pays the SPCA additional fees, including a $45 fee for euthanasia services.
Council decided to postpone renewing the agreement until it receives any overdue monthly reports the BC SPCA was supposed to send, as per the prior agreement.
Council looks for new way to honour volunteers
On Apr. 25, council voted to host an annual celebration for each person featured in the Rossland News’ monthly Volunteer Vibe feature. Unfortunately, due to sponsorship issues, we discontinued the feature, so Monday night council discussed other options for honouring Rossland’s volunteers.
Councillor Aaron Cosbey proposed that the city should accept nominations to choose 10 volunteers of the year, and then honour them at an event. But council held off on voting on the matter, as the Rossland Legion held an event to honour volunteers in 2016, and Mayor Kathy Moore suggested there might be a possibility of the city collaborating with the Legion for a 2017 event. In the meantime, Councillor John Greene also suggested finding out how other municipalities honour their volunteers.