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Several items of interest to the Upper Columbia Valley were discussed at the most recent RegionalDistrict of East Kootenay (RDEK) board of directors meeting.

As previously reported in The Pioneer, the directors unanimously voted down a rezoning bylaw amendment allowing for a proposed six-lot Grizzly Ridge subdivision on the west side of Lake Winderere in RDEK Area F during the Friday, February 10^th meeting, but they also dealt with a number of other less controversial issues.

Chief among these was approving a grant of up to $100,000 to the Columbia Valley Economic Development Service, to help fund valley visitor services for 2017. The Valley Echo could not reachRDEK chief administrative officer Shawn Tomlin for comment on the grant, but the RDEK has indicated that it will negotiate with the Radium Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce for a contribution to the funding. The board also voted to appoint eight valley residents to the ColumbiaValley Economic Development Advisory Commission for two-year terms, including Patrick Maiani,Brenda Hopku, Dale Shudra, Susan Clovechok, Doug McIntosh, Dave Dupont, Shuswap Indian band chief Barb Cote, and Akisqnuk economic development officer Heather Rennebohm.

Directors also decided to give $12,500 in Community Works funds for a Supervisory Control andData Acquisition (SCADA) system upgrade for the Rushmere water system. The upgraded SCADA system will replace the existing SCADA system, which was put into the Rushmere water system in2009, and will help managers collect, remotely view, store and analyze water treatment plant data.

The board of directors approved a grant worth $10,000 per year for five years to fund theColumbia Valley Arts Council. The funding will come from the Columbia Valley EconomicDevelopment Service and will complement the arts council’s other funding sources.

The Radium Public Library will get slightly more funding next year, with the board having agreedto increase its 2017 grant to the library to more than $18,000. In addition, Tom Symington andJoanne Steedman were appointed to the Radium library board. They will serve two-year termsrunning through all of 2017 and 2018.

Finally, the RDEK directors agreed to give a letter of support to the Summit Trail Makers Society tohelp the society’s funding applications to help build an official trail along Pedley Ridge, andanother letter of support to the Nature Conservancy of Canada for trail upgrades and aninterpretation project at the conservancy’s Dutch Creek Hoodoos property. Both groups intend tosubmit funding application to the Columbia Basin Trust’s (CBT) Recreation Infrastructure Grantprogram.