City receives unexpected $2 million from government COVID-19 restart funding

The province of British Columbia is distributing emergency safe restart funding to municipalities to help with the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Kimberley is set to receive $2,087,000.

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The province of British Columbia is distributing emergency safe restart funding to municipalities to help with the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Kimberley is set to receive $2,087,000.

“The $2,087,000 is the newly-announced, and surprisingly announced last week, COVID-19 Safe Restart Grant for Local Governments,” said Kimberley COO Scott Sommerville.

This money is separate from just under $1 million the city recently applied for to fix up and the Platzl parking lot and install public washrooms in the Platzl.

Read: City applies for grants

Somerville says it’s too early to say what the city will use the money for, but it will form part of the budget process that has just begun.

Eligible costs for that grant funding include areas of municipal operations such as revenue shortfalls, facility reopening and operating costs, emergency planning, bylaw enforcement, information technology and digital costs, services for vulnerable persons, and more.

The city must track and report to the province how the money is spent is spent.

The City of Cranbrook will be receiving $3.76 million and the Regional District of East Kootenay, $641,000.

With a file from Trevor Crawley.


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