Sicamous Council has given the go-ahead to an initiative that will focus on making Sicamous a healthier community.
The district has been given $5,000 from BC Healthy Communities to engage in the development of healthy community partnerships and support health and well-being in Sicamous.
The Eagle Valley Resource Centre spearheaded the initiative and the district submitted the application for funding on their behalf. BC Healthy Communities requires that in order to achieve the goals of funding, the district must be involved in the initiative.
At the general meeting on July 9, there was debate in regards to how much involvement council was willing to give.
“Our staff has got enough on their plate already,” said Coun. Don Richardson. “I just think we should be at arm’s length.”
Despite council already being busy, Coun. Suzanne Carpenter took it upon herself to participate on behalf of council so that funding was not lost and the project can go ahead.
“It needs to be done, people wanted this grant,” said Carpenter.
Carpenter will be participating in organizing a healthy community public meeting in order to get the input from the community on what they would like to see when it comes to healthy living in Sicamous.
Carpenter said she wants to host the meeting before the end of summer so that she gets input from both permanent and seasonal residents.
“From the meeting we will be able to move forward,” said Carpenter, noting that a portion of the funding will be used to host the meeting, and the rest will be used when plans have been finalized.
