The City of Quesnel is hopeful funding from Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) will help the City move forward with renovations at the Quesnel and District Museum and Archives and with replacing the metal guardrails at the West Fraser Centre and will also help bring more tourists to this area.
Council approved the City applying for three NDIT grants at its Feb. 4 meeting.
The City will be applying for a $250,000 Economic Diversification Infrastructure grant to build on the funds from the Gas Tax to complete renovations at the Quesnel and District Museum and Archives.
The total project cost for the museum renovation is $1,316,735, and if the City is successful in obtaining this grant, it would lower the City’s $700,000 contribution from its reserves, explained Lindsay Blair, the City’s community development co-ordinator.
The renovations include making the building fully accessible by widening doors and making the bathroom larger, removing the flooring, creating a new exterior vestibule and boardwalk, increasing the walkability and flow inside the museum, making the entrance to the museum and Visitor Information Centre easier to navigate, creating a new staff kitchen and office area, and adding a new side door for increased emergency precautions, according to Blair’s report to council.
For the West Fraser Centre, the City will apply for a $15,000 Community Halls and Recreation Facilities grant to lower the height of the current metal guardrails, which block the view of spectators int he front row. The menage will be replaced with clear tempered laminate, and this change is expected to help increase usage of the West Fraser Centre as a hosting site and to improve the spectator experience at the centre. The total cost of this project is $99,033.10.
The City will also be applying for a $9,000 Marketing Initiatives grant from NDIT, and Blair says this funding would further build on the funds from the Destination B.C. Co-operatives Marketing Partnerships program and continue to expand on the Explore Cariboo marketing campaign by focusing on family adventure in the summer and fall. She says this campaign will launch in spring 2021 and will include a new landing page on the Explore Cariboo website, will continue to use social media to grow awareness of the Cariboo region and will continue to promote the region through new video, photography, blog content and flat sheet itineraries. The total cost of this project is $32,000, with the majority of the money coming from partnership funding, and the City contributing $2,273.50 through its Economic Development budget.
READ MORE: Northern Development commits $1.1 million in grant funding to business recovery and innovation
signature
