High-speed internet, local banking and free meeting spaces for non-profits will be coming to the West Boundary this fall when a new community centre opens up in Rock Creek.
Together, the Rock Creek Farmers’ Institute and Osoyoos Credit Union purchased the property along Highway 3 in 2018 with the goal of bringing a community centre to the region that, as plans stand, will host the two organizations as well as the Trails to the Boundary Society and Boundary Family Services. The building, dubbed Riverside Centre, will also have an open-door policy to anyone in the community, said Regional District of Kootenay Boundary Area ‘E’ director Vicky Gee.
Provided that it can be staffed with enough volunteers, Gee said, the building and its high-speed internet will be available seven days a week — something that many who struggle to accomplish basic tasks over slow internet speeds will appreciate.
“By the third week of the month, my own [satellite] internet gets overextend and I can’t even download a [meeting] agenda,” Gee said.
There are also plans to offer non-profits space for archival storage and a historical display about life in the West Boundary.
Beyond the community centre, the West Boundary Community Services Co-op is also preparing to apply to grants that would bring a new “food hub” to Rock Creek too. The building, housed on the same property as the community centre, would host an abattoir run by local processor Magnum Meats. With more space to process food, Gee said, local farmers may be able to increase their food production.
“There is a bottleneck in meat processing capacity in the Boundary,” the co-op explained in a document given to Grand Forks City Council, asking for the municipality’s endorsement on the project.
Currently, Gee said, Magnum’s facilities are too small to operate on the scale that would be offered by the co-op’s project, which could also offer soup and sausage making lines, as well as a meat smoking operation.
While the community centre is set to open between September and October, the co-op is still in the process of applying for grant monies to move ahead on the food hub, asking local governments for endorsements on their proposal.
“It’s not just about what you do in the building,” Gee said, “but it’s what you do in the region too.”
The co-op also hopes to weave in a branded “grass-fed” certification into the facility and offer a marketing strategy to Boundary farmers as a way to bolster local business.
