The Kimberley Community Development Society (KCDS) has been operating as a society in Kimberley since the mid-1980s. The non-profit was established to fund and administer Kimberley economic development activities.
The mandate of the society is: To plan, develop, activate, promote and operate community, recreational, historical and cultural attractions in the City of Kimberley.
The board of the Society is volunteer, appointed by Council.
At times, KCDS has operated a destination marketing vehicle for the City — Kimberley Vacations — and has built city assets such as the Riverside Campground and the Putting Course at the campground.
Up until last week, KCDS operated the Kimberley Riverside Campground, Cominco Gardens and the Kimberley Conference Centre, as well as providing accounting services to the Bootleg Gap Golf Society.
With the announcement that Resorts of the Canadian Rockies will be taking over management of the conference centre, the question is, what’s the future for KCDS?
That’s something that hasn’t been discussed, says Mayor Don McCormick.
“The conference centre is one of the assets that KCDS was managing,” he said. “They continue to manage other things on behalf of the city.”
Last year the city conducted a review of all its assets, including those KCDS manages.
“That was a review of city-owned assets, not a review of KCDS,” McCormick said.
