The Fort Rupert Curling Club (FRCC) will be getting a helping hand financially from the District of Port Hardy.
A staff report written by Chief Administrative Officer Heather Nelson-Smith was up for discussion at council’s April 27 meeting, where she noted that the FRCC operates the curling club on behalf of the district.
“After council approved COVID relief for hydro and propane charges for the Port Hardy Lions Club, staff reached out to to the FRCC to see if there would be a similar request given that the FRCC did not operate for the majority of 2020,” stated Nelson-Smith in her report.
“The facility is owned by the district and the service club who operate the building were unable, due to public health orders, to facilitate the use of the facility to the same degree as has been done in the past. The revenues from events are used to offset the costs for utilities.”
Nelson-Smith noted the COVID-19 Restart Fund is intended to ensure that there is a smooth recovery.
“The loss of revenues has been allocated from these funds to ensure that the district operations, which did not diminish because of the pandemic, still operated without loss. The FRCC are also feeling the affects of the diminished revenues and are unable to control these types of expenditures.”
The FRCC submitted a request to council to cover 100 per cent of the hydro for 2020 and to discuss how the district may be able to assist with 2021 charges as well.
The district will increase the amount of funding this year to $10,822 and then the maximum amount provided for the 2021 year would be $11,000.