An anonymous donation of $2,000 in cash that showed up at the police station in Castlegar late last year will be directed toward the city’s cooling centres if they need it.
City council considered a few options this week before unanimously making that choice.
In December, police said a non-descript envelope with no return address arrived at their detachment containing cash and instructions to disperse the money in the community as the RCMP saw fit.
However, police aren’t allowed to give out found or seized money, so they first sought to return it. When the donor didn’t step forward, they turned it over to the city.
A staff report identified six alternatives: putting the money into reserves to use for general grants; adding it to the Phoenix Foundation’s small grant program; donating it to Increasing Recreation Involving Seniors; donating it to another organization of council’s choice; splitting it between the three organizations that provided cooling centres last year; or declining to accept it.
Although councillors had various first and second choices, they ultimately agreed to give it to the cooling centres. However, if those centres don’t operate this year or don’t otherwise require the funds, council will revisit the decision in the fall.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before where money shows up at the door,” said councillor Bergen Price. “It’s kind of cool. It’s interesting.”