The City of Castlegar will add increased funding for three community organizations to its budget this year, although there is no guarantee the higher amounts will be approved.
The Castlegar and District Heritage Society, which manages the Station Museum, Zuckerberg Island, and the Farmers Market, requested $63,000 from the city this year, plus a $5,000 one-time boost for refurbishment projects. In 2025, the society received $46,500. It has also received $7,000 for capital projects every three years. The increase amounts to over $16,000, or 35 per cent.
The society, which has begun a rejuvenation project, hasn’t received a funding increase since 2021. The city’s finance staff suggested the bump could be phased in over a couple of years, using money received as part of an agreement with the local casino.
Meanwhile, the library has requested $366,000 in 2026, up from $349,000 in 2025, an increase of $17,000 or five per cent, to be funded through taxation. The library received no increase in 2024 and an extra three per cent in 2025.
The Castlegar Festival Society, which puts on Sunfest, has asked for $30,000 this year, up from $18,000 last year, an increase of $12,000 or 67 per cent.
Finance staff noted that “Increased costs and reductions in corporate sponsorship have left the society unable to cover the essential costs required to deliver a safe, well-organized and high-quality event.”
Staff recommended the society receive $24,000, funded from the city’s casino reserve.
Council agreed to put the increases in their budget, but noted the amounts could be adjusted.
Mayor Maria McFaddin said she was comfortable with the suggested figures in each case but wrestled with the increase for the festival society, because while she loves Sunfest, it takes place over a single weekend.
Councillor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff agreed: “They do great work, but our contribution is more than money. We do have to balance that out.”
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