Claiming not to be Scrooge, several Texada Island residents requested that Powell River Regional District directors reject a grant that would be a Christmas gift to children in the community.
The directors, however, chose not to be Grinches.
At the Powell River Regional District board meeting, November 27, Fred McElroy, a Texada Island resident, appeared as a delegation to ask the board not to grant $1,200 to a group called Texada Spirit. The grant application was earmarked for a Christmas party.
“Apparently, they had this Christmas party last year at a cost of $1,000,” McElroy said. “I just think the money, the $1,200 they’ve asked for this year, would be better spent for all Texadans.
“The Legion on Texada has had a Christmas party for kids for the last 25 years and it’s open to everybody on the island.”
McElroy said he had a couple of questions for the board. He asked whether when the regional district approves a grant-in-aid, any accounting is required from whoever receives it.
Colin Palmer, regional board chair, said there is a policy governing grants-in-aid.
“People don’t just come in here and say they would like some money,” he said. “They have to go through a formal application, everybody is treated the same way, and staff vets the applications. If the money is going somewhere, we want to know who is getting it and what they are going to do with it. Everyone who gets a grant, whether they be a society or non-governmental organization, we ask them to put an application in.”
McElroy said he believes anyone can have a party. “I just don’t think taxpayers’ money should be used,” he said.
In a letter to the regional board requesting to appear, McElroy stated the Legion Branch 232 Christmas party on Texada Island will be on December 14, at no cost to taxpayers.
Later in the meeting, during the board’s consideration of the recommendation, Russell Brewer, alternate City of Powell River director, said he assumed the Texada Spirit application had been reviewed and is consistent with the board’s financial policy.
Al Radke, chief administrative officer, said the manager of financial services had reviewed it. “This is actually the second year,” Radke said.
Brewer said he asked because he is not familiar with Texada Spirit. He said some correspondence received alludes to it being a religious organization. “That looks like it’s one of the excluded categories,” he said.
Palmer said the directors don’t sit down and review all of the applications. “The staff have a policy from us, a procedure from us, and they come to us and say ‘this is bona-fide.’ That’s what we rely on, anyway.”
Radke said in this particular instance, Dave Murphy, Electoral Area D director from Texada, had no say in the decision because he removed himself from all discussion.
Some board members expressed confusion about the handwritten application so the board reviewed the letter during its meeting. The letter appeared to state that presents would be given out to 11 children 15 years old and younger, but further along, it stated that 50 children would be given presents. In the previous year, presents were given to 40 children and about 100 people were hosted.
In addition to the money being requested, Texada Spirit said there were in-kind donations of $400 and donations of $1,000.
Palmer said the board was left in a terrible position in making a decision about this grant-in-aid.
“Somebody has put in an application, no one else did, and we are sitting here and adjudicating it because someone doesn’t like it,” he said. “It’s up to us now to figure out if we withdraw the application. We’ve never done that before.”
Merrick Anderson, Electoral Area E director, voted in favour of the motion to grant the money. Brewer voted against. All of the other directors abstained from voting. The vote carried, because abstentions are considered votes for, not against.
