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Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen applying for grants for Keremeos and Kaleden

Projects would provide upgrades for pool in Keremeos and hotel structure in Kaleden
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The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is applying for funding for improvements to the Keremeos Community Pool. (File photo)

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen will apply for two community grants, one for Keremeos and one for Kaleden.

At the board meeting on Oct. 15, the board endorsed the two applications to the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program.

The grants are for the Keremeos outdoor pool restoration and accessibility improvements and for the Kaleden Hotel structural rehabilitation.

The grant funding is administered by the province to provide up to $1 million of stimulus funding for community projects, which must be open for public use.

READ ALSO: Regional reps dive into overhauling outdoor pool in Keremeos

READ ALSO: Kaleden shore might get prettier

Under the terms of the grant funding, work must begin in 2021 and be completed by March 31, 2023. The application deadline is Oct. 29.

“The condition of the Keremeos Community Pool has deteriorated to the degree that it no longer meets acceptable standards,” Apollo Figueiredo, a planner with the regional district, said in a report to the board.

The pool has been operating since 1971. A recreational needs assessment, conducted in 2017, included rehabilitation work for the facility.

The improvements will include the addition of a commercial pool liner, an improved pump house structure, a new pool pump, a sloped entry into the pool and refurbished change rooms.

The regional district had earlier applied for grant funding under the Investing in Canadian Infrastructure program in January, 2019, but the application was not successful.

The Kaleden Hotel project is for a building that was constructed in 1911 but closed a few years later as a result of the First World War.

The regional district bought the property in 1979 to develop a regional park, and the building itself requires restoration work.

“The current structure is not sound from an engineering perspective for visitors to safely enter the building,” the report states. “The scope of work of the project will address this in order to make the building structurally sound.

The regional district submitted a grant application for the project in September under the Investing in Canadian Infrastructure program, but has not heard a response.

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John Arendt

About the Author: John Arendt

John Arendt has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years. He has a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Journalism degree from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.
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