Columbia Basin Trust has decided that Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort Municipality is not eligible for funding under its oldest grant programs.
The board of directors, at a Revelstoke meeting January 24-26, passed a resolution that the new municipality would not be given funding from the Community Initiatives and Affected Areas Programs (CI/AAP).
The Jumbo municipality will be officially inaugurated on February 19 and a three-person council has been appointed by the provincial government.
Greg Deck, the appointed mayor of Jumbo, is also the chair of the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) board of directors.
The CIP/AAP are funding programs designed to help address the needs of Basin communities. Each year, a minimum of $30,000 is distributed to CBT's local government partners: the regional districts of East Kootenay, Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary, and the City of Revelstoke, Town of Golden, Village of Valemount and Ktunaxa Nation Council.
At the December meeting of the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK), board directors asked Area F Director Wendy Booth, who sits on the CBT board, to present the RDEK's concerns about Jumbo receiving grant money.
On Friday, February 1, Director Booth reported to the RDEK board that CBT decided Jumbo is not eligible for the funding.
"The whole premise behind Community Initiatives is supporting the communities, and there isn't a community there at this time," Director Booth told the Townsman.
The CBT board's decision stands until the board reconsiders it, likely once Jumbo has a sizeable resident population.
"Over time, as things develop, it will be revisited when the time is appropriate," said Booth.