In Tuesday evening’s town council meeting, a recommendation was put forward by the Grants Committee, proposing a total of $16,950 in Community Support grants for 2020, to a total of 14 organizations.
The following grants were approved by council:
Bond Head Lions Club $2,000.
Bradford Board of Trade $5,000.
Bradford Women’s +Group $500.
BWG Community Initiatives $500.
BWG Studio Art Tour (Passion Made) $2,000.
CHATS $1,600.
Eric’s Right World of Scouting and Camping $2,000.
Raizes Portuguesas $300.
South Simcoe 4-H Association $250.
South Simcoe Arts Council $1,000.
South Simcoe Police $700.
South Simcoe Streams Network $350.
St. John Ambulance Barrie/Simcoe/Muskoka $250.
Nazarene Spanish Church $500.
Coun. Peter Ferragine and Coun. Rob Orr declared a conflict of interest, and did not vote. Coun. Ferragine sits on the Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation (who applied but did not receive funding); Coun. Orr’s wife is part of the BWG Studio Art Tour (Passion Made).
“It’s unfortunate two of our members had to step out because of new rules,” said Coun. Gary Lamb, referring to new regulations that identify a conflict of interest even if the organization is a non-profit or charitable one.
“If you’re interested in the community, you’re always going to have to run into this,” he said.
Deputy Mayor James Leduc noted there were a lot of “great applications” submitted, and choosing the recipients was a “tough one.”
Leduc added, “It’s nice to see that a lot of these will go to better help our community."
Funding for the grants come from the town's tax dollars and are allocated in the budget process.
“It’s wonderful that these funds are available,” said Coun. Peter Dykie.
