Council received a delegation from Vern Gorham manager, of the Creston Valley Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of the Creston-Kootenay Lake Gran Fondo (previously known as Kootenay Lake Gran Fondo) steering committee at the regular town council meeting on Nov.23.
Gorham began his presentation by thanking the Town of Creston for its sponsorship of the event. A total of 130 riders participated in the inaugural Gran Fondo on Sept. 21.
“In an after race survey 65 riders responded riders indicating they would very likely or somewhat likely participate in future gran fondos,” said Gorham.
The projected revenue for the 2019 Gran Fondo was $23,500, however, after expenses and a 50 per cent split with community partner Creston Rotary Club revenue was $4,061.
The Creston-Kootenay Lake Gran Fondo steering committee projects the 2020 Gran Fondo to have revenue of $9,380.50. A complete break down of the budget can be found at https://bit.ly/2DEfnZc.
Changes for the 2020 Gran Fondo include a new location for the start/finish line and more prominent usage of the Creston and District Community Complex.
“Cyclists were enthused to be here in our beautiful valley if each person who participated came back and brought one person with them, we would be over 250 riders without even advertising,” said Gorham. “We firmly believe that we will have over 250 participants in 2020, and within a short time, we will be at to reach our goal of 500 cyclists for future events.”
Gorham ended the presentation by extending an invitation to the Town of Creston to increase its sponsorship from a gold sponsorship of $2500 to a platinum sponsorship of $5000.
In other town news:
• Council approved a $1000 donation from the mayor’s discretionary fund to the Creston Ministerial Association for the 2019 Christmas Hamper Program.
• Council approved a $500 donation from the town’s discretionary fund to the Prince Charles Secondary School senior boys volleyball team to attend the provincial championships in Langley.
• Council approved a $500 donation from the town’s discretionary fund to the Prince Charles Secondary School senior girls volleyball team to attend the provincial championships in Langley.
• Council approved a $1000 donation from the town’s discretionary fund for the Creston Valley Gleaners Society.