To allow the Town of Creston to meet its commitment to be carbon neutral, $8,000 is being budgeted for an undesignated project. The intent is to find a local initiative to invest in rather than spend it in another location.
•The Creston Valley is part of a research study being conducted by a professor and master’s degree student from University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.
Professor John Wagner and Joanne Taylor made a presentation to council about their research, which is intended to help inform the Columbia River Treaty renegotiation process, particularly as it affects agriculture. Taylor intends to spend May and June in Creston for the next three years as part of her work.
•A public hearing was held to invite input to a rezoning application on land at 133 Eighth Avenue North. There were no objections to the rezoning from R-5 (rural residential) to R-1 (single family residential), which will allow a building lot to be subdivided. The application was approved.
•Coun. Wesly Graham will attend a session on the Columbia River Treaty and dam operations in Nelson on March 13.
•The town will renew its septage agreement with the Regional District of Central Kootenay for another year, during which the RDCK will fund a study on how best to proceed with the handling of septage in the area.
•A request for financial support for the Creston Valley Crush senior girls volleyball team trip to Hawaii was received. The club will be encouraged to apply for Columbia Basin Trust community initiatives funds. A request for player development funding from the Creston Valley Thunder Cats was treated the same way.
•Mayor Ron Toyota will travel to Spokane, Wash., to tour the waste management recycling plant in his efforts to explore opportunities for the handling of recycled materials locally.
•Council approved and adopted the Cultivating Creston — Creston’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan.