Council meeting of May 1,2012

• The Municipality now has its own Facebook page.
• The closing date for the hotel development proposals on the Crowsnest Centre site is May 18.
• The tender for the demolition of the Crowsnest Centre calls for a date of August 30 for the completion of the project.
• There was an announcement that a collective agreement containing “numerous changes” was concluded with CUPE last week they are waiting for CUPE to ratify it.
• Administration requested to continue the new meeting schedule until September, and re stated their preference to go to two meetings a month.
• Municipal Off site levies are suspended until the end of January 2013, then to be reviewed at that point.
• Taxes for the Food bank were waived.
• Mayor Decoux asked the rest of council what kind of reaction they received to the budget information letter, most of council stared at each other and gave the impression that they  received little response. Mayor Decoux announced that he had received “146 emails and 15 phone messages” most of them very favorable to the newsletter.
• Administration requested that council approve the release of half the funding for the Museum now and the other half after administration meets with the new Historical Society board. Administration is also looking at ways to assist the museum with their Insurance, Utilities, and Maintenance costs. They were instructed to report back to council on May 15.
• Request to allow the use of quads for the Sinister seven event approved by council, lots of comments around the room about how great it is to have an event that brings thousands of people and lots of money to the community.
• Bylaw 847,2012 Peace Officer/Enforcement Bylaw, Passed first reading
• Bylaw 849,2012 Municipal Emergency Management Committee and Agency Bylaw, Passed first reading.
• Bylaw 846,2012 False Alarm Bylaw, Passed first reading
• Councilor Gail requested that the municipality write a letter to the provincial government supporting the push to twin Highway 63
• Rum Runner Days web site has been updated. 

Crowsnest Museum

Sad day in the Crowsnest Pass today, just read the Crowsnest Promoter headline article the Crowsnest Museum is closing due to financial difficulties.
This is a reflection of the difficulties faced in the Crowsnest Pass not just by this group but many  groups.
I had the pleasure of sitting on the board that ran the Museum for three years, its a great place and it is indeed an important piece of the history and culture of this community.
If memory serves me right it cost about a $120,000 a year to run the museum with roughly 20% of its revenue coming from the Municipality, 40% from various grants, 10% from admissions and sales of goods then the rest from fund raising. The problem in my mind, volunteer fatigue the group of volunteers in this community is getting smaller and older. The volunteers that came  back year after year worked hard made  some money here and there and gave so much of their time deserve a great thanks from this community.
When I hear of the group that is attempting to raise money to build and operate a Indoor facility I wish them well the museum required basically $50,000 a year of fundraising to keep it alive. Its tough people, will come together when you have a major disaster, they will step up to the plate for a few years when something is new and everybody is full of enthusiasm. I strongly believe the only way in the long run you will keep any facility like the museum going is if you can find a benefactor (Big company) or get a greater willingness of the taxpayers to foot a larger portion of the bill. (If you really want it be willing to pay for it)  
I personally will always congratulate and applaud volunteers because without them communities would not have a lot of the stuff we have. I tip my hat to anybody that ever did anything to support the Crowsnest Museum, it is indeed a sad day.