Three Port Coquitlam non-profit groups will get a little more cash this month from the city of Port Coquitlam than they qualified for.
Last week, council awarded $14,400 in Community Cultural Development Investment Program grants to:
• Foolish Operations Society ($5,000)
• Polonez Tri-City Polish Association ($4,000)
• Tricities Iranian Mini Soccer Festival ($2,500)
• Art Focus Artists Association ($2,000)
• and Kim Dinh for a Vietnamese Moon Festival ($900).
But with only $2,190 left over in the program fund — which was due to be rolled over for next year’s grants — the city’s committee of council voted to split the surplus with an extra $1,000 to Polonez for its downtown Polish celebration, and $595 each for the soccer fest and Art Focus — the latter of which is marking its 25th year.
Coun. Nancy McCurrach, who holds the arts and culture portfolio, press the committee for the Art Focus cash as it, too, had come in short of its grant request under the evaluation committee’s criteria.
(Coun. Steve Darling opposed the funding split for Art Focus but later supported the full motion.)
Coun. Dean Washington suggested city staff work with future applicants — prior to their bids being submitted to the evaluation committee — to ensure they fill out their forms correctly. “They are volunteer run,” he said.
In this round, two applicants failed to meet the requirements: the Mary Hill elementary parent advisory council, which sought $5,000 for an Arts Starts performance, mural and Rocks of Love garden; and former Belcarra mayor and award-winning author Ralph Drew, who asked for $2,500 for his newly released self-published tome, Coquitlam Chronicles: Historical Crossroads on the Fraser River.
