By Brenda Ann Babinski

The Kimberley Curling Club will be shining a bit brighter when it is opened to the public the third week in October this year.

At the City of Kimberley council meeting August 24, council voted to contribute $8,071.88 toward the upgrade of lighting fixtures in the curling rink.

John McGillivray represented the Kimberley Curling Club at the council meeting, outlining what would be involved in the lighting fixture upgrades. Total cost of the project will be approximately $14,371. The cub has applied for a grant from BC Hydro and will receive a rebate of over $4,280.   Along with funds contributed by the curling club of approximately $2,000, the contribution from the City of Kimberley will cover the remaining cost of upgrades.

McGillivray explained that the costs of the project would be defrayed in time. With the new, energy efficient system in place the money spent on upgrades will be offset by the long-term savings on Hydro expense.

While the Kimberley city budget did not allow for the expenditure of funds, council heard from CAO Scott Sommerville that the expenditure could be covered with some of the income received in the sale of city owned lands, therefore not pulling funds from the city’s allocated projects. Sommerville further stated that re-investing the proceeds into a city owned facility would be a good use of those funds.

Council voted unanimously to cover the costs. The upgrades will take approximately a week and a half to complete and should be done in plenty of time for the opening of the club, October 22.

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