Salmon Arm Council received a round of applause from the nearly full gallery Monday.
The rare appreciation was in response to council’s decision to support Haney Heritage Village & Museum’s application to the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program.
Haney is applying for funding for its Montebello Project, a 1914 streetscape that will arise from a 6,000 square foot building. The building will include multiple roof lines on store fronts created from photographs of Salmon Arm’s early days.
Haney general manager Susan Mackie, accompanied by board member Doug Adams, explained that the Montebello building will create a venue for ‘residents’ of the village to go about their daily business – and will look like “several different buildings put together.”
Services the building will house will include the McGuire General Store, the Salmon Arm Observer, Bedford’s Pharmacy, a pool hall and barbershop, AE Palmer Butcher Shop, a telephone exchange and Miss Puff’s dressmaking shop.
The first level of the building will provide much-needed space for artifact collections and archives.
The Canada 150 program, marking the country’s 150th anniversary, can provide 50 per cent of the total cost of a project, up to a maximum of $500,000.
Adams explained the timeline for the applications is short, with the deadline looming on June 17. However, the museum has been working on the project for several months, with preliminary plans and a budget in place, and close to $500,000 in monetary and in-kind donations.
Council’s motion stated it would support the application and would proclaim Haney’s Montebello Project as its Canada 150 cornerstone project. Council also agreed to include in its 2016 budget, building permit-related costs for the project to a maximum of $10,000.
Coun. Louise Wallace-Richmond had suggested the addition of the word ‘cornerstone’ in the motion so that other groups who are inspired by the museum’s project will go ahead with ones of their own.
Councilllors raved about the project and congratulated all those involved for their efforts in creating an important asset for the community.