Funding for new Penticton youth centre gets council approval

PENTICTON – A youth initiative project in Penticton got a boost from Penticton council this week.

City Council approved a request from the Youth Engagement Strategy for $400,000 to purchase a property located at 501 Main St. The 21,000 square foot building will house a new youth centre for the approximately 4,000 young people in the city.

Representatives of the project approached council at the Nov. 7 meeting to make a request for the funding, which council approved Thursday, Nov. 30, during budget discussions.

Council looked at three possible funding options before selecting one which would provide $300,000 in funds out of the 2018 budget, and $100,000 from the 2017 budget.

The option chosen by council will add 0.33 per cent to the overall 2018 budget, which is currently estimated to be up 3.4 per cent over last year’s.

“I would sooner invest in this and forego all the rest of the grants combined," Coun. Max Picton said. "This, to me, is an investment that could even eliminate the need for some of these other grants we fund. If we invest in youth, we catch some of these problems early on, they may not need the level of assistance ongoing in later years in their lives."

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