Carolyn Grant
They've got a long way to go and several conditions they want met, but the Meadowbrook Community Association is going ahead with their plans to purchase a mining claim near Cherry Creek.
The plan is to purchase the claim for approximately $50,000 and turn the land into a park, preventing any mining from occurring. The current owner of the claim had proposed a quarry near the creek, prompting residents to organize and form an association.
Community Association President Bob Johnstone says that the plan is to go ahead with the purchase, with a few conditions. They have asked for a purchase date of April 1, 2013 to give them time to raise the funds. They also want the current owner to be responsible for any outstanding debts, and they want assurances from Mineral Tenders that no one else could stake the claim.
"We need all our pre-conditions met before we really fund raise," Johnstone said. "There are overlapping jurisdictions between Mines and Tenders. Once that is all sorted out, we'll get going."
Even with those assurances, raising the funds is no small task. Johnstone figures they will need to raise about $55,000 to cover legal fees as well as the land purchase.
They do have some money in the bank already. At a September meeting to discuss the potential purchase with Meadowbrook residents, seven separate people donated $1,000 each.
And the RDEK has recently approved a $5,000 grant to the association from its Area E Discretionary Grants in Aid.
The real hope, Johnstone said, is to get a couple of substantial grants.
"We have approached both Teck and the Columbia Basin Trust, but Teck has already done their funding for this year and the CBT doesn't look particularly promising right now, but you never know."