"The upgrades completed through this project will increase the capacity for events and gatherings held at the community centre, generate revenues for the operations of the facility, provide a food processing and preservation area in association with the community greenhouse project, and create catering opportunities for several band members."
Andy Anderson, Mayor, Village of Ashcroft
Positive Economic Impacts in Ashcroft
The Ashcroft Indian Band's Community Centre now has the capacity to serve as both a centre for social, health, and fitness in the community while also offering the opportunity to support new economic activity by hosting events and bringing visitors to the community.
The upgrades to the kitchen now allow community members to conduct food preservation of surplus vegetables grown in the newly established community garden. The plan is to sell surplus vegetables to the agricultural co-op in Kamloops, which is sponsored by the First Nations Agricultural Association.
The upgrades to the other areas of the community hall now allow the band to host stakeholder meetings which, in addition to bringing in revenue to the halls operational budget, will provide catering opportunities for several members of the Ashcroft Indian Band. Several stakeholders such as the British Columbia Treaty Commission, BC Hydro, and Wastech have expressed an interest in holding meetings on the reserve. This would bring in additional dollars to cover operational purposes.
Annual revenue increases of fifteen to twenty per cent are anticipated for the hall, allowing future facility upgrades to be funded by the revenues generated from operating the hall.
