Mountain View County council has approved funding for the Carstairs Heritage Centre and related visitor information services. The OK came during council's recent regularly scheduled meeting.
In a letter to council, Carstairs and District Historical Society manager-curator Michael Dougherty said the facility sees approximately 2,800 visitors per year.
“Being the southern entry to the county, we are many tourists' first stop out of the city; as well many locals and campground visitors drop in or phone to discover regional activities and businesses.
“We are well positioned to be an economic development driver in the region.”
He said the annual budget is $72,000, with $10,800 going directly to visitor information services.
“We are asking for assistance with this cost,” he said.
In a briefing note to council, county CAO Tony Martens said: “The centre's largest operating costs are staffing and administration. Approximately 15 per cent of the annual staff and administration time is spent on visitor information services. Fifteen per cent of the total staffing budget equals $10,800.”
Council approved a $5,000 contribution.
