Editor's Note: CKTZ FM is the Cortes Community Radio Society. 

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) approved $18,000 in funding for a number of non-profits on Cortes Island last week.

The Grant-in-aid (GIA) program awards funding to local, non-profit organizations, for the benefit of the community, through the SRD. This is an year-by-year program, where applicants are recommended by the regional director. At a board meeting on Jan. 25,  five Cortes Island Grants-In-Aid recommendations were requested and approved:

• $3,000 to the Cortes Community Radio Society to assist with capacity building in their Emergency Communications Team;
• $3,000 to the Cortes Island Seniors Society to assist with the Better at Home program;
• $3,000 to the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society to assist with website redesign;
• $3,000 to the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery Society to assist with Art Education programming; and
• $6,000 to the Cortes Community Health Association to assist with the Teen Szene and Family Support programs.

The meeting also included a discussion about liveaboards and derelict boats in the region. Ultimately, there was a request for a staff report on best practices involving derelict boats on Cortes Island. Mark Vonesch, Electoral Area B representative for Cortes Island, asked for an amendment to the request to include, "how other communities have best handled the social and environmental challenges associated with growing numbers of live-a-board and derelict boats."

CKTZ News has previously covered the ongoing attempts to mitigate derelict boats on Cortes Island.

To hear more about the SRD board meeting, listen to the CKTZ News update below: