July 2021 - Newsletter

Since 2016, Northern Development has approved nearly $160,000 into five projects at Poplar Hills Golf and Country Club (PHGCC) in Fort Nelson. From kitchen improvements to expanding the rental fleet, PHGCC has experienced success each time they tee’d off with a grant application to Northern Development.

“The support we’ve gratefully received from Northern Development has made a significant impact in the experience we offer our golfers,” said Louise Schindler, general manager, Poplar Hills Golf and Country Club. “As a non-profit society that manages and operates the club, these grants have eased the financial burden from various improvements as we strive to offer a quality golfing facility to all golfers in Northeast B.C.”

In March 2021, PHGCC was approved for a $50,000 Recreation Infrastructure grant to chip in with the costs of purchasing two golf simulators and installing them in modular to be placed in a rented space which will be easily accessible by the public throughout the year.

This unique project will make golf available to residents, students and visitors throughout the year, a significant increase for the community where winter settles in for more than half a year. PHGCC will be working with Fort Nelson Secondary School, Prophet River Indian Band and Fort Nelson First Nations to offer their students use of the simulator. These groups will be able to access the facility during school hours when the simulators are not open to the public.

“Bringing the two golf simulators is an innovative way for us to continue engaging with our golfing clients throughout the year while also enticing people who don’t golf to try the sport,” explained Schindler. “The technology that these simulators offer is incredible, and it will provide an experience that is unique to the region while also providing us with income throughout the year.”

Beyond bringing a new recreational activity to the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, the project is forecasted to introduce full time, permanent employment for two people and part time employment for up to three people. In addition, the simulators will be placed in a space that will be leased from the Fort Nelson First Nations, providing additional revenue to the landlord through rent.

Funding for this project is through Northern Development’s Recreation Infrastructure grant program. Earlier projects were approved through the Trust’s former Community Halls and Recreation Facilities grant program.

In “fore” years, Northern Development has approved over $88,250 in grant funding for upgrades to equipment and facilities at the Mackenzie Golf and Country Club (MGCC). Since the first grant was approved in 2017, approximately $130,000 in strategic projects has been completed at Mackenzie’s only golf facility.

“These grants have made a huge difference to the MGCC,” said Darrell Lavoie, president, MGCC. “The external funding has placed us in a much better position to serve the community with a quality golf course that provides a satisfying experience to resident and visiting golfers.”

The projects have created tangible benefits for MGCC, attracting new users and generating increased revenue. After completing their roofing project in 2018 with the support of a grant from Northern Development, the Mackenzie Nordiques rented the clubhouse for the winter, earning revenue for the MGCC in their off-season.

All five of MGCC’s grant applications have been prepared by Adele Barnes, MGCC’s fundraising coordinator. As an approachable funder, Northern Development staff have worked with Barnes to help ensure MGCC’s proposed projects are eligible for Northern Development funding programs.

“You have been very helpful in showing me how to prepare the application and final documentation at the end of the projects,” said Barnes. “Throughout, your friendly, considerate attitude has made it a pleasure to work with you. Thank you for your professional service to MGCC and to Mackenzie.”

Funding for MGCC has been through the Trust’s former Community Halls and Recreation Facilities grant program. This program was retired in September 2020 and replaced with the new Recreation Infrastructure grant program. Applicants now have more flexibility in grant amounts as either $100,000 to a maximum of 70 per cent for upgrades or repairs to an existing facility or up to $300,000 to a maximum of 50 per cent for new construction and/or substantial upgrades to existing facilities is now available.

In 2019, following the downturn of the forestry industry, 108 Golf Resort pitched an application to Northern Development’s Forestry Affected Business Consulting Rebate program. The application was a hole in one and they were approved for $15,000 to assist with the costs of hiring a professional accountant to help them navigate the economic challenges they were facing.

Receiving the $15,000 rebate relieved 80 per cent of the costs incurred while contracting a consultant to boost their business. 108 Golf Resort was acutely aware of the impacts that two local mill shutdowns had on their business, specifically golf and restaurant revenues, and looked to a professional consultant to provide guidance on how to save the business and the jobs they provide.

The consultant worked closely with the onsite staff at 108 Golf Resort to help them gain better financial control of the business. Techniques to achieve this include new budgeting systems, cash management procedures and appropriate cost control measures. Working with the consultant, staff also made great strides in moving their application to develop a 12-lot subdivision forward in the approval process. The future subdivision will help 108 Golf Resort to earn revenue to pay off debt that was incurred during the forestry downturn and COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

On the human resources side, the consultant provided the leadership team with techniques for better management, which Hansen says has already proven to be invaluable.

Learnings from working with the consultant in response to the forestry downturn proved useful during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic when travel restrictions further compounded the challenges faced by 108 Golf Resort. The 2021 golf season started optimistically, with membership sales 30 percent higher than normal before the course even opened for the year. Increased revenues, matched with improved financial controls, means the grass is looking greener than ever for 108 Golf Resort!

Funding for this project came from Northern Development’s Forestry Affected Business (FAB) Consulting Rebate funding program. The program was introduced in August 2019 as an offshoot of the existing Competitiveness Consulting Rebate program. FAB was available to a broader range of industries than the Competitiveness Consulting Rebate program and was specifically designed to support and help businesses adjust to the economic downturn in the forestry industry. In April 2020, FAB was renamed Small Business Recovery (SBR) Consulting Rebate and adjusted to include businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about SBR here.

In the Bulkley Valley, Smithers Golf and Country Club’s (SGCC) mission is to provide affordable and enjoyable recreation to club members and the public. They also play an important social role by hosting fundraisers, parties and other gatherings in a large venue with food service abilities.

In 2016, Northern Development approved a $28,240 grant for SGCC to assist with the costs of critical upgrades to their kitchen and bar. Food services generate approximately 30 per cent of the club’s revenue, and the project focused on repairing and replacing equipment that was failing or aging. Additionally, approximately 25 seasonal jobs would be directly lost if the restaurant and bar were no longer operational.

This project received strong letters of support from the Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs and Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs as both recognize the vital role the SGCC plays in supporting the health and well-being of their members living in the area and both host annual tournaments as important social events.

“The kitchen and bar upgrades were a spectacular success for the club,” said John Howard, past president, SGCC. “We increased our membership and feel that the project helped us turn a corner to economic growth, which we continue to experience as we hold several successful tournaments that draw golfers from across B.C.”

The completed project was a pivotal grant for SGCC as it facilitated a new business partnership with Noir Food Services, resulting in high quality restaurant and bar services to the general public and members.

As SGCC hosted more tournaments, they realized their golf cart fleet was too small to accommodate all the tournament participants. To remedy this, SGCC successfully applied for a $13,667 grant in 2019 to purchase five new-to-them golf carts. By growing their rental fleet, tournament participants are likely to have a better experience on the course and SGCC has opportunity to earn more revenue through cart rentals.

“The SGCC has experienced an increase in base operating revenue resulting from the grant to support the purchase of five golf carts to complete our fleet,” continued Howard. “The SGCC is in a positive operational position today as a result of the partnership with Northern Development. Thank you, NDIT!”

Supplementing their rental fleet also allows more people to enjoy the physical and social aspects of golfing at SGCC even if they are not able to walk the full nine or 18 holes. This makes the sport and facility more accessible and welcoming, increasing the quality of life for those living in the Bulkley Valley and surrounding areas.

Recipients include three First Nations, three municipal governments and four non-profits

During their July board meeting, Northern Development’s board of directors approved $2,077,333 for 10 community development projects in their service region.

In the short term, approximately 190 temporary construction and consulting jobs are expected to be created throughout the region to help bring each of these projects to fruition.

Click here to read the full press release, learn about each of the 10 projects and hear from three of the grant recipients.

In July, Northern Development welcomed Doug Donaldson to the board of directors. Donaldson is appointed by the Province of British Columbia to join the volunteer board that is comprised of elected local government representatives and other provincial appointees.

Doug Donaldson served as an elected three-term Member of the BC Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing the remote-rural constituency of Stikine for 11 years. As the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (2017-2020) he oversaw major reforms in forestry legislation and policy, new approaches to old forest management, land use planning and wildlife management and the rebuilding efforts for ecosystems and communities after the record-breaking 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons. His Official Opposition portfolio’s included mining, energy, Indigenous relations, and child and family development and for three years was the vice-chair of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services.  He has also held public office at the municipal government level serving as a Village of Hazelton councillor from 1999-2009, during a time when Northern Development Initiative Trust came into existence and began supporting communities.

Donaldson lives on the territories of the Gitxsan First Nation in northwest British Columbia. He worked supporting the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs on the successful Delgamuukw-Gisdaywa aboriginal title case to the Supreme Court of Canada as communications director with the Gitxsan Chiefs Office. He was a co-founder of Storytellers’ Foundation, a Hazelton-based NGO focused on community economic development and reconciliation, co-established the Upper Skeena Development Centre and helped create the Hazeltons’ Farmers Market. 

Donaldson is an associate fellow with the University of Victoria’s Centre for Global Studies and holds a MA in journalism and a BSc in wildlife biology. He and his wife Anne live on Wilp Nikate’en territory in the Regional District of Kitimat Stikine, in Two Mile just outside of Hazelton.