Loni Taylor/ CKTZ News - 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."