The Village received a letter from the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO), seeking input on a potential environmental assessment of the proposed Zincton All-Seasons Resort, located near New Denver.
The Environmental Assessment Act only requires assessments of projects with 2,000 or more bed units. Zincton’s proponent said beds at the resort would not exceed 1,700.
The EAO was seeking input to inform its decision on whether or not to proceed with an assessment even though it’s not technically necessary.
After discussion, council concluded it doesn’t think an additional assessment is needed. Staff will send a letter to the EAO, informing it of council’s feedback.
CAO Wayne Robinson wanted to make clear that the Village wasn’t offering support one way or another for the proposal.
In November 2023, the organization Wildsight requested the EAO conduct an assessment, citing impacts on wildlife and watersheds.
An Environmental Overview Assessment was completed by Cascade Environmental Resource Group in 2021, as part of the project’s formal proposal submission to the Province.
Highway 23 speed limit
The Village received a letter from Mike Farnworth, Minister of Transportation and Transit, in response to the Village’s request to reduce the speed limit on Highway 23 to 50 km/hr.
Farnworth said ministry staff have installed a temporary speed reader board to discourage speeding. He also said an engineering team will conduct a speed review on Highway 23 near Nakusp this summer. The review will determine if current speed limits are appropriate.
Policy for leasing municipal properties
Council adopted a policy setting standards for leasing municipal properties.
The policy establishes criteria and guidelines when granting or renewing leases, to ensure fairness and transparency.
Due to legislation, the Village must lease to businesses at market value. But at the Village’s discretion, non-profits and societies may be granted favourable leases.
Along with meeting a set criteria, the policy outlines that applicants seeking a favourable lease must submit a proposal identifying the organization’s vision, goals, and expected outcomes. Applicants seeking a renewal must submit a report demonstrating how they’ve achieved the goals in their original proposals.
Partial rent reductions may be granted for organizations that only meet the criteria for a portion of their services.
The policy also states that organizations granted a favourable lease also take on all operating, maintenance, and repair expenses for the building. Favourable leases do not create enough revenue for the Village to set aside sufficient funding for asset management. Since non-profits are eligible for grants for building improvements that the Village is not, it made sense to council to pass on the responsibility to organizations leasing the buildings.
If an organization hasn’t done proper upkeep of the building when the lease comes up for renewal, the Village may allow proposals from other organizations interested in the space.
In contrast to leases, licences to occupy do not grant exclusive use of a property. This can lead to shared use of a space and make it difficult to determine who is responsible for maintenance costs. Therefore, the Village removed licences to occupy from the policy.
Outdoor gym letter of support
The Village will offer a letter of support to paramedics Randy McKenzie and Daniel Abraham, who hope to purchase and install outdoor gym equipment for seniors. They are applying to Columbia Basin Trust’s Community Development Program.
If received, the grant will go towards the equipment, and McKenzie and Abraham will raise other funds to cover site prep and installation.
The location is not finalized, but the likely spot is near the Rotary Adventure Playground.
After installation, the Village will take over ownership. CAO Wayne Robinson said this type of equipment is very low maintenance and tends to last a long time.
AKBLG
Council endorsed seven resolutions to be discussed during the annual Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments (AKBLG) convention this spring.
Council discussed what resolutions it would like to bring forward during a special meeting on February 18.
Council endorses that UBCM urges the Province to:
- Expand its Alert Ready Program to include health services so that health authorities can better alert the public of emergency room closures.
- Take all necessary steps to convey the need for a task force to address incivility and unruly behaviour during council meetings.
- Allocate 1% of the 7% collected as Provincial Sales Tax to be used solely for investment in municipal infrastructure and asset renewal.
- Recognize inland ferry services as essential to the health, safety, and welfare of BC residents and that a minimum requirement is set for the number and frequency of sailings to provide adequate access to communities.
- To hire more qualified medical professionals and provide immediate provisional medical licences for those trained in Canada.
- Implement consistent and predictable funding for housing, infrastructure, and rural economic development.
Indigenous engagement
The Village will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the RDCK to complete the Indigenous engagement requirements of the Emergency Disaster Management Act (EDMA).
EDMA requires municipalities and regional districts to work with the Indigenous governing bodies whose traditional territories or treaty lands fall within their emergency management authority.
In March 2024, regional districts, municipalities, and IGBs each received $40,000 from the Indigenous Engagement Requirements Funding Program to be used for this purpose.
The Village will transfer its $40,000 to the RDCK to hire a consultant to facilitate the engagement process. The funds must be used by March 31.
COVID Safe Restart Grant
Council approved use of $224,585 from the COVID-19 Safe Restart Grant to cover expenditures from 2024.
$136,612 will be used for budgeted revenues that were not collected; $78,755 will be used for facility reopening and operating costs; and $9,218 will be used for computer and other technology costs.
Director of Finance Mark Tennant reassured council that the Village isn’t using the funds because it’s in dire straits, but rather because the money is there and needs to be used up.
In 2020, the Village received $692,000 from the grant. Funds can only be spent on eligible expenditures. After these transfers, the Village has $103,330 remaining.
