Councillors Tina Knooihuizen and Aidan McLaren-Caux expressed their appreciation of residents who came out to the recent Nakusp Café on Nov. 7.
“We had one difficult conversation but it was mostly very pleasant,” said McLaren-Caux. “It was a great way to talk to people in the public.”
The Nakusp Café was an open house evening where staff and council were available to answer questions and concerns about Village goings-on.
“But you don’t have to wait for the café to talk to most of us,” said Knooihuizen. “We’re generally quite approachable and happy to meet for a coffee just about any time.”
The council meeting was quiet, with Councillors Mason Hough and Dolly Edwards absent. There were a few members of the public attending online, but none in person.
“I feel like we’re just talking to ourselves here,” said McLaren-Caux. “To echo Councillor Knooihuizen’s point, please talk to us. We’re here at any time – phone call, email, in the grocery store.”
Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of the month in the Emergency Services Building, or online, at 6:30 pm. If a meeting falls on a statutory holiday, it is held on Wednesday.
Arrow Lakes Caribou Society
Hugh Watt, director of the Arrow Lakes Caribou Society (ALCS), came before council with a request: to extend and amend its lease of Village-owned land near the hot springs, used for the society’s Caribou Maternity Pen Project.
The society’s current five-year lease expires at the end of the year. Watt asked to extend the lease for another five years, and to amend the configuration of the land. Though the total land would decrease – from 13.2 hectares to 9.6 – the reconfiguration would make space for extra pens.
The Village’s land is ideal for caribou, said Watt. It’s close to town, yet quiet and remote. It’s easy to service by road to bring in shepherds and provisions. And it’s ideal habitat, boasting an old-growth hemlock forest and a cooling breeze from Kuskanax Creek – caribou don’t like hot conditions, said Watt.
The pen area also includes a piece of provincial Crown land.
“So far, it’s been successful in putting live calves and mothers, in good health, back into the wilderness,” said Watt.
Caribou from the Central Selkirk herd, near Nakusp, are captured in March and brought to the pen. Calves and mothers are kept safe and given time to grow strong before being released back into the wild at the end of July. The project is in partnership with the Province’s Caribou Recovery Program.
“This project started from nothing and was built from the ground up by locals as a means to try and solve the complex issue of caribou decline and extirpation,” reads Watt’s letter to council, included in the agenda.
Each year, the project costs between $400,000 and $500,000, funded by the Province’s recovery program, and through grants and donations.
Accessibility Committee
The Village will soon send a call-out for committee members for its new Accessibility Advisory Committee, now that council has adopted the terms of reference.
The terms state that the committee shall be made up of five members: two individuals with disabilities or who provide direct care for those with disabilities; one Indigenous individual; one citizen selected at large; and one member of council.
Once formed, the committee will create a draft accessibility plan to guide the Village in removing and preventing barriers in the community.
Accessibility committees and plans are required by the Accessible British Columbia Act, passed in June 2021.
Zoning bylaw amendments
Council gave two readings to an amended zoning bylaw.
“[The amendments] seek to increase economic opportunities, increase the potential for housing and densification, and relax regulations where appropriate,” reads CAO Wayne Robinson’s staff report.
Some highlights: allowing pubs or bars to brew their own craft beers and mead or distill alcohol on site; reducing rear setbacks in most zones for accessory buildings; allowing home occupations to sell plants or garden produce; and removing the maximum percentage of floor space a secondary suite can occupy in a principal dwelling.
The updated bylaw also includes two site-specific zoning amendments on Marshall Road (increase maximum height of proposed secondary building) and Highway 6 (allow a single detached dwelling as a primary use on a property in the C-4 zone).
Conference attendance
Council discussed who will attend conferences in 2025.
Council’s attendance at three conferences is covered by Village policy: Association of Kootenay and Boundary Local Governments (AKBLG); Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM); and Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
Mayor Tom Zeleznik and Councillors Tina Knooihuizen, Dolly Edwards, and Aidan McLaren-Caux will attend AKBLG.
Mayor Zeleznik and Councillors Mason Hough, Knooihuizen, Edwards, and McLaren-Caux will attend UBCM.
Zeleznik and McLaren-Caux will attend FCM.
Attendance at other conferences is allowed if there is available funding in the budget.
As the Village of Nakusp’s RDCK representative, Councillor McLaren-Caux’s costs for UBCM and FCM are covered by the regional district.
Grant policy repealed
Council decided to repeal the Community Development Program (CDP) grant disbursement policy.
Instead of issuing grants to community groups, the Village will now use CDP funds for Village projects, such as the waterfront master plan. Projects must align with council’s strategic priorities.
The policy, adopted in 2023, outlined that $25,000 could be disbursed yearly to eligible community groups.
The RDCK administers the program, which is funded through grants in lieu of taxes from entities such as BC Hydro. The Village has $128,993 available in its CDP account.
Speed limit reduction
The Village will send a letter to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, requesting the speed limit on Highway 23 within Village boundaries be reduced to 50 km/hr.
The decision comes after the Village received a letter from Joyce Hanson, asking for council’s support. Hanson and seven other residents in the area would like the 70 km/hr speed limit reduced on Highway 23, where it starts at the Hot Springs Road turn off and heading south.
Hanson cited safety concerns, including high pedestrian and cyclist activity, commercial vehicle traffic, and poor visibility.
“It’s just a matter of time before something really, really happens there,” said Mayor Zeleznik. “There was a fatality at one time.”
Golf cart commutes?
Next council meeting, Mayor Zeleznik plans to ask staff to explore the possibility of allowing golf carts for travel on Village roadways.
He said he’s heard from members of the public, and would like a report from staff on the pros and cons for council to discuss.
CAO Robinson said this is already in the back of staff’s mind. The Village is currently working on a streets and traffic bylaw, which must be approved before another bylaw for golf carts could be written.
Mayor Zeleznik brought forward the notice of motion as a late item.
