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Notes from the June 11 Nakusp Council meeting

It was standing room only at the June 11, 2012 meeting of Nakusp Village Council.
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The firefighters were out in full force for the presentation of Reg Gustafson’s Road Rescue Volunteer of the Year award at the last council meeting.

It was standing room only at the June 11, 2012 meeting of Nakusp Village Council. Unlike most other weeks where there is room to spare, more chairs had to be found.

Did somebody say “fire”?

The reason for the crush was Reg Gustafson, who was being honoured at council with the Emergency Management BC Road Rescue award. Fire fighters dressed to the nines had crowded into council chambers to witness the Deputy Fire Chief receive the honour.

Historical history revisited

The second delegation to Council was the Arrow Lakes Historical Society in the persons of Earl Frerichs and Rosemary and Milton Parent. Frerichs presented to council, while the Parents sat in the gallery. The upshot was that Centennial Building addition was $95,000 short of what they need to take it to the desired completion.

Under that estimation, the cost would be about $40 per square foot to finish. What the Historical Society had done was calculate the cost of floor space that different groups have been offered in the addition, and is asking each group to contribute that cost to the construction project, plus one third of the cost of the elevator.

The Society approached the Village as one of these groups, estimating that for 228 square feet of storage space at $40 per square foot, the Village could kick in $9,120 – which the Historical Society rounded up to a generous $10,000 – for the project.

Even if all the groups do pony up, the Historical Society will still be short.

“So what we did then was to take a look at the shortfall and how we could come up with that,” said Frerichs. In order to cover the shortfall, the Society is applying for New Horizon and other grants, and are counting on both the library and museum to apply for CBT funding to cover the costs of the Society’s addition to the Centennial Building.

“What I would like to point out is that when the Historical Society came to us and asked to add on to our building,” said mayor Karen Hamling, “it was done with the explicit understanding that the Village would not be putting any funding into this because we’re providing the building and the lot and that part of that agreement would be that we would have that storage area.”

She also pointed out that the Village does not have money in its budget to put toward this project, and that the Village does not give out grants.

Frerichs then said that the cost of moving the sewage line and permits was very high, and the Society was hoping to “get a break” from the Village. But when the Village had given the go ahead to the project, Hamling told The Arrow Lakes News, it had been explicitly stated that the Historical Society would be responsible for all permits and the re-routing of the sewage.

Kinsmen Health Centre

“We have had some issues with flooding of the health centre,” said CAO Linda Tynan. Village workers narrowed the causes down and figured out it was due to some work Canada Post had done in their parking lot. The CAO said that the Village contacted their head office down at the coast, and Canada Post will be rectifying the problem.

Rec. commission going swimmingly

The swim program is back in Nakusp, with Dana Moody lined up to teach the kids how to swim. A soccer program is also in the works, and couns. Hughes said the goal is to fill up the summer with as many programs as possible.

Waste being managed

Counc. Mueller reported that the West Waste Recovery Committee has hired Score Construction for an $18,000 project that will re-establish road access into that borrow area, install perimeter ditching to manage seasonal surface water flow, improve drainage at the toe of the area slope and the site entrance and provide access to the on site gravel deposits to use for on site road network.

Nielsen leaving NACFOR

Councillor Tom Zeleznik reminded that Jesper Nielsen is leaving NACFOR and Nakusp this summer.

“We need to recognize him,” said Zeleznik. “This community is going to miss him.”

Nielsen was instrumental in getting Nakusp’s Community Forest established, and council will be honouring him at their July meeting.

Delegating permit authority

Village staff will now have the power to approve development permits, although development variance permits, which deal with zoning issues such as size and encroachment, can’t be delegated and will still go to council. Resort residential permits will likewise still go to council for approval.

Arena roof repair debated

There was discussion about the extent of the repairs needed for the arena. The roof was recently put to the test during the last few weeks of wet weather, and was found wanting. There are leaks in serious need of repair, but there are larger issues to do with the building envelope.

In the end, counc. Mueller said she would work with staff to look into other information needed to make a decision.

Three-year plan

Next Tuesday, June 19 council will hold a special three-year planning meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Hands in the air for more flights

Nakusp will be sending a letter to the West Kootenay Regional Airport Authority in support of their bid to get regular Westjet service to Castlegar.

NADB supported

The Nakusp and Area Development Board will also be receiving a letter of support to officially endorse their economic plan as they requested.

“The strategy is built on the last 10 years of community consultation, but mostly the seven public meetings and four joint committee meetings of the last year and a half,” said NADB’s Laurie Page.

“Our purpose is to document that we have support from our key partners, recognizing that the strategy is meant to be reviewed and updated as we move forward.”

The alpha and Omega of the Hot Springs bridge

Omega Engineering from Salmon Arm has won the design and engineering contract for the Nakusp Hot Springs bridge.

The company will be creating the design, said CAO Tynan, who also said the bridge will likely be a steel frame with wood as part of the design.

The tender emphasized the desire to use local wood and local contractors, something Tynan said Omega was keen on.

Structural details will be worked out by July 30 and construction tenders are to come out by the end of August.