Valemount Council: RCMP update, Yellow Pluck Duck, & Land encroachment bylaw
By Andrea Arnold
Valemount Mayor, Owen Torgerson began the March 14, 2023 meeting by bringing to order a public hearing.
Public hearing
A temporary use permit (21-05) for 1070 14th Avenue, Valemount, BC to permit one recreational vehicle to be used as a residence for a period of three years was presented. This request is a renewal for a permit that was issued for a one-year period. The original unit has been in place for a year and there have been no complaints or concerns issued by neighbouring residents or by the village staff thus far. Following initial approval of the application at the Feb 14 meeting, there have not been any submissions from affected residents regarding the application.
With no further questions or comments presented, the public hearing portion was adjourned.
RCMP update on services
Sgt Robert Dean and Cpl Devon Reid present to provide an update on services to council. Sgt Robert Dean presented. He gave details from recent law enforcement initiatives as well as statistics from the past year, April 2022-current. (See separate story in this week’s issue).
Yellow Duck Pluck
Council granted permission to Firm Foundations Christian Outreach to use the Valemount Secondary School Property at 201 Ash Street for the 2023 Yellow Duck Pluck Raffle on May 21, 2023.
Northern Health Connections Advisory Committee
Council appointed Mayor Torgerson to the Northern Health Connections Advisory Committee.
Bears Cubs Soccer
Council approved a grant in the amount of $284 to the Valemount Bear Cubs Soccer organization to cover costs for insurance and rental of the Valemount Secondary School.
Simpcw application to Readiness Program
Council approved a letter of support be granted to the Simpcw First Nation in pursuit of the Community Opportunities Readiness Program administered by the Federal Government under Stream 1 for support to pursue economic opportunities related to the Valemount Airport Expansion Project. Council also confirmed that the Village will match Simpcw’s contribution of 10% of the contract value in accordance with the requirements of CORP.
Temporary use permit
Council approved TUP 23-01, the renewal of the existing permit for a recreational vehicle at 1070 14th ave, for a three year term.
Policies & Bylaws
Information access & privacy protection
Council approved the Information Access and Protection Policy No. 90. B.C. public bodies are required to develop privacy management program. This is an evolving set of policies, procedures and tools developed by a public body to enable systematic privacy protection throughout the personal information lifecycle, and is included in the new policy.
Encroachment on Village Land
Council approved Encroachment onto Village Owned Land Policy No 91. Historic encroachments onto Village owned land such as boulevards, road allowances, or rights”of”ways currently exist and will likely continue to be discovered. In some cases, encroachments are necessary. Policy 91 is an effort to ensure that encroachment applications are handled in a consistent and fair manner. Pearson asked if the policy will affect current encroachments, and if all offending property owners will be approached. His specific area of concern is the Karas Drive area. CAO Depenau said that there have been several arrangements over the years and that the village would like to modernize and bring under this policy. The policy allows the village to have a record of encroachments.
Notice of Motion
Councillor Pearson gave notice that he will be bringing a motion forward to the next meeting that a working group be established to discuss possible solutions to the issues surrounding Karas Drive traffic situations and parking.
In-Camera
Council proceeded to an in-camera meeting for the consideration of three items per Section 90 (1) of the Community Charter to discuss matters related to (k) negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of the council, could reasonably be expected harm the interest of the municipality if they were held in public.
Thank you to VCTV for providing recordings of Council meetings.
