By Andrea Arnold
McBride Mayor Gene Runtz called a special council meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. on October 30th.
Council made decisions on permissive tax exemptions, a grant application for Activate Tourism McBride and held a discussion regarding the abandoned Chevron site at 655 Main Street.
Permissive Tax Exemptions
Council adopted Bylaw No. 831. 2024 “The Village of McBride 2025 Permissive Tax Exemptions.” The properties that fall under this bylaw are St. Paul’s United Church, the Roman Catholic Episcopal Church and Rectory, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Church, the McBride Evangelical Free Church and the Open Gate Community Garden.
Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program
Council agreed to support an application to the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program – Forest Impact Transition Stream for the Activate Tourism McBride – Community Enhancement Project in the amount of $500,000 and agreed to cover any cost overruns and support overall grant management.
The project will include new tourism wayfinding, gateway signage and a new park (improvements to be made at Steve Kolida Park) design. Councillor Joe Kolida said the Village would be keeping a close eye on cost overruns. He asked if park designs would be presented to council and how the community could be involved.
Economic Development Officer Karen Dube responded to the questions saying that community and stakeholder input is an integral part of the project and that has been made clear in the application to the province. Dube said that this is the next step in developing tourism in the community. The input will allow for better ownership and will be good for community pride.
Old Chevron Site
CAO Jeanette McDougall gave a verbal report regarding a Zoom meeting with representatives from Chevron held on October 21st. McDougall asked them about the plastic that is still present on the site, and will be sending them photos to show the problem. She also asked about using the site as snow storage, and the representatives said they are worried about road salt seeping into the ground.
There was also a conversation about property taxes. During this part of the meeting the representatives said the company has invested hundreds of thousands, however they provided no details as to how that money was used.
Also, there were no answers provided as to how or when the company plans to divest the property.
Council will be asking Chevron to present to them, preferably during an in-person meeting before the end of the year. At this time, Council will be asking some of these questions again.
