McBride Council: grant support requests, building inspection agreement and airport upgrade discussion
By Andrea Arnold
McBride Mayor Gene Runtz called the McBride Council meeting to order on February 11th at 6:02 p.m. During the meeting they addressed several requests for letters of support for events and grant applications as well as discussed which projects should be priority at the airport.
2030 Summer Games support
Council directed staff to provide a letter of support to the City of Prince George regarding their bid to host the 2030 Special Olympics Canada National Summer Games. The event would be held in July 2030 with approximately 1700 participants participating in 10 sporting competitions – 10 pin bowling, athletics, softball, rhythmic gymnastics, golf, soccer, swimming, basketball, and powerlifting. Prince George has hosted the BC Games in the past and plans to host the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games, but this would be the first time they host the National Games.
Robson Valley Music Society support
Council also voted to provide a letter of support to the Robson Valley Music Society for their application to the Northern Development Initiative Trust. The funding obtained from the grant, if successful, would help with this year’s Music Festival at the end of August.
Info Centre provider confirmation
Council approved the issuance of a letter of support to Destination BC confirming the McBride & District Chamber of Commerce as the sponsor organization and sole provider for the McBride Visitor Information Centre Services. This has been the agreement for the past 20 years. Destination BC provides a grant for $15,000 to assist with visitor services, and requires a letter from the Village before issuing the grant.
Building inspection agreement
Council approved the Building Inspections Services Agreement with the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George for a three year term (January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2027). Council also authorized the Mayor and CAO to execute the agreement. Under this agreement, building inspection services would be available Wednesdays between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. between May 1st and Oct 31st each year. Services required during the rest of the year are available by appointment only.
BC Air Access program grant funding
Council discussed at length the order in which upcoming airport projects should be prioritized before voting on whether they wanted staff to secure cost estimates to bring before council at the March 11th meeting. These estimates would then be used for potential submission of applications to the 2025 BC Air Access funding program.
The projects being discussed are airport perimeter fencing, pilot’s lounge/washroom and the extension of the airport hangar line. Many members of Council agreed that the fencing would be the fastest and easiest to obtain cost estimates for and should be the first priority. Councillor Tina Bennett thought that a waiting room and pilot’s lounge should be high on the priority list to provide a space for patients to wait for air ambulances, or a place for pilots to wait for their passengers. She believes this would be a step in making the airport more attractive to visitors. Councillor Peter Caputo pointed out that the runway is not long enough for emergency transport airplanes. Councillor Glen Frear commented that patients waiting for medi-vac transport remain in an ambulance until the time comes to be loaded into the helicopter.
The immensity of a project such as the construction of a new structure for a waiting room/lounge was also discussed. Economic Development Officer Karen Dubé said that it is more complex because there is water, sewer, power, and a structure involved. Given the tight time frame, one month, getting multiple cost estimates for the work may not be possible for the March 11th deadline.
Mayor Runtz also expressed concern that making these decisions before having the budget finalized is a difficult thing to do as the funding only covers a portion of the expenses for each project. Dubé explained to the Council that it is important to be prepared to carry out the project within the timeframe if the grant application is submitted.
Following the discussion council voted to have staff obtain and present estimates for all three projects at the March 11th meeting.
In-camera
Council moved to an in-camera meeting for consideration of matters of the Community Charter related to Section 90 (1): (c) labour relations or other employee relations. The regular meeting was recessed at 6:28 p.m.
