Valemount Council: Trans Mountain benefits, traffic regulation, farmers’ market support

By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG

Valemount Council discussed a new traffic regulation bylaw, the elementary school science fair and a coupon program for the farmers’ market during their February 25th regular meeting.

Mayor Owen Torgerson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. After adopting the minutes of the February 10th special meeting and the February 11th regular meeting, Council moved on to the night’s delegation.

Community Forest finances

Valemount Community Forest president Ainslie Jackman and general manager Kalina Velez presented information about the organization’s 2024 finances and projections for the next year. The Community Forest made over $9M in revenue last year and spent about $7.8M on operational costs, plus $604,702 on other costs such as payroll and discretionary board spending. The organization made a profit of $654,332 in 2024, and is expected to make a similar amount of money in 2025, Velez said.

For more information on the delegation, read our additional story here.

Trans Mountain Community Benefits

Trans Mountain released its progress report on the Community Benefits Program on January 31st. The program comprises a series of agreements the company negotiated with local governments in communities where pipeline work took place, including Valemount. The agreements commit Trans Mountain to funding infrastructure improvement projects, for example, water and sewer upgrades.

In Valemount, the company gave $135,000 to the Senior Housing Development sewage lift station, which was completed in September 2024. Additionally, the company has committed to providing $50,000 to training and education for the local ambulance station.

The ambulance station training was not scheduled when Trans Mountain released its report. In an email to The Goat, CAO Anne Yanciw said the training is booked for March 31st through April 17th. She did not comment on whether there was a delay in scheduling the training.

As the staff report on the community benefit agreement was received for information, Council did not pass a motion.

Traffic Regulation Bylaw

Council gave first and second reading to a new Traffic Regulation Bylaw. The current bylaw – which was adopted in 1982 and last amended in 2014 – is outdated, according to the staff report. In an email to The Goat, Yanciw and Corporate Officer Carleena Shepherd said the current bylaw references old legislation.

The new bylaw designates some new powers to the Public Works Superintendent and Bylaw Enforcement Officer, including being able to place road signs and close roads, according to Yanciw and Shepherd. Additionally, staff have removed references to bus and taxi zones, school patrol, footpaths and horses, they said. The new bylaw does not include regulations about what can be built on Village property because this is now addressed in a separate building bylaw, Carleena and Yanciw added.

Finally, The previous bylaw said the speed limit on Village roads would be 25 kilometres per hour unless otherwise posted, while the new bylaw says the limit is 40 kilometres per hour unless otherwise posted. The previous bylaw also said snow removal on sidewalks would not be required on Sundays, while the new version makes snow removal mandatory seven days a week.

Staff conducted benchmarks with other communities, including Nelson, Cumberland and Summerland, to produce a new bylaw. While the 1982 bylaw could have been amended, Yanciw told The Goat the Village felt it  would be more efficient to write a new bylaw with modern formatting, as the 1982 bylaw was typewritten.

Internship funding

Northern Development Initiative Trust offers funding for local governments in northern B.C. to hire an intern. This funding allowed the Village to hire its current intern, and Council approved of applying to the 2025 program during its December 10th regular meeting.

The Trust wrote a letter to staff informing them that Valemount was approved for a grant of up to $60,000 to hire another intern. 

Councillor Hollie Blanchette congratulated staff on the successful application.

“It’s a really good program,” she added. “We’ve benefited from it before.”

“We’ve gotten some really keen superstars,” Torgerson said.

Science Fair

Valemount Elementary held its annual Science Fair on Thursday, February 27th. Two weeks beforehand, School Counsellor Shirley Giroux sent an email to prospective judges. Torgerson was unable to attend, but encouraged Councillors to sign up to judge the science fair.

Counsellor Pete Pearson said he enjoyed judging last year’s science fair.

“It’s a great day, it’s so fun to watch,” Pearson said. “I’m unable to do it this year, but I recommend everybody to go spend a day with the kids.”

For more information about this year’s science fair, turn to P10.

Farmers’ Markets letter

The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets sent a letter to Council asking to send a letter of support to the Minister of Health, Josie Osborne,  for the Association’s Nutrition Coupon Program. In 2024, the Valemount Learning Society shared these coupons with low-income families, pregnant people and seniors to purchase local food at the Valemount Farmers’ Market. Locals redeemed $19,125 in purchases through the program, according to the letter.

The Association does not have funding secured for the 2025 coupon program, the letter says. The board of directors and executive director hopes a letter of support to Osborne would demonstrate the importance of the program and help secure future funding.

Council moved to write and send a letter of support for the program.

Adjournment

Council did not have an in-camera session scheduled for the meeting. Torgerson moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:16 p.m.