Kimberley City Council Report

By Nowell Berg

On November 14, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.

Councillors Sue Cairns, Kevin Dunnebacke, Woody Maguire, Jason McBain, Sandra Roberts and Steven Royer were present along with Mayor Don McCormick.

An archive of the meeting can be found on the City of Kimberley YouTube channel. Watch it here.

RCMP Quarterly Report

Sgt. Steven Woodcox, NCO Kimberley RCMP, presented a report on police activities from July to Sept 2023 (Q2). Woodcox told council that “calls for service were about the same as last year.”

He also noted that property crime was “drastically reduced” as three offenders who were targeting Kimberley are “now in custody.” This has resulted in a drop in property crime.

Woodcox also mentioned two incidents at Wasa.

In July, a three-year old female child was found floating in the water. Two men pulled her from the water and began “life saving efforts” that resulted in reviving the child, who has “fully recovered.” He praised the men’s efforts, saying, “Without them the child would not be alive today.”  The men were presented with Certificates of Appreciation.

The other Wasa incident occurred in September. A report from the public concerning suspicious activity drew a RCMP response where they found a male “unlawfully confined due to drug related activity.” A search warrant was executed where “several guns and drugs were found.” Three males were arrested at the scene and released by the court the next day.

A new High Risk Youth Committee (HRYC) has been formed to meet regularly and identify youth in “high risk lifestyles” with the intent of getting them help. The committee is made up of personnel from the RCMP, youth probation services, Ktunaxa Nation and schools officials.

“I think it’s very positive. It’s something we need to spend more time on. A lot of kids out there need support,” Woodcox said.

Responding to a query from Coun. Roberts about the issues these youth face, Woodcox said, “We see kids who are isolated, whether it’s issues of bullying or issues at home, or drug addiction and mental health.”

Bylaw Enforcement and Animal Control Report

Bylaw Enforcement Officer Sean Lever presented reports to council covering the last six months of activity. He noted that complaint calls were “down 28% compared to 2022,” attributing to the decrease of “enforcement and education.” Lever added, “residents are paying more attention to the requirements of bylaws regards to ensuring they’re dog is on a leash, ensuring they have a license and garbage is secured from wildlife.”

The largest drop in complaints, year over year, was water shortage “down 60%,” good neighbour complaints “down 58%,” solid waste “down 49%,” and animal control “down 44%.”

Wrapping up his report, Lever told council that recent “success in collecting unpaid fines through Small Claims Court” has led to “another batch [being] filed with the Court Registry.” He urged residents to either “pay or dispute [a ticket]. Ignoring it results in a court summons.”

Snow and Ice Management Plan

Manager of Roads, Ryan Reynolds reported to council there were “no major changes” to the snow removal plan. He pointed out two adjustments. One will be “extended plowing in Forest Crowne” to cover the new subdivision. The other is the ski hill road. It will be “plowed first on weekends” followed by Townsite hill. On weekdays, Townsite hill would be plowed first, then the ski hill road.

Reynolds noted there has been an “influx in new workers,” which has resulted in “increased training and ride-arounds.” He said, “I’m hoping you will not see any hiccup in services.” If residents have concerns over snow plowing, he urged them to call the operations desk, “It’s the most effective way to ensure all your questions and concerns are properly entered, tracked and acted upon by our group.”

Coun. Dunnebacke raised a concern about Townsite hill not getting plowed if the weekend priority was the ski hill.

Reynolds responded, “Our priority group will not impact graders, just a sander and two plow trucks for the early morning shift that will hit the ski hill.”

Mayor McCormick brought up the perennial issue of windrows. “It galvanizes criticism every year.”

He said, “We don’t deal with windrows,” noting a study done several years ago concluded removing windrows “would cost $300,000/year (a 3% property tax increase).”

So, windrows are here to stay.

Kimberley city council meets twice monthly starting at 7 p.m. The next regular council meeting: November 27.

e-KNOW file photos

e-KNOW

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