Kimberley City Council Report

By Nowell Berg

On July 22, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.

Councillors Sue Cairns, Kevin Dunnebacke, Woody Maguire, Jason McBain and Sandra Roberts 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. Steve Woodcox presented the first quarter RCMP activity report.

Woodcox pointed out that impaired driving remains a concern, and he’s prepared to “put resources together to combat this issue.”

Eight impaired drivers were removed from the road in two days over the JulyFest weekend. Other than that, JulyFest “went really well. There were no major issues and security was top notch. Thanks to people in town for behaving so well.”

Over the past three months, RCMP pulled over vehicles speeding 196 and 152 km/h on the highway. Recently, a motorist was recorded traveling at 172 km/h in Meadowbrook.

A recurring RCMP community theme continues to be “building trust with youth.” School talks about the dangers of using drugs continue especially with “fentanyl in everything.” “It’s a whole different world now,” said Woodcox.

The RCMP have partnered with a local church, who do not want to be identified, to provide food hampers or other things vulnerable people need. Woodcox said, “I hear it all the time, how difficult it is for people to afford to live, afford to pay the bills.”

When RCMP come across vulnerable populations, they can now call in the church to provide support like food hampers and other necessities for women and their children, and seniors. Woodcox said, “I want to thank the church … its one of the most positive things for everyone involved. We’re helping people who actually need it.”

Woodcox also wants people to be aware that someone is “loosening lug nuts on vehicle wheels.” After highlighting the danger of such actions, he said there have been “three events so far in Townsite.”

Calls for service were down five per cent from the same quarter last year. Ten people have been charged with criminal offences since April.

Q2 Building Permit Report

“Off to a great year” was Troy Pollock’s comment regarding the construction of new dwellings. He went on to tell council “52 units” have been built to the end of June. Forty-three and 39 units were built in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Building permit numbers remain “steady.” Pollock said Planning Services “continue to be busy on the development front” with new applications, and development and building permits.

Commenting on the amount of renovations he’s seen around town, Coun. McBain said, “It’s really cool. To me it’s a sign of increased pride in ownership.”

Pollock reported to council that, to-date, 165 short-term rental licenses have been approved, 114 renewals and 51 new applications. One-hundred forty-five of those licenses are in the resort area.

Mayor McCormick asked Pollock about the number of short-term listings online exceeding the number of licenses. The Mayor said, “50 or so need to be licensed.”

Pollock answered that his department monitors listings as best they can and has had “some success getting listings removed” that don’t meet zoning stipulations.

He also noted the department is “getting up to speed on provincial tools for short-term rentals.” He pointed out that “some people avoid compliance.” Concluding that in the future, the city may have to “look at additional resources to monitor compliance.”

Mayor McCormick said, “We shouldn’t be patient with people who are not complaint.”

Coun. Roberts concluded the discussion saying the city requires licensing to ensure that rental dwellings are safe for occupants.

Kimberley city council assembles twice monthly starting at 7 p.m. The next regular council meeting: August 26. This is the only meeting in August.

e-KNOW file photos

e-KNOW

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