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Building bylaw contravention; contracts awarded
What Happened at Invermere Council This Week?
By Carol Gordon
The regular meeting of the District of Invermere council was held on Tuesday, November 28, at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Office.
In attendance were: Mayor Gerry Taft and Councillors: Greg Anderson and Al Miller.
Staff present were: Chris Prosser, Chief Administrative Officer; Kindry Luyendyk, Corporate Officer and Rory Hromadnik, Director of Development Services.
Gallery: Two people.
REPORTS REQUIRING ACTION
Council places notes against land title
Note Against Title – Building Regulations Contravened on Lot A, District Lot 1092, KD Plan 9808
BACKGROUND: “The building inspector, Kim Leibel, in carrying out his duties had noted that the owner of 1718 Kpokl Road was in contravention of section 6(1) of the Building Bylaw No. 1319. Mr. Leibel issued a stop work order in May 2017. The tenant on the property does not feel that they are in contravention of the bylaw and that it is a temporary building that is exempt from the bylaw. Staff and the tenant have been in contact and no resolution has been found.”
Councillor Anderson: “It’s unfortunate it has gotten to this point. We have bylaws for a reason, and this particular bylaw wasn’t complied with; so it’s just disappointing that the owner is not prepared to work more closely with us.”
Rory Hromadnik, Director of Development Services, said, “Mr. Prosser (Chief Administrative Officer), Kim (Leibel, Manager of Building & Protective Services) and myself have had Mr. Knight in numerous times discussing options and processes to carry forward” and nothing came of it.
He added: “The complication is that the sanitary is not there so that he has to go through that process of getting a variance. At the same token, he can still apply, and we can have that process on-going, and we can start talking about temporary licensing while he has the building permit in process.”
He was given that option but to date has chosen not to take it, commented Mr. Hromadnik.
Councillor Miller: “There’s pretty much nothing else that we can do. It is in his court, and we have to await the proper paperwork.”
It was passed by council to have the District of Invermere place a note against the land title on Lot A, District Lot 1092, KD Plan 9808 as Deborah Frey, registered owner of, 1718 Kpokl Road, is in contravention of the Building Bylaw No. 1319.
Waiving of Development fees for Zoning and OCP amendments, 1514 – 13th Avenue
It was passed by council that Robert Nemeth pay $750 for the OCP and rezoning amendment and that he pay for the cost of mailing the notices and advertising.
Appointment of Treaty Advisory Committee
Mayor Taft: “Just a bit of background. This is an appointment that we probably should have made a really long time ago and kind of just always forgot about it and there’s a meeting coming up in January that is going to have some updates on what’s happening with the treaty. This is a treaty basically between the Ktunaxa and the province and the federal government. And in order to go to that meeting you actually have to be appointed to the advisory committee. It would probably be a good idea to formalize the appointment.”
Council passed that Mayor Gerry Taft is appointed to the Treaty Advisory Committee as the District of Invermere’s Representative and Coun. Greg Anderson be appointed as an alternate Representative.
CVCF – performing arts equipment quote award
CAO Prosser: “With the fundraising that’s being raised, the district would be responsible for about $137,000 remaining. I know the fundraising committee is still having a drive to complete their fundraising process. From a staff perspective we think it’s best to get everything purchased, everything installed early on in 2018 so that inside the building is pretty much finished and we can then move on to other priorities. So council is responsible for about $137,000 as it stands right now, subsequent to any other additional fundraising funds that may come in. Right now Karen (Cote), Director of Finance, is working on how best to fund that and it looks like the way we’ll probably fund it is probably a reduction to contribution to reserves instead of taking from or going from reserve accounts.”
Councillor Anderson: “I support this. We just got to get it done and the $ 137,000, especially when we’re not taking it from reserves and we’ve got the money to and the fundraisers have done their job. We just got to get it done. So I vote in favour of this.”
Councillor Miller: “Certainly I am going to be voting in favour of it too. We’ve been through this every which way trying to figure out what we could cut, what we could do without. We’ve done the due diligence and the fact of the matter is the pricing is going up and it’s going to continue to go up and if we don’t do it today, when we do it next year, it could be just that much higher. Steel prices and everything else are on the rise. So we need to get it done and finished and wrapped up and get the building in proper use for what its’ design was. I’m certainly supporting it. We need to have the arts and the rest of the groups that want to be able to utilize it fully to be able to utilize it.”
Councillor Anderson: “I agree.”
Council approved, along with a 10% contingency set aside for additional costs, awarding the contracts for all performing arts related equipment and furnishings as follows with the awards to be considered for early 2018 Budget Approval:
- Pipe Grid to Quality Stage Drapery in the amount of $48,000;
- Curtains to Quality Stage and Drapery in the amount of $77,000;
- Retractable Seating to Taledi Products Ltd. in the amount of $273,000;
- Portable Sound to PB Pro Audio in the amount of $33,078;
- Sound and Audio Visual to Sapphire Sound in the amount of $183,000,
- Performing Arts Lighting to Christie Lites in the amount of $179,000.
CORRESPONDENCE FOR INFORMATION
Ministry of Finance thank you letter from Carole James, Minister and Deputy Premier.
Excerpt: “It was a pleasure to meet with you and CAO Chris Prosser during the UBCM (Union of British Columbia Municipalities) convention and to hear about housing issues in Invermere. I also heard your concerns that without changes to the PST, there could be a loss of local support for the municipal and regional district tax (MRDT) among providers whose customers are subject to the tax. I have asked Finance Ministry staff to consider the views you expressed as they evaluate current PST provisions. You also asked me to consider the importance of Albertans in your housing market and economy, and to consider impacts on them as we develop options to dealing with housing issues across the province.”
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture thank you letter from Lisa Beare, Minister.
Excerpt: “I commend you on the initiatives undertaken in your community using Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) funding. I want to assure you that the information and feedback you have provided on the RMI will be considered as government reviews options beyond March 2018.”
Ministry of Children and Family Development thank you letter from Katrine Conroy, Minister.
Excerpt: “In our meeting (at UBCM convention) we discussed the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) and the significant importance of the region which is crucial to the Kootenays/Columbia River/Revelstoke area. You indicated that you felt there was a lot of support at the program level, but at the higher level there seemed to be a disconnect. You mentioned an $11 million economic development project for the city, which would see a new library and multi-purpose meeting rooms. CBT caps funding per project at $500K. Each component of this project, you mentioned, should be eligible for capital funding as discrete projects.”
The Minister encouraged council to contact Les MacLaren, Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (EMPR), who is supporting her governance roles with CBT, Columbia Power Corp. and the Columbia River Treaty.
“You also mentioned Meadow Creek and that there were concerns expressed at the AGM that not enough money is being put into land stewardship.” The minister encouraged council to contact Tim Hicks, Manager, Water and Environment, at Columbia Basin Trust.
PUBLIC QUESTION AND COMMENT PERIOD
Bryon Knight arrived at the council meeting just before adjournment, and inquired about whether the agenda item: Note Against Title – Building Regulations Contravened on Lot A, District Lot 1092, KD Plan 9808 had been addressed. He was told that it had and asked to speak. He reiterated the content of his June 2, 2017 letter to Kim Leibel, Manager of Building & Protective Services. See memo
The next District of Invermere council regular meeting is Thursday, December 14, at 7 p.m.
District of Invermere council meets regularly throughout the year on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (second Tuesdays only during July, August and September) at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Office (914 – 8th Avenue, Invermere) unless otherwise indicated.
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