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BC Ambulance Service staffing level up to eight
Kimberley City Council Report
By Nowell Berg
On March 28, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.
Councillors Kyle Dalum, Kent Goodwin, Nigel Kitto, Jason McBain, and Sandra Roberts were present along with Mayor Don McCormick. Coun. Darryl Oakley was absent.
Due to pandemic restrictions, the public and media are not allowed to attend Council Chambers. Meetings live stream on the City of Kimberley YouTube channel. Watch the archive here.
Ambulance Service staffing level up
Don Hunt, Kimberley Unit Chief for the BC Ambulance Service, made a presentation to council regarding local ambulance changes.
He told council, “Last fall we moved from the part-time model to the on-call model.” What that means is Kimberley now has “two people in the station or in an ambulance ready to go.”
There will no longer be delays from a part-time ambulance worker getting from home to the station then onto a call.
These ambulance changes have resulted in seven new full-time jobs being created in town, and Chief Hunt is looking to hire another full-time position.
The COVID pandemic and heat wave crisis from last summer accelerated ambulance funding which resulted in moving to eight full-time jobs at the ambulance station.
Townsite Storm Sewer Relining Contract Awarded
Council approved a city staff recommendation to award a storm sewer relining project to Mar-Tech Underground Services Ltd. The amount of the contract is $254,721. The city received three tendered bids for the project.
The Townsite project deals with upgrades to the storm main connected to 4th Avenue at Tadenac Boulevard.
According to Shane Castle, Project Manager, “The existing storm main is corrugated metal pipe which is showing significant deterioration with areas of pipe rusted through and visible exposed aggregate.”
Mar-Tech is expected to begin the project right away and expects to complete the work by the end of September.
Rails-to-Trails Extension
Council approved a city staff request to prepare and submit a grant application to the federal government’s Active Transportation Fund (ATF) for improvements to the multi-use pathway along Jim Ogilvie Way between the Rails-to-Trails and 313th in Marysville.
The grant, if successful, would cover 60% of the project cost. The remainder would be funded by the city. The total cost is estimated at $357,000 which includes design and construction. The city’s portion would be $142,800.
Shane Castle, Project Manager, said, “The active transportation grant would allow us to widen the road and provide a physical barrier between the active transportation user groups and motor vehicles.”
Kimberley city council meets twice monthly starting at 7 p.m. The next scheduled council meeting: April 11.
e-KNOW file photos
e-KNOW
