Kimberley City Council Report

By Nowell Berg

On February 13, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.

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

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

RCMP Report

Sgt. Steve Woodcox presented to council the October to December 2022 numbers on crime and calls for service.

While the total number of calls went down from 537 (Q2) to 495 (Q3), calls regarding break and enters grew 123% from 95 to 124. This activity included thefts from construction trailers, sheds and vehicles.

Sgt. Woodcox said two individuals were responsible for this increased activity. One has been apprehended and the other person is at-large their whereabouts unknown. The jailed individual faces 20 criminal charges related to the thefts.

With one thief in jail and another on the run, “It has made quite a difference to the call volume. Once these individuals were in custody, call volumes on break and enter went down 85%,” said Woodcox.

The RCMP report also noted there were nine sudden deaths in Q3 compared to six in Q2.

Coun. Royer asked if the recent legalization of harder drugs has affected the detachment.

Sgt. Woodcox said, “Cranbrook suffers more than we do. We haven’t seen any of that impact us yet.”

United Way

Donna Fields, Regional Coordinator for the United Way EK office made a presentation to council.

Fields noted the local United Way has seen an increase in demand for “critical community services.” She pointed to the lack of and rising cost of housing and the effects of inflation as driving demand.

The United Way spends around $458,000 in the Kimberley-Cranbrook area. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of that money goes to supports for seniors, $50,000 goes toward affordability and access to basic needs and $8,000 is allocated to the Youth Futures Education Fund.

The other big project undertaken by the United Way is the distribution of Life Kits which are free. To get yours, contact Fields at [email protected]. The kits are also available at major pharmacies, senior’s homes and from paramedics.

Fields also told council that after 17 years with Untied Way she would be retiring this summer. “Anyone interested in very, very fulfilling work” should contact her for more details.

Mayor McCormick said, “Congratulations on all the great work you do, I’m sure retirement is going to fit well.”

Marysville Mini-Storage

Lee Dowd, owner of the storage facility, made a brief presentation to council on his proposed re-development of the 2.5 acres.

Dowd is asking city council to amend the OCP (Official Community Plan) land use designation from Industrial to Commercial and to rezone from M-1 to Commercial Service zone (CS-1).

Plans include a general retail centre, drive-thru restaurant and gas station with charging facilities. He said the restaurant would be a “$4.5 million investment” that would create upwards of 60 jobs, mostly for youth who don’t have a lot of job opportunities in Kimberley.

All in, Dowd figures the re-development could top out at $10 million. “I think it will create a nice highway fronting entrance to Kimberley.”

Erian Scott-Iversen, City Planner, presented the city’s staff recommendations. She said, “Staff are not in favour of the proposal given that industrial land is key for economic development and resiliency and there is a limited supply of developable industrial land in Kimberley.”

Coun. Roberts said the project has “got so much going for it that I think we need to find a way to get to yes.” She was frustrated that “the industrial park has not changed since I was a child.” She arrived here in 1950. “We need to take control of the direction we’re going to go. That’s my rant for today.”

Coun. Maguire spoke “in favour of the staff request.” He felt the development would “negatively impact existing businesses.”

While saying “this development will fit perfectly with the auto dealerships next door,” Mayor McCormick concluded, “We would be doing taxpayers and residents a disservice by not moving this significant investment in the community forward.”

At the vote, four of six councillors were in favour of moving to a public hearing the proposed OCP and zoning changes. Coun. Maguire voted against, preferring to wait for a staff report and recommendations on gas stations and drive-thru restaurants.

An electronic public hearing is scheduled for March 13 at 7 p.m. for OCP Amendment Bylaw No. 2732 and Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2733 – 1006 304th Street and 361 315th Avenue. Learn more.

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

e-KNOW file photos

e-KNOW

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