Kimberley City Council Report

By Nowell Berg

On May 27, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.

Councillors Kevin Dunnebacke, Sue Cairns, Woody Maguire and Sandra Roberts were present along with Mayor Don McCormick. Coun. Jason McBain attended via video link.

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

Contracts and Purchases

The project to replace the roof on the Public Works building is moving ahead. The contract was awarded to North Mountain Construction Ltd. The cost is $464,399 and will commence soon.

The city is also proceeding with the purchase of a used a 2013 140 M2 motor grader. The machine will cost $330,000 plus taxes and is being purchased from an Edmonton, Alberta company, Operating Engineers Training Trust Fund.

The Marysville Industrial Park Phase 1 Improvement project is about to get started. The contract for the planned work was awarded to MacKay Contracting Ltd. The cost is $1,081,968. This is for the initial re-development work at the park.

Mar-Tech Underground Services Ltd. has been awarded the sewer lining project for McKim Trail and Overwaitea Hill. The cost is $310,044, which is $210,000 under the original budgeted figure.

The Knighton Road reconstruction project went to Mackay Contracting Ltd. in the amount of $1.345 million. This project will see the re-alignment of Knighton Road after a land swap between the City and an adjoining property owner.

The annual road rehabilitation paving, plus the cemetery road improvement contract has gone to BA Blacktop. The cost is $462,323. It is expected to be completed by the Fall. An additional $60,000 will be allocated to pavement patching around the city.

To ban or not to ban

Troy Pollock, Manager of Planning and Sustainability, presented council with the results from an engagement survey with residents, businesses and stakeholders concerning drive-through services and gas station development in Kimberley.

Pollock said, “We were very happy with the response rate.” He went on to say the survey was posted online, with paper copies at City Hall, from 29 February to the end of March.

A total of 681 submissions, or eight per cent of the city’s population, were received by the City, along with comments from Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) and Interior Health’s (IH) Healthy Communities program.

According to Pollock, survey results indicate that respondents support “development that balances the economic, social and environmental needs of the community.”

When it comes to drive-through services, respondents were “nearly evenly split” between an out-right ban and those preferring to “establish regulations” around moving forward. As for gas stations, Pollock said, “a majority … prefer to prohibit new gas stations largely because of environmental implications, health risks, decarbonization trends, and a perceived oversaturation of the local market.”

Detailed results of the survey can be found on the city’s website.

City staff provided council with a range of options for moving forward. They included deferring a decision so that council has more time to reflect on the study results and their implications. Other options included establishing regulations for both driver-through services and gas stations. The staff recommendation was for “prohibiting” new drive-through services and gas stations.

Pollock said he wanted council to “provide clarity to staff and direction on which basic policy option is preferred.”

A robust discussion and important points were raised by councilors and the Mayor.

At the vote, Couns. Cairns and Maquire were opposed to a deferral preferring staff to provide council with detailed policy options. Couns. Roberts, McBain and Dunnebacke voted in favour of deferral.

Council will now meet for an in-depth discussion on the future of drive-through services and gas stations in Kimberley before providing staff with a policy direction.

Kimberley city council assembles twice monthly starting at 7 p.m. The next regular council meeting: June 10.

e-KNOW file photos

e-KNOW

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