[0:09] Test. >> There we go.

[0:11] » There we go. Okay, >> there it is.

[0:13] » Should I start again or are we good? I think we're good. You go ahead.

[0:17] » Okay. >> First order of business.

[0:18] » Thank you. First is the delegation for an appeal by the owner be received and

[0:23] further that council uphold the decision to collect the incurred service costs in

[0:28] the amount of $53,1052 pursuant to the city's nuisance noxious

[0:34] or offensive trade health and safety bylaw for the property located at 44843

[0:40] South Sum Road. And Mr. Shipper will provide a brief presentation to council

[0:44] first. >> Uh should we put it on the floor? Move

[0:48] councelor include second councelor west. Mr. Shepard

[0:55] still got there we go. Oh it can't blinking on and off.

[1:02] Okay you got it. >> Good afternoon your worship and members

[1:05] of council. Today I'll be providing you with a brief background with respect to

[1:10] the sub subject property located at 44843

[1:14] south sumass road. So on October 2nd, 2025, the Chilowak RCMP executed a

[1:20] search warrant at the above noted address. As a result, a large active

[1:25] Clandiststein lab was found to be operating within within one of the farm

[1:29] buildings located on the property. At the request of the RCMP by law

[1:34] enforcement staff attended the property on October 6, 2025 to conduct an

[1:38] inspection and post no occupancy notice on the building in question.

[1:43] The property owner was sent a letter the same day informing him that as a result

[1:47] of the search warrant findings during inspection, the property was now

[1:51] considered a controlled substance property

[1:54] as per the noxious and offensive trades bylaw. There are provisions in this

[1:59] bylaw that grants the city the authority to collect service costs as well as

[2:03] require the building to be remediated and made safe.

[2:07] » [snorts] >> The RCMP and the hazardous materials

[2:10] cleanup personnel were on scene for a total of nine days at the subject's

[2:14] property. In this case, the service costs in the

[2:17] amount of 53,000 the city has invoiced the property for only covers a fraction

[2:23] of the actual cost involved in the cleanup of this lab.

[2:27] The actual cost for the dismantling and the cleanup of this lab was in the

[2:31] hundreds of thousands of dollars. Much of the costs were covered through the

[2:34] RCMP funding sources such as provincial tactical enforcement priority funding

[2:40] which contributed several hundred,000 towards the costs associated to the safe

[2:46] dismantling of the clan lab as well as the cost of other placing expenses.

[2:52] To date, the no occupancy order still stands and the buildings involved have

[2:55] not yet been remediated. I'm happy to answer any questions.

[3:00] » Council

[3:05] Go Reed. >> Thank you worship. Um just a question

[3:08] through to Mr. Shipper. The building hasn't been remediated. Is this

[3:12] projected cost or these are the 53,000 has already been incurred plus we think

[3:16] that there will be additional charges. >> Your worship through to councelor Reid.

[3:21] The cleanup cost that we are here today for are costs associated with the

[3:27] initial cleanup of the clan lab. Now that the property owner is to

[3:32] remediate the property and make it safe, those costs come out of his own pocket.

[3:37] » Thank you. >> Okay, Mr. Shields worship and through

[3:42] Mr. Shippers. So, had the RCMP not busted this lab and these tenants

[3:49] had moved out, the landlord would have been responsible for any cost to

[3:55] remediate his property back to its a livable state.

[3:58] » Is that correct? your worship through the councelor Shields. That is correct.

[4:04] If the RCMP had not executed the search warrant on the property and we were not

[4:08] aware of this, we would not have been involved in it at all. So, it would have

[4:12] fallen on the property owner. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. West.

[4:16] » Thanks, Bishop. I might have not missed it, but um you can you tell me roughly

[4:20] what the total cost would be then like around $250,000 for the remediation

[4:25] » dear worship through the council westing. I don't have the exact costs of

[4:31] it, but I do know that it was upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars, like

[4:37] three $400,000. Okay. Thanks. >> Okay,

[4:42] Mercer. >> Yeah, just quickly um and just asking

[4:45] the obvious, but just for the record, um the figures that you're providing us

[4:52] um don't in any way, shape, or form, um represent the true

[4:58] value of this from start to finish. It doesn't include police costs which the

[5:01] taxpayers of the city pay for. It doesn't include the costs that the

[5:05] federal government and the province have paid for in policing with bringing teams

[5:09] from as far as way as Alberta to deal with this. And absolutely none of those

[5:14] costs which I would suggest are in the order of over a million dollars are not

[5:20] included in anything that you're talking about today for the record.

[5:24] your worship through to councelor Mercer. Yes, that is correct. The

[5:29] service costs with respect to the cleanup are only involved from the

[5:33] instant that the search warrant was executed till the time that the RCMP

[5:37] left the property and those cleanups associated that the investigation all

[5:42] those peripheral things relating to something like this even the in the

[5:46] front end and the back end are not included in these costs.

[5:50] » Okay, let me get your light on. Are you good? Uh thank you your worship and

[5:55] maybe uh I'm not sure if Mr. Shep can shed light on this but when when um an

[6:00] investigation like this happens are they looking at um like potential for ongoing

[6:06] contamination as a result of what was happening on that property? looking at

[6:10] potential of contamination to actually leak out beyond property lines and other

[6:16] you look at where this is you look at its proximity to a school to you know

[6:20] water courses all those things. So, are they how indepth are they investigating

[6:25] some of this uh some of this work? And then what would be involved later on

[6:29] down the road when they actually identify that this property is clean and

[6:32] doesn't pose uh an environmental or hazard risk both now or into the into

[6:38] the future? Mr. Shipper, >> uh your worship through to councelor L.

[6:42] So, two-part question. Um the first whether the RCMP are investigating where

[6:49] some of this materials have been dumped. I'm not entirely certain on that. I do

[6:54] know that as a result of this file that there was other files that went out from

[7:00] it. So I'm I can't really speak to that. But with respect to the remediation of

[7:05] the building and surrounding the building, that will be part of the

[7:09] cleanup process. The owner will be required to retain a certified

[7:15] industrial hygienist to make sure that the property and the surrounding area

[7:19] just based on the complexities of this clan lab have been addressed. And um

[7:25] there will also have to be a determination made whether it's even

[7:28] able to remediate that building or if it can't be remediated. It might have to be

[7:33] torn down. But that's a decision the property owner needs to make.

[7:39] » I see no more lights on. Thank you. Oh, >> thank you through you to [clears throat]

[7:44] Mr. Shipper. Um if this is um passed here today, what is the likelihood of

[7:49] retrieving those costs? It could be dragged on, I imagine, by the homeowner.

[7:54] » These costs, if it is approved by council today, can be added to the taxes

[8:00] if they're not paid by a certain amount of time and it'll go on property taxes.

[8:04] Okay. Thank you. Again, thank you, Mr. Shipper, for your

[8:09] preamble. Um, is is said person in in chambers? Okay. If you could come up to

[8:17] the mic and just give me your name and your address. Just the Part of the

[8:20] record, please sir.

[8:24] » Name is uh Satnam Gak Satnast name G H A G.

[8:32] » Welcome. >> Go ahead.

[8:34] » And the address uh 44843 South Zumass.

[8:39] Uh couple of things. One is what Mr. Shipper said when they posted the

[8:45] notices. They not only posted the notices on this

[8:50] place where they were doing illegal activities, they also posted a notice on

[8:56] a building that is separate from it. And I had two meetings with him and he said

[9:02] that the RCMP and uh the city was still dealing with it. That notice still

[9:08] stands. We have no understanding why he's doing that. that is a separate

[9:14] building removed from the the building where the illegal activities were

[9:21] happening. The property was bought by by my parents

[9:26] I I'm guessing about 15 years ago. My father used to look after everything

[9:34] uh along with other properties. I think the all of the property that we own in

[9:41] Chelawak. I think our taxes combined is around 70,000 a year.

[9:48] And to answer the question, if this is upheld, uh obviously we pay our bills

[9:55] and and that's the decision of the council. Uh we we will take care of

[10:02] that. We just think after for 56 years.

[10:08] We first uh came to Chelawak in 1970 and that's a property on 44

[10:16] 594 Watson Road and since then we expanded mainly into farming that's in

[10:24] the Chilawak area and we never had an unfortunate situation like this one. Uh

[10:33] I think part of the reason is my mom uh she passed away uh last year in June. Uh

[10:40] she was 94 years old. Couldn't get around and dad passed away before that.

[10:46] Uh you know that's not an excuse but that

[10:51] is what happened. She was not mobile. She uh obviously didn't do the due

[10:57] diligence, didn't do the inspections and

[11:01] Unfortunately, what happened happened. If uh the amount can be reduced, we

[11:08] would appreciate it. It's not something that we have dealt

[11:12] with before. So, we can only request that that

[11:18] 53,000 can be eliminated. Obviously, that would

[11:21] be the best thing. But if it can be reduced,

[11:26] that that would be appreciated. Okay. And we would request that the the

[11:34] sign that is on the building that had nothing to do with with the this uh

[11:42] illegal activities be removed. There's no reason for him to have that on there.

[11:48] » Well, there's still a police investigation on on the piece of

[11:52] property, I believe. >> Uh I phoned after talking to Mr.

[11:56] Shipper, I phoned the chief investigator.

[11:59] He said, "We're done with it. It's your property. You do what you want to do."

[12:04] That's the chief investigator. When they first, uh, I guess got the

[12:10] search warrant. Uh, nobody presented to us. We just

[12:15] found out from the neighbors that there was RCMP on our property.

[12:20] And after I think second or third day when he came and talked to me, he wanted

[12:26] to look at other buildings including the house. We opened everything up for them

[12:31] and they had a good look and uh it's not like we didn't cooperate with them. So

[12:37] far as I know, RCMP is not uh investigating. They're done. They were

[12:42] done a long time ago. According to him, they were done on I can't remember the

[12:46] date he gave me, but it was the date they left.

[12:50] Okay. Well, that's a separate issue so that I can deal with, you know, staff

[12:55] and get you back some information that I wasn't aware of that, but uh um we're

[13:00] dealing with the issue, you know, at hand here. Um questions from council

[13:05] Mercer. >> Thank you, worship. Um you know, after

[13:09] [clears throat] 35 years in policing, I thought I'd heard it all, but I've never

[13:13] heard anybody blame their mother. >> Not blaming the mother. Um on I'm just

[13:19] curious um like

[13:23] I'm a little bit baffled. Um on what planet do you think it would be okay for

[13:28] the citizens of Chilowak in their taxpayer money

[13:32] to pay the costs for the cleanup and the fines on your property?

[13:38] It's a simple business model. >> It's people pay taxes

[13:43] and um we carry on as a city. I I can't think of any place in the world that

[13:49] would want the citizens of their community to pay for something like this

[13:55] that would happen on your property that put Chilowak on the map in a very

[14:00] negative way. And it's clearly to me just simple abdication of your

[14:04] responsibilities to that property. >> And I'll allow you to answer that, but I

[14:08] don't want to go, you know, back and forth. But go ahead if you want to

[14:11] respond to that, please. Let me I don't know how he misinterpreted that I was

[14:16] blaming my mother. All I simply said was she was 94 years old, didn't get around.

[14:21] She had a walker to go to the bathroom. She didn't do an inspection. So I don't

[14:26] know how, you know, with your experience as a police officer, you can interpret

[14:30] simple statement like that to say I'm blaming her. Far from it. I just simply

[14:36] said that my father who went and inspected everything throughout the

[14:42] Chillowak, the properties that we own, mom couldn't do it. I'm blaming her. She

[14:48] just physically couldn't do it. >> Okay. Yeah.

[14:51] » So, I just want that on the record to >> No, I think that's [snorts] I think I

[14:56] think that's an adequate um discussion that that we've had here. And uh uh if

[15:02] there's nothing further from from council. Uh, I'm going to call the

[15:08] question. Uh, staff's recommendation. Um, have we got a mover in a second?

[15:15] Move. Councelor Reid, second councelor Westbank. Any further discussion? All

[15:20] those in favor? The motion carries. Thank you for being here. Thank you.

[15:25] Appreciate that. Next order of business, please, madam clerk.

[15:31] » Next is set the minutes. of the special regular meeting of council held August

[15:34] 13th, 2026 and the meet minutes of the regular meeting of council held August

[15:39] 18th, 26 be adopted as circulated. >> Councelor Westing, second councelor

[15:43] Reid. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carried. Next item.

[15:46] » Next is a recommendation that the consent agenda be approved as presented.

[15:50] » Move councelor Lum. Second councelor Mercer. Discussion. Seeing none. Those

[15:54] in favor opposed. Motion carried. Next item.

[15:58] The next item is a recommendation that council award the tender for organic

[16:02] waste transportation to Bio Central Green Depot Limited in the estimated

[16:06] amount of $1,562,37

[16:11] for a term from October 1st, 2026 to May 31st, 2029 with the option to renew for

[16:18] up to two additional one-year terms. >> Councelor Wester, second councelor

[16:22] Shields. Discussion seeing none. All those in favor?

[16:26] Opposed? Motion carried. Next item. >> The next item is a recommendation that

[16:29] council authorize staff to submit an application for Transport Canada's

[16:33] Railway Safety Improvement Program for funding towards upgrades to the Evans

[16:39] Road and Southern Rail BC at grade crossing.

[16:43] » Councelor Mercer second. Councelor Clue. Councelor

[16:46] » Cl. Thank you, Richard. Just to staff, if I re read correctly, these

[16:49] improvements need to be done by January 1st. Is that correct?

[16:55] I believe that's January 1st, 2028. >> Okay. Oh, yeah. It does say the detailed

[17:01] designs and then scheduled for summer of 2027. Um, just [clears throat] a quick

[17:05] question. If um when would we anticipate hearing a response? Is there a certain

[17:10] date that they announce the projects that they will be funding across the

[17:13] country? >> M. Jeffers,

[17:15] » I I don't think we have a date when we will be hearing. Um it's been a couple

[17:21] of years since we um needed to apply to this program.

[17:25] » And then my final question on this is uh it appears by the um the diagram or the

[17:30] rendering it looks will the travel lanes slightly shift over. Is that what I'm

[17:35] seeing because they're placing a a bit of a boulevard

[17:40] either side of the tracks? >> Um through your worship I'll see if

[17:43] Kevin Pard's coming up. he's been more plugged into the design process.

[17:49] » Thanks, Mr. Polard. >> Uh, yeah. So, we're just about completed

[17:55] the detailed design now, and it includes a center median. If you can picture the

[17:59] crossing at Young Road where we have the mass in the center. So, in order to

[18:04] accommodate the median and maintain the four travel lanes, we have to do a bit

[18:08] of a taper uh with the travel lanes around that new median.

[18:13] » Okay. Thank you. >> Okay.

[18:15] West. >> Thanks, Bishop. I just want to thank

[18:18] staff for always looking forward or looking for ways to stretch the

[18:21] taxpayers's dollars and going after those grants and uh you know there's

[18:24] it's a big improvement to the city and not a big hit on the uh on the tax bill.

[18:28] So, good job. Thanks. >> Shields. Thank you. And this was just

[18:32] further on to the design here. Um is just with those boulevards, is that a

[18:36] requirement now? Like a safety requirement through through Transport

[18:40] Canada, I guess. >> Sorry, Kevin. I should have got you to

[18:43] stay up there, but I looked at it too and I thought, "Wow, there's a whole

[18:46] bunch of extra stuff in there." And I didn't uh

[18:49] » Yeah, as soon as um as soon as you have a road cross-section of four lanes,

[18:54] » uh basically the mast length starts to get difficult to come across two travel

[18:59] lanes. And that's why the you under the grade crossing standards, the federal

[19:02] grade crossing, >> you need to have that median to place uh

[19:07] the mast. >> Okay. Right. Right. Because if it was

[19:10] just two lanes, well, they could easily get across. Yep. Okay, that makes sense.

[19:13] Thank you. Okay, we're all done. All questions in

[19:16] favor post. Motion carry. Next item.

[19:21] » Next item. Your worship is a recommendation that council accept the

[19:24] proposal for uniform security guard services from the lead proponent Griffin

[19:29] Investigation and Security Services Limited in the amount of 2,592,87386.

[19:39] » Moved by Council West. Second councelor Reid. Councelor Reid.

[19:44] » Thank you, Bishop. Uh just a quick question. Is what is the uh change in

[19:49] rate um over the past contract? Is there been a significant increase or

[19:54] » I actually haven't examined that, but the bulk of the cost is the addition of

[19:59] the 24-hour patrol that we've overtaken from BC Housing

[20:03] » BC Housing the Partnership. >> Right. Okay. Thank you very much,

[20:08] » Mercer. Thank you. That uh uh was sort of going to be my question. Has there

[20:14] been any discussion uh either through yourself or staff to your knowledge with

[20:20] BC Housing? Is there any movement from them

[20:23] » that they might buy back into a problem that's theirs not ours? And

[20:28] » ongoing discussion councelor Mercer uh both uh Mr. Shipper and I attend uh

[20:34] meetings with BC Housing and all of the service providers uh specifically in the

[20:39] rain city and Phoenix area. Um we sit at those tables um and

[20:45] we voice our concerns and uh try and prompt uh partnerships as often as we

[20:51] can. Uh they see the value in the private security as even uh the uh

[20:58] facility caretakers are phoning for assistance from time to time. Not only

[21:02] are they looking after their own properties, but they're looking out for

[21:06] issues that are occurring on neighboring properties and businesses as well. So

[21:11] the good neighbor agreements with those facilities uh seem to be working. Um

[21:16] it's just bringing the funer back to the table to buy into uh what is now being

[21:25] very apparent as a need uh for this type of uh

[21:30] activity on those properties and in those neighborhoods.

[21:33] » Yeah, I understand that. As you're aware, I'm a aware of the good

[21:37] neighbor agreement, but part of the good neighbor agreement included BC Housing,

[21:40] and they're no longer being a good neighbor. Um, I suspect that the people

[21:44] you're dealing with aren't at the pay grade for decision [clears throat] to

[21:48] cancel BC Housing's portion of the security payment. I don't believe that

[21:53] decision probably rests with them. And I'm just wondering if

[21:57] » if we as staff through Miss Stanton or anybody else through your office, your

[22:01] worship, >> have we explained to um BC Housing in a

[22:06] letter that uh we've now been put in the position of raising our security costs

[22:11] to the detriment of the taxpayers of Chillowak because they simply have

[22:14] dropped the ball. >> Yeah, I'm I'm not aware of any

[22:18] correspondence with BC Housing on that point or did I I can't remember but I

[22:23] can certainly check it. Oh, go ahead. Most

[22:26] » Miss Stanton has written a letter. >> Okay, that's what I thought we did.

[22:29] Yeah. >> And uh at the table I voice it to my

[22:33] counterparts at BC Housing as often as I can and they assure me that the message

[22:37] is being uh sent up loud and clear. >> So on that same line um if by some

[22:45] miracle they do come to the table would we claw back this uh um amount of money

[22:51] that we're about to approve to Griffin that amount or what would be the the uh

[22:58] strategy there? >> My hope that would uh they would either

[23:02] reinstate fulltime static guard at that site to alleviate the need uh to pull

[23:08] those resources from the downtown core. Um even better would be for them to

[23:13] reinstate their 50% share of the mobile patrol that serves all of the supportive

[23:18] housing and shelter locations throughout the city.

[23:21] » Fingers crossed. Thanks. >> Okay. So, this number wouldn't change

[23:25] then if they did come to the table. It would just be enhanced with with more

[23:30] » well it would be enhanced but we'd gain in that we'd have more patrol activity

[23:37] in the downtown core and around other service areas.

[23:41] » Okay. >> Yeah. Thank you. Uh thank you for uh the

[23:46] report and um just for myself I I find it a little bit ironic that um the

[23:52] province speaks about um safer communities and yet simultaneously

[23:57] removes funding for a visible deterrent within our community and and I recall

[24:01] when they came before us how they uh they promised a lot and uh project gets

[24:07] uh finally built after a number of years in this case. Um, and then ironically

[24:12] they maybe that the partnership has shifted on their end which is very

[24:16] unfortunate and extremely frustrating. And I know for myself if I'm fortunate

[24:20] enough to sit around this table in the future and they come forward with a

[24:22] proposal um I would be viewing it through a different lens because I'm not

[24:26] 100% confident that what's promised actually continues to materialize. Thank

[24:32] you. >> Good point. Councelor Shields. Thank you

[24:35] worship. Just on a side note, I think uh it's nice to see Griffin uh once again

[24:41] retain this contract. They've been working for the city for a lot of years.

[24:44] They do a bit of a thankless job downtown. I think they do quite well.

[24:49] So, uh you know, opportunity to thank them for their past work and uh you

[24:54] know, going forward, they work well with our bylaw, they work well with the RCMP,

[24:58] they work well with all the players in town. So, it's good to hear that they're

[25:01] back on. >> Okay, nothing else. Call the question.

[25:05] All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carried. Next item.

[25:08] » Next item. Your worship is a recommendation that council approve the

[25:11] renewal of temporary use permit 219 with respect to property located at 45657

[25:16] Stevenson Road. Subject to the recommendations as stipulated within the

[25:19] draft permit. >> Move council read. Second councelor

[25:22] clute. Discussion. Seeing none. All those in favor opposed. Motion carried.

[25:26] Next item. >> Next are the mayor and counselor's

[25:28] reports. >> Let's go. Councelor Mercer.

[25:34] Thank you, worship. Um, short couple of weeks for me on the 27th

[25:38] of um, August uh, be my last BIA meeting, which was uh, um, sad but

[25:47] happy, so to speak. A great group of people down there looking after our

[25:51] downtown and advocating uh, for everything that's good under the great

[25:55] leadership of Trevor McDonald. And uh shortly before that uh on the

[26:00] 19th along with councelor Shield's monthly public safety advisory committee

[26:06] meeting and that's it for me except my comment that school's coming back and uh

[26:12] everybody needs to pay attention. Schools always exist for a purpose and

[26:17] uh if you speed through them I hope you get exactly what you deserve. Thank you

[26:21] very much. You got a little bit of a burn your bonnet today don't you don't

[26:25] read. Thank you. Worship. On August the 26th, they attended the congregate

[26:29] housing meeting. Uh bringing together a lot of the service providers, trying to

[26:33] find unique ways for the um community and service providers to um bring people

[26:39] together for housing. So, different alternatives um and and creative ways of

[26:44] doing that. Was a great meeting on August the 27th. Um I met with the

[26:49] Compassionate Neighbors, the seniors um group. It was supposed to be at Gwin

[26:53] Vaughn, but it looked like the weather was going to be bad. So we met inside

[26:56] and had a a lively conversation with the seniors in Chilowak looking for uh well

[27:03] congregate housing options. So that was a timely meeting. And then uh on August

[27:09] the 28th I had the honor to um welcome the RCMP musical ride on your behalf.

[27:17] And it was a great uh great event. There's lots of people there at the at

[27:22] the um fairgrounds in the back and um just a real honor to be able to stand

[27:28] there uh in your in your presence. So, thank you for that. And just echoing the

[27:33] comments of school, watch out for those kiddos walking to school for the first

[27:37] time, maybe on their own. Uh keep them safe and uh and yeah, be safe.

[27:44] » Dr. Shields worship. Uh yeah, relatively quiet

[27:48] couple of weeks for me. As council Mercer mentioned, the public safety

[27:51] advisory committee meeting. Um and then I too on Friday night was at the RCMP

[27:56] musical ride. What a wonderful show and and perfect night for it and and pretty

[28:02] much a sold sold out uh arena. So um they ever come back and anybody gets a

[28:10] chance, it's well worth going to. Um, and yeah, getting back to the kids going

[28:15] to school, kids or parents, tell your kids to also watch out for cars and

[28:22] scooters and other vehicles. They need to be be well aware of it, too. So,

[28:26] let's make sure that we get through September without so much as a scratch.

[28:34] » Thank you. Um, I also uh attended the uh RCP musical ride. The weather was

[28:39] perfect. I think uh what was clear is there's probably enough grandstand

[28:42] seating in that area. So definitely worth a consideration in the future. Um

[28:47] also as was mentioned school starting but there's also thousands of ton of

[28:51] corn that's going to be harvested in the month of September. So there's going to

[28:54] be a lot of farm vehicles on the road. So keep an eye out for for the big rigs

[28:59] and with it getting dark now near 8:00 which is kind of weird. I guess we're

[29:02] going into fall full steam but uh yeah there will be a lot of activity out in

[29:07] the field. just ask people in tractors and outside of tractors to please be

[29:11] cautious and use the rules of the road. Thank you,

[29:14] » Mr. West. >> Nothing to report your worship.

[29:17] » Okay. >> Thank you. Uh your worship on the uh

[29:21] 24th uh had a meeting at the economic development office downtown with Brian

[29:26] Kums later in the day. Had the opportunity to welcome uh the Redberry

[29:32] Restaurants franchise Jersey Mike to town. They opened a new sub shop and uh

[29:39] 28 28 new jobs in the city of Chilowak. Interesting. Redberry is one of the

[29:45] largest restaurant franchises across Canada and uh they own the exclusive

[29:49] rights to a number of different restaurants and this is one of the the

[29:53] the first two in uh in BC. Uh later that day I had a meeting with the province

[29:58] British Columbia around manufacturing initiatives uh here and the Fraser

[30:03] Valley Regional District has a a resolution going forward to the UBCM

[30:08] around uh industrial land preservation and uh the importance of that to uh to

[30:12] our communities on the 31st uh yesterday had opportunity to join the Fraser River

[30:18] Challenge Expedition which is a 40 kilometer well it's a a paddle from the

[30:22] headarters of the Fraser all the way to the ocean and Uh we did a section 40

[30:27] kilometers from uh Agassy at the Champ Fishing Village out to Mission, get to

[30:32] paddle in a canoe and uh kind of see the water uh or see the uh the city from

[30:37] from a different perspective out in the water. And this is an uh this is an

[30:41] initiative to raise awareness around um uh around protecting uh the Fraser and

[30:46] the habitat that all five different species of salmon utilize the Fraser as

[30:52] spawning habit. in critical habitat. They've traced um they've traced salmon

[30:58] from all over the province including up in the interior all the way to the the

[31:02] the spawning coo uh coming up coming back from the ocean that utilize our in

[31:07] particular our reach of the Fraser and uh so critically important to raise

[31:11] awareness. There's a lot of really nice uh things said about uh about the city

[31:16] and the the work and the partnership that our staff have done with uh with

[31:20] the Pal Nations at Gilbar in particular and turning what was quite quite a

[31:27] nightmare into uh you know we stopped at Gil and uh you know I remember walking

[31:33] through there prior to some of the cleanups and I think at one point there

[31:36] was a a burnt out vehicle up a tree somewhere. There was there was just an

[31:41] absolute mess there. >> And uh it uh it's very different uh

[31:47] today. It's quiet. You could hear the birds singing. Um and uh I was there.

[31:51] Eddie Gardner was one of the ones leading the trip and uh I think he was

[31:57] one of the only ones who kept paddling the whole time. There's a few coasters

[32:00] on the on the yesterday, but not any. Anyways,

[32:06] uh he had a lot of positive things to say about staff and and and council and

[32:11] all the the support they received from the city. Um other than that, that's uh

[32:16] that's all for Oh, actually, sorry. Today, I met briefly prior to council

[32:20] with Lord Fraser flood committee talking about um their upcoming uh presentation

[32:25] to the UBCM. a session all participating talking about just reducing some of the

[32:32] silos and working together uh to attract some of the investment that's going to

[32:36] be required to build resilience in our communities. Uh I think it's really

[32:40] timely uh especially considering uh you know the the federal government in

[32:45] particular talking about trade corridors some of the things you worship that I

[32:48] think you were meeting with the Siri board of trade uh last week so right up

[32:55] » uh right in line with some of those conversations. So that's all for me.

[33:00] » Good good uh ju just a couple things. Last week I um had the pleasure of

[33:05] having a tour of the Veter River and experienced the uh uh sediment removal

[33:11] in action. And uh I I I visited two of the 10 spots that they are going to be

[33:18] removing some gravel and and uh had some good good conversation with the

[33:22] contractor about how they're doing it and and uh the fish enhancement along

[33:29] the lines of what you just said as well. So, it uh it's a necessary evil if I if

[33:34] I say it that way. It's got to be done. So, uh folks who use a rotary trail,

[33:39] just just be careful. It's it's well marked off. There are some gravel trucks

[33:43] that do uh transfer the material on the trail actually and across the road. And

[33:50] so, it's a it's quite a uh strategy that they're taking, but it's

[33:55] like I say, it's something that's needed to be done. And then um On the 26th

[34:01] along with staffer Tara Fzen and the mayor of Hope, we took a drive into

[34:07] Suriri, met with Minister Green that you know as a round table uh on on on behalf

[34:13] of the West Coast Corridor Resiliency Partnership that's with uh myself and

[34:19] four other mayors and we're advocating hard for some federal funding to be a

[34:24] line item uh you know because the floods are going to continue to happen and uh

[34:29] It's been four years with uh not a lot of uh well money for sure but work done

[34:36] yet but it was an interesting uh um conversation.

[34:40] I was hosted by the Siri board of trade and actually the lady said hello

[34:46] to you. Um I yeah she said she remembers you from UBCM. So interesting

[34:52] conversation and yeah that's all for me. Uh next item please madam clerk. Next is

[34:56] a motion to adjourn to a close session session pursuant to section 91 I of the

[35:02] community charter. >> Move councelor love second councelor

[35:05] read. All those in favor opposed. We are done.

City of Chilliwack 2026-09-01 2:00 PM Council Meeting

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