[1:08] 6:00 p.m. folks. Good evening. It's my honor to welcome each and every

[1:14] one of you on behalf of the council the community.

[1:19] If I may request each and every one of you in present, make sure your phone is

[1:23] on vibration or silent mode.

[1:26] Nobody get disturbed. The whole council is present along with

[1:31] uh senior staff as required but the council flashed

[1:36] forward due to her personal reason. She is a zoom in. She's with us

[1:41] uh through the internet.

[1:44] It's my honor to acknowledge that we are gathered

[1:49] in the William Lake First Nations Sepnic people's unceded territory. Thanks to

[1:54] the chief and the nation allowing us to the business and get together. Adoption

[2:00] of the agendas on the floor. >> So, second.

[2:03] » Moved and seconded. Any addition or deletion? Hearing none,

[2:07] all in favor. Carried unanimously.

[2:12] Minute of the regular council meeting held in July 14th.

[2:16] » Move the recommendation. >> Moved and seconded. Any addition or

[2:20] deletion? Hearing none,

[2:23] all in favor. Carried.

[2:27] We don't have any delegation today, but I'm honored to announce we had a very

[2:32] special privilege

[2:35] to receive one of our well-deserved

[2:40] hero. On behalf of the city of Williams Lake,

[2:44] it is my privilege to present a certificate of appreciation to

[2:49] Kayla Lucas in recognition of her action during the game between the Canim Lake

[2:56] and Williams Lake Mustangs on March 9th, 2026.

[3:02] This is a trailblazer thing as I'm concerned.

[3:06] What Kayla did, I expect every citizen to be ready to do when the time comes

[3:11] like a great honor.

[3:15] Following a serious life-threatening injury to a young Mustang player,

[3:19] Kayla stepped forward and provided care in the critical moment

[3:24] before the physician or medical assistance

[3:27] arrived. Her calm

[3:30] demeanor, quick thinking, and willingness to act

[3:34] under pressure helped support the injured athlete when it mattered the

[3:39] most. Kayla's action reflect the compassion,

[3:43] the true leadership, and community

[3:47] spirit that are valued in Williams Lake. It should be everywhere, in fact.

[3:53] And we have the council, the staff

[3:56] in the city of Williams Lake. Thank you, my friend,

[4:00] for your outstanding service and care and compassion.

[4:05] Kyla, please accept the certificate of appreciation with our sincere gratitude

[4:10] and con- congratulations. Again, I will read what is written, then

[4:17] I'm going to request Ms. Lucas to come forward,

[4:21] and also my colleagues who are present for a photo opportunity.

[4:26] Usually, when the 90 days before the election,

[4:30] we don't do any photos for any individual council member,

[4:35] not the mayor. Not that mayor is not above the law. Everybody is equal. We

[4:40] take all seven members equal, but today, because it's a very special occasion,

[4:45] it's a privilege to present this certificate. So, if I

[4:49] may request, we will post it on the city web page.

[4:54] Uh from city of the Williams Lake certificate of appreciation, Kyla Lucas,

[4:58] on behalf of the city of Williams Lake council and the community of Williams

[5:01] Lake, thank you for your courage, quick thinking, and professional action during

[5:07] the medical emergency took place on March 9th, 2026,

[5:12] uh during the hockey game. Your life-saving action in support of a

[5:18] young athlete demonstrate the compassion, service, and

[5:22] community-minded spirit that are the heart of the Williams Lake.

[5:28] Kyla, thank you very much. We really appreciate it. It's dated in the city of

[5:33] Williams Lake, British Columbia, on 11th day of 2026,

[5:37] signed by my office and each and every council member. May I request you please

[5:43] to come forward.

[6:04] » [clears throat]

[7:03] » Always face to the chair. Always face to the chair. You have to stand here. No,

[7:07] no, no, no. Come in here. Yeah.

[7:11] Face me because I am in [clears throat] court.

[7:13] » Okay. >> People are watching you.

[7:16] » I'd like a little pressure, I guess.

[7:22] » [clears throat]

[7:25] » This, I feel, is um I'm very grateful for the recognition.

[7:31] Um I certainly could not have acted in the

[7:35] way I did without a lot of assistance and support.

[7:38] Um I'm really thankful to the people that

[7:41] were there, that did uh come to my assistance. One of them being Tyler

[7:46] Judd. Who I'd like to

[7:48] acknowledge um also helped to keep me calm because

[7:53] it wasn't a situation that I'd like to repeat. Um but

[7:57] the only thanks I needed was that uh Dawson is here with us tonight. And I

[8:02] just like to acknowledge how grateful I am that

[8:05] um that was the outcome. So no recognition really necessary, but I'm

[8:10] very grateful for it. So thank you very much.

[8:13] » Thank you. Give a round of applause quickly.

[8:23] Thank you, folks. I would not expect as a

[8:27] your community leader or uh any less than what Kayla did from

[8:31] anybody. It's a great lesson to learn for all of us.

[8:35] When the help is needed, we should volunteer.

[8:38] Don't think twice. Thank you once again, Kayla. You're a

[8:42] great inspiration. Look the support you had

[8:45] from the family and friend of the people, okay? Thank you once again.

[8:49] Moving forward, computer checks, please.

[8:54] » The recommendation that the accounts payable computer check and EFT listings

[8:57] dated July 16th, 23rd, and 30th, and August 6th, 2026 be received for

[9:01] information. >> So moved.

[9:03] » Moved and seconded. All in favor. Thank you, folks.

[9:07] » Thank you.

[9:50] » Hey, we'll get back to the business. Uh we took the vote on the

[9:56] computer checks and we're moving to the development permit application

[10:00] number five. >> The recommendation that pursuant to the

[10:04] report of the planner dated July 22nd, 2026, Council approve development permit

[10:08] number five 2025 for Altus Group on behalf of the owner BC Housing to permit

[10:12] construction of 51 unit supportive housing complex located at 845 Carson

[10:17] Drive. >> Second.

[10:19] » Moved and seconded. I might understand there's a few people online.

[10:24] Um if anybody from the public wanted to ask

[10:27] any question, uh they're most welcome to come forward.

[10:34] Anybody from the public? Anybody from the developer

[10:41] want to speak? It's a great news for the city of

[10:45] Williams Lake. Uh it's a 51 unit four-story.

[10:50] The it's been in the discussion for a few years.

[10:54] I want to thanks to the BC Housing and specially our very own

[10:59] economic development manager Ms. Win Camp.

[11:03] She've been persistence on this site along with the so many community leaders

[11:08] in the community. Took us long time, but I'm glad.

[11:14] Yes, it might be sales pitch. I make no bones telling the community

[11:21] including last Thursday in the performance in the park, I said it. I'll

[11:26] say it anytime. There's nothing nothing in the last four

[11:31] year minus two and a half month it come to this table which has not been

[11:38] done positively. This council

[11:43] and the staff has worked together as a one team.

[11:47] I've delivered very positively. I'm very proud of each and every one.

[11:53] It's a long time overdue. We finish up 36 unit in the Glen Harbor

[11:59] right behind the city hall. It used to be 34, adding 36 unit became

[12:06] 30 unit. Now, these are four-story.

[12:10] There's, I believe, 30 plus unit right now.

[12:14] And it will be demolished once the few residents left there only handful.

[12:20] Once they found the place for them and it will be done. Thanks to the

[12:25] government. Thanks to the BC Housing. Thanks to our very own economic

[12:31] development manager who delivered it. 51 plus 36 unit it will be 87 unit

[12:38] delivered by this council uh during the time of this council. Like

[12:43] I said, not all work done. I didn't start it yesterday. We've been

[12:48] working on this a long time and I'm honored and

[12:54] tell the community let them see how this thing is coming to fruition. Councillor

[13:00] Nelson. >> Thank you very much, Your Worship. I'll

[13:03] be supporting the application that's in front of us. The proposed development

[13:07] will be a multi- purpose

[13:11] four-story facility that will provide approximately 51 self-contained homes

[13:17] including accessible and couple-oriented suites designed to offer safe, stable,

[13:24] and inclusive housing for the vulnerable individuals in Williams Lake community.

[13:29] I recognize that this is 51 units. Um I can tell you that this started

[13:34] about 5 6 years ago. Uh thank you Beth uh and your department. Thanks to the

[13:39] community as well. Um

[13:41] this replaces the existing 33 units that are

[13:45] there, Your Honor. So, we're we're netting out approximately 17.

[13:50] Um that's the good news is is that this is going to be modern, safe, and

[13:55] reliable. And it's going to replace an old dilapidated building that's done its

[14:00] time and helped out. Um I've always said and I will continue

[14:04] to advocate that I don't support tents, people living in tents.

[14:07] This is what we need and we need more of it on behalf of the provincial and

[14:11] federal government. So, I recognize that we are it's only a net 17 units,

[14:17] but it's going to be simply the start of I think many more to come. So, I'll be

[14:22] supporting the recommendation, the development application from the Ultras

[14:26] Group on this particular application, Worship, and hoping that we can get on

[14:30] moving forward to get it built. I do recognize that the Canadian Mental

[14:34] Health Association will be the

[14:38] one that's going to be running the supportive housing.

[14:41] And I think that when we're in Victoria um the next time around, we need to

[14:46] continue to emphasize that if we're going to get people off the streets and

[14:50] not in tents, then we need more of this type of supportive housing.

[14:54] Uh this community has been very very supportive of of these types of

[14:58] projects. And we can only continue to advocate to have more of these so we can

[15:02] get people off the streets. So, my hand goes up. I want to thank BC Housing for

[15:08] quite honestly making sure that this one stayed on on the docket because there

[15:11] was a lot of projects that got knocked off uh during this last budget process

[15:16] on the provincial side. So, thank you very much.

[15:19] » Thank you. Councillor Fletcher, please.

[15:25] » Thank you, Your Worship. Yes, I also very much support this

[15:30] initiative and this development. I think this is absolutely incredible

[15:34] for Williams Lake. It is the next step. You know, I think as a council, we saw

[15:39] so many discussions about how we didn't want a shelter. Individuals didn't want

[15:43] a shelter from BC Housing within our community. Because we accepted having a

[15:47] shelter, I think that's why we got the financial support to continue to have

[15:51] this development for our community, which is so important because

[15:55] things are expensive out there. It's hard for people to be living the way

[15:59] that they need to. Costs of rent is ridiculous. You know, people that have

[16:04] all the apartment complexes, it's costly for people to try and and have a place

[16:10] there. Where this is supportive housing and and this gets people off the streets

[16:14] like my colleague mentioned. So, this is really really important for Williams

[16:18] Lake. I also think that this development is really smart looking. I like the

[16:23] design. I like the way that it appears. So, I think it'll be a real positive

[16:27] thing for the neighborhood as well as businesses that are in the area.

[16:32] You know, there's already an established supportive housing facility there in an

[16:36] old building, but you know, there we've never noticed or I've never heard of you

[16:41] know, great impacts to the neighborhood. So, I think an expansion off of this and

[16:46] will be just a real win-win for our community.

[16:49] I do have a couple questions. I noticed one of my colleagues mentioning that it

[16:53] would be 80, but it's not. I think it's a total of 51 units and I'd like

[16:57] clarification on that. And um my other question is that I noticed the

[17:03] northern part of the property, there's still quite a bit of space that's not

[17:08] being utilized. Has there been any discussion of potential expansion down

[17:12] the road over and above this development once

[17:16] it's completed. Thank you. >> I think I said it all to reply that

[17:21] first part of the question. I said 81 unit. I said adding

[17:27] 36 unit from the Glenn Harbor and 51 of the Council Flash Fuller. It's not 81,

[17:33] it's a 51 unit, but it will be total 81 unit delivered

[17:39] just by this council. Reference to the space, I know the answer. I had the

[17:44] answer, but I let our CEO reply that question. The space sitting there,

[17:50] what's happening with that? >> Your Worship, I think that you have a Do

[17:54] you have a representatives from BC Housing that probably be more in tune of

[17:57] what's happening with that space that you can uh

[17:59] ask the question to them. I think that Tyler's on there.

[18:03] » Yeah, could you please reply that the question for Council Flash Fuller from

[18:08] BC Housing? >> Thank you very much, Mayor and Council.

[18:12] My name is Tyler Baker. I'm the Director of Development for the interior. Nice to

[18:15] see you all again. Very astute question, Council Flash

[18:19] Fuller. Yes, there's some um land remaining. We were actually quite

[18:22] careful to reserve land for a future use. At the moment, we don't have

[18:27] funding for to know what that will be. You know, but it leaves open the door

[18:33] to do something in the future when we have funding to meet the needs in the

[18:37] community. And when we come to that decision, it'll be a as this has been as

[18:42] our other decisions have been, it'll be a joint partnership to talk about what

[18:46] the needs are in the community and what our funding can be used best used for to

[18:50] meet those needs. So, we don't know yet, but it'll be part of the picture in the

[18:55] future and it'll be a real asset for the community.

[18:57] » Thank you. I really appreciate that response and I think that's great

[19:01] proactive vision because we know that times change, needs from communities

[19:05] change, and the fact that we might have some area that we can put focus towards

[19:10] is I think a really really positive thing. So, I really appreciate that and

[19:14] all the thought and processes behind from everyone. And I also just want to

[19:18] really thank the province for continuing with this program as we know that

[19:21] there's been substantial cuts and everybody wants to have those supports

[19:26] in their community because everybody's feeling the impacts right now. So, um I

[19:30] just want to put a thanks out to you, your team, um also the team for the city

[19:34] of Williams Lake that have worked with you and other community members that

[19:37] have worked with you guys as an organization in making this happen. So,

[19:40] thank you so much. This is a real positive positive one for us.

[19:44] » And last part of your comment was Counselor Flash Fuller

[19:49] um how we got this project. Yes, there's only one project in the BC going on

[19:54] that's in Williams Lake. That is a sign of your, mine, this council, this team's

[20:00] um mission by working together. We got this project because we worked together

[20:06] with the everybody, with the all the stakeholder, regardless they're Victoria

[20:11] or Ottawa or regional or or or local. So,

[20:15] it's another uh

[20:18] mission completed or will be accomplished in the

[20:23] days and months to come because we worked together. Counselor

[20:27] How we in, please? >> Thank you, Worship, and I just want to

[20:31] echo I mean I think most of the comments have been made. I I do want to add that

[20:35] I think we did ask we wanted 80 units. I mean 55 was I thought 55 was the number,

[20:40] but anyway, down to 51. It's pretty usual, but

[20:43] um it's it's a drop in the bucket. I think we still need more, but it it's

[20:47] such a good start and it hopefully will lead the way to to down the future. We

[20:51] are very lucky and I do want to say thank you to BC Housing for keeping us

[20:56] on the books cuz that's we're sure thankful we cut that line because I

[21:00] think we are one of the few still left standing with some of that funding. So,

[21:04] hopefully more will come in the works cuz we aren't the only community that

[21:07] needs housing and we need more housing and so many do. So, I just wanted to

[21:12] echo and say my thanks, but um I do appreciate it and I look forward to

[21:15] hopefully seeing it actually going up soon. Thank you.

[21:18] » I just to let you know also being I had on my speed dial a dialer's number and I

[21:25] know our economic development manager also had that. We won't let him get

[21:29] away. And uh we'll keep working on it and uh

[21:34] Okay, I got a question to Moses, Councillor Glaning, and Councillor

[21:37] Anton, please. >> Thank you, Your Worship.

[21:40] Yeah, we we've been patiently and excitingly waiting waiting for this

[21:46] meeting for for this agenda item. I I want to make sure that we point out

[21:51] that this type of supporting housing is one that helps people who have graduated

[21:56] from the Canadian Mental Health's Housing First programs. This means that

[22:00] they've already shown their dedication to recovery and their ability to be able

[22:04] to pay for their housing. The The people who receive these types of housing are

[22:09] often facing some form of disability or a barrier to receiving income or

[22:14] housing. The The supportive housing that this is replacing was a very successful

[22:20] program with very little footprint. So, this is an amazing service that we're

[22:25] we're receiving to our community. Uh but it took a lot of work in the

[22:29] background, lots of advocacy to ensure that we didn't lose our project while a

[22:34] lot of other cities lost theirs. So, I want to say a quick thank you to

[22:38] Tyler and the rest of the team at BC Housing and the team at Canadian Mental

[22:42] Health Association. The The This is This is a great achievement for us. Let's So,

[22:48] let's get that shovel in the ground, Tyler. We Because we we have more

[22:52] projects where this one came from and we're already ready to get those going

[22:56] next cuz I I agree with Councillor Beam that we still need more. So, I have a

[23:01] hopeful question for Tyler. At at our local Friendship Centre, we already have

[23:05] blueprints and land ready for another apartment building. When are you going

[23:09] to get it get that one started next for us? Thank you, Your Worship.

[23:13] » I wonder if Tyler wanted to respond to that or should I move ahead?

[23:18] » I'm always happy to speak about um the next project in the pipeline. We

[23:24] like I said, we are always looking for opportunities even if we don't have

[23:27] funding available right now. When we do, we need things that are ready to go. So,

[23:32] um happy to talk to you about that. >> Definitely William Lake I always had a

[23:37] um shovel ready program, you know, shelf ready program. So, whenever you're

[23:41] ready, uh Counselor Drainy, please. Thank you, Tyler.

[23:45] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um yeah, thank you. Kudos everybody for getting this

[23:50] project to go forward. I like I love a visual person, so I love reading and

[23:54] seeing these uh seeing the design and uh the

[23:57] architecture. Um but maybe I'm having a moment here. Um I only count 30

[24:05] six. Like we've got we've got uh three on the main floor and then there's two

[24:09] floors of third 16, so that's 32 plus two is 38.

[24:13] Where's the other Where's the Where's the 51?

[24:17] Unless I'm missing a floor or something. >> You're probably missing the plan. I know

[24:21] the number shows that way, but I I'm with you. I've seen it. I thought

[24:26] about it. >> Okay, so I'm not the only one that

[24:27] » Yeah, yeah, you're not the only one. Yeah.

[24:28] I definitely saw Yeah. I checked with the staff it was 51. Trust me.

[24:34] Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. Tyler's a tease still showing me

[24:37] the >> You're right on.

[24:38] » 51. [laughter] Um I think there was I mean obviously

[24:41] you guys are a great proponent for um for BC Housing and for people that are

[24:46] less fortunate and to help um get people off the streets and into beds. And I

[24:51] think with the shelter as a kind of an example [clears throat] as well, too,

[24:54] with just the the model of being able to bring your goods with you. uh being able

[24:58] to have somebody if you have a partner, being able to have a pet, um being able

[25:02] to see those little storage units for shopping carts or for your bike or or

[25:06] whatever, I think are um just great little details to be added.

[25:10] Um the layout looks fantastic. I mean, it's going to be such a

[25:15] gem for that part of the area, and I really look forward to seeing, you know,

[25:20] what else we are able to uh get off the ground. And also, um

[25:26] to Counselor Flash forward's point that my eyes, I was just focusing and I'm

[25:31] like, what land is she talking about? Where is the extra land? Well, there's a

[25:34] whole freaking pile of it right behind there. So, um wonderful. That just means

[25:38] that maybe one day we'll get another one there, hopefully. So, I just want to say

[25:41] thank you. Want to make sure I wasn't missing something cuz I didn't count 51,

[25:44] but we're sure that we're going to get 51 even though it's not in the package

[25:48] as 51 shown. We're good to go. Mayor's telling me he's going to hold your feet

[25:51] to the fire. Thanks, Tyler. >> I got to check I can't say anything in

[25:55] place. >> Thank you. Yeah, I was super excited to

[25:58] see this project in the report and all the plans just look beautiful, and I

[26:01] really want to say I appreciate the aesthetics of the building. It

[26:04] definitely gives people a sense of pride to be able to go to such a beautiful

[26:06] home. Obviously, I was very appreciative that we had the Jubilee house, but this

[26:10] is definitely such an upgrade not just in the number of units, but the

[26:13] beautification of the area, too, and really giving people something to look

[26:16] forward to going home to. Thank you. >> Before I let it go to the second round,

[26:20] I let Counselor Nelson want to make a comment. Uh Tyler, I I know um

[26:27] what you think in William Blake William Blake at the best mayor and council and

[26:31] the staff. And whenever you wanted to build more

[26:34] houses, and we are all ready for you. We'll help you every which way you

[26:37] needed, and please continue working together philosophy, okay? I look

[26:42] forward. Counselor Nelson. >> Yeah, Your Worship. I I I it's just

[26:46] I know that uh there's been a lot of pressure on a lot of other communities.

[26:50] My colleagues alluded to that as well. Um so, from my perspective uh

[26:55] Tyler, just a huge shout out to you and your entire team. Working very close

[27:00] with the city of Williams Lake and working closely with the non-profit

[27:03] organizations. And I think that this Team Williams Lake really just wants to

[27:07] thank BC Housing on this particular project. We know and recognize how how

[27:10] tough it is out there across the province,

[27:13] but we're dedicated to ensure that we can help and get people off the streets.

[27:16] And this is certainly the right direction. Thank you.

[27:19] » Thank you. I think everybody spoke enough. I

[27:22] already asked according to my instruction if anybody

[27:25] wanted to speak for or against or any comment. I didn't have to, but I'll ask

[27:30] second time from public if anybody have to say anything.

[27:35] Hearing none, all in favor.

[27:38] Carried unanimously. Congratulations and thanks Tyler once again.

[27:43] Okay, I'm moving along license of occupation agreement with properties.

[27:49] » Recommendation that pursuant to the report of the planner dated July 21st,

[27:52] 2026, Council authorize entering into a license of occupation agreement with

[27:56] Wave Properties Limited uh for an existing overhead awning sign

[28:00] located at 29 3rd Avenue South. >> Second.

[28:04] » Moved and seconded. Any question, concern, comment? Hearing none, all in

[28:09] favor. Opposed if any, carried unanimously.

[28:14] Request for continuation of provincial LG cap funding.

[28:19] » Recommendation that pursuant to the report of the planner dated August 4th,

[28:22] 2026, Council authorize a letter to be sent from the mayor to the premier BC

[28:26] and relevant provincial ministers outlining the importance of the Local

[28:29] Government Climate Action Program funding and the critical need for the

[28:32] continuation of this funding program and further that the letter be shared with

[28:36] local MLAs and CLGA, UBCM and all BC municipalities and regional districts.

[28:41] » So moved. >> Moved and seconded. We had is some

[28:45] supporting letter other communities have written the similar letter. These are

[28:49] very important funding. And we will request and every time

[28:53] anytime I'm talking to the Victoria, I'll definitely be mentioning. I've

[28:58] already mentioned this to a couple minister already as

[29:03] couple of the ministers showed up here all of sudden Friday.

[29:07] So they are aware of our request, okay? Our Council Moses.

[29:11] » Thank you, Worship. Yeah, this is definitely something that we need to

[29:16] hold the province to to to ensure that we continue receiving this funding. Not

[29:21] just our municipality, but right across the whole province needs this funding.

[29:25] But here here in Williams Lake, we we just recently created that partnership

[29:29] with the Cariboo Chilcotin Climate Circle. And this type of funding is what

[29:33] allows us to do that and the ability to get that work done. So I just want to

[29:37] point out that us advocating for this is trying to make it so that we can fund

[29:42] that partnership and get great climate projects done. Thank you, Worship.

[29:46] » Thank you. All in favor. Carried unanimously. Poll of Council,

[29:50] please. >> The recommendation that pursuant to the

[29:54] report of Legislative Services Assistant Coordinator dated August 7th, 2026 and

[29:58] the email poll conducted on July 29th, 2026 authorizing Council to provide a

[30:02] resolution of support to the Central Interior Rural Division of Family

[30:05] Practices application to the Northern Development Initiative Trust Marketing

[30:08] Initiatives program for funding to support the group's physician

[30:11] recruitment marketing expansion initiative be ratified.

[30:14] » So moved. >> Moved and seconded. Any question

[30:17] concern? Hearing none, all in favor. Carried.

[30:22] Williams Lake Fire Department Rapid Response to operational update.

[30:27] » The recommendation that the report of the Director of Protective Services

[30:29] dated August 4th, 2026 containing an operational update on the Williams Lake

[30:33] Fire Department's Rapid Response Crew be received for information.

[30:37] » Second. >> Moved and seconded. Uh

[30:40] Chief Dean is there, director of protective services, please.

[30:45] » Your worship, council, I realized as I was walking up here that this is maybe

[30:49] the last time I get to do this with this particular group, so

[30:52] it's been a pleasure. Thank you.

[30:56] Um I just wanted to take this opportunity, as you've seen in the

[30:58] report, to go over the just a little bit of an

[31:02] update on the Williams Lake Fire Department and the rapid response crew

[31:04] that we implemented on July 24th. Uh as you can see in the report, just as

[31:09] a reference, uh we brought it in in response to the current weather

[31:13] conditions as well as some community anxiety about some recent fires that had

[31:17] happened in the area, as well as uh resource deployment down in the Felker

[31:22] Lake fire area. Um and it yielded great results almost immediately. Uh we had

[31:29] four fires in 4 days that our crew was able to respond in about 5 minutes, uh

[31:33] which is about 7 minutes faster than our typical response time.

[31:39] Uh as you know, it's a paid on-call department, so everybody has to rush

[31:42] down to the hall from their homes or from their businesses and get in a truck

[31:45] and get over there, and having a crew on standby at the fire hall uh was able to

[31:50] expedite that significantly, which we believe saved multiple structures on

[31:56] uh numerous events. Um just for reference, in the period

[31:59] since we started that, we've already had 30 calls for service in the 18 days

[32:03] since then. Um so we've been able to do this. Um

[32:07] it's been a bit of a strain on the department, so we rejigged the model

[32:10] after about a week. Um we went away from having four people 24 hours down to now

[32:15] we have two during kind of the critical fire hours of the day, of noon to 10:00

[32:20] p.m. That's still been difficult to staff,

[32:23] but uh it's been successful, and um I just kind of wanted to share that with

[32:28] the community and have a bit of a good news story out there for Williams Lake

[32:32] Fire Department.

[32:35] » Thank you very much, uh Councillor Delaney. Before that, Mr.

[32:41] Moraca >> [clears throat]

[32:42] » and Councillor Nelson. >> Thanks, Your Worship.

[32:46] Chief Dean kind of brushed over the advantages of the

[32:50] rapid response and having their membership at the hall for these events

[32:53] and these fires. If anybody that was in the area and could see where the burn

[32:56] lines went to, they was very close and that difference of timing between what

[33:01] they would respond to from home rather than being at the hall, obviously could

[33:04] have resulted in way, way bigger substantial damage. And those those

[33:08] decisions to mobilize that model were made at the fire hall and I support that

[33:13] decision. I think it was a great one completely by the Williams Lake Fire

[33:16] Department and I think they did a fantastic job, Your Worship.

[33:19] » Thank you. I could not insist uh three days in a row

[33:26] same place. It's a sick thing.

[33:31] There's a saying way, way back actually uh one of our

[33:37] police chief said here

[33:40] at time of old council, council rather, you can give me 1,000 police officer

[33:45] and I can park them on each block of the street, I cannot assure you

[33:50] this safety of the community. The community has to police themselves.

[33:57] I'm requesting publicly to the community, keep your eyes open, please.

[34:03] Watch for your neighbor.

[34:07] That's the only way we can make sure our community's safety.

[34:13] When the Boston Pizza side got on fire my phone was ringing

[34:19] off the hook from Vancouver.

[34:25] The people was calling reference to their guest

[34:30] the owners in the hotel there.

[34:35] It's a serious matter, folks.

[34:39] We cannot ask the fire department to look after our safety. We have to.

[34:46] So, I request each and every one of you watching, listening,

[34:50] reading in the paper, or on the listening on the radio,

[34:54] please keep your eyes open and look for each other. I got counselor Nelson

[35:01] and the counselors Oh, sorry. Sorry, you're first. Counselor Delaney, and

[35:06] then Counselor Nelson, Counselor Flashford. Yes, I got you that way.

[35:11] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um I just wanted [clears throat] to say

[35:14] thank you very much for the intelligent report that was written and for having

[35:19] um the compulsion to think outside the box

[35:22] and put something together that works for our community. It's an excellent

[35:25] model. I mean, we see it in other centers, maybe not municipalities, but I

[35:29] would the fire center and having people mobile from their place of work is a

[35:33] huge, huge advantage. Um and

[35:37] the way that you've structured it, too, um takes into consideration those

[35:41] rotations so that you don't have, you know, people just around everywhere on

[35:46] standby. You actually have your crew that are allotted the time, and if

[35:50] there's something happens, they go out and they do it. We don't have people

[35:53] just waiting for a phone call. Um a whole pile of people waiting for a

[35:56] phone call. Cuz it's not awesome to be on standby, you know, cuz then you can't

[35:59] go do things, you know, you can't really leave your, you know, 20 minutes or

[36:03] whatever from where you are. So, I think this is a I think that was an awesome

[36:06] way, and I love that it hardly is costing anything extra. Like, we might

[36:10] see a little bit at the very end, but you worked within the budget that you

[36:14] were given. So, like great work. I I love it. It was awesome.

[36:18] Thank you. >> Um Counselor please.

[36:22] » I I echo my my colleague's comments. The rapid response crew that you put in

[36:27] place on July the 24th saved, in my opinion, a number of

[36:31] facilities inside this community. It was a very smart, calculated move.

[36:35] Um and highly effective. Uh so, I think that we're going to probably see some

[36:39] positive changes uh continue along that way. I think it was the right decision.

[36:44] Um we've got extreme uh fire behavior right now. The weather conditions are

[36:49] hot, they're dry, they're windy. And then you take the bozos and the idiots

[36:53] that are out there lighting the fires in these times. So, kudos to you and the

[36:57] entire fire department cuz I've seen you guys in action and it's unbelievable

[37:03] what you've done here. And I think it's great. And quite frankly, if he needs a

[37:06] little bit more money to top up in the future,

[37:09] you know where where I'm going to be supporting. I think it's just great. So,

[37:12] pass it on to the entire team. Thank you very much.

[37:14] » Councillor Fleshman, please.

[37:18] » Thank you, Your Worship. Yeah, I just want to compliment the

[37:22] organization being the fire department and um upper management um

[37:28] just the city for this work and making sure that this is happening for our

[37:32] community. You know, I know it's historical. We have done and I'm sure um

[37:37] Chief Dean would reiterate, but we've done patrols like in 2010, other years

[37:42] that have been um where there's high fire risk. There's always been such

[37:46] proactive work with Williams Lake Fire Department and I'm just so happy to see

[37:50] that continuing. This is the kind of stuff that can build

[37:54] confidence in a community because as an organization

[38:00] or as a council, if we're doing things that's creating fear in people, when we

[38:05] have the history of having to uh evacuate our whole city,

[38:11] that's not good. You do not want to create more fear in people. You want to

[38:16] work on trying to do the proactive work like this that makes the community feel

[38:21] confident in the team that we have and the work that we can do to collectively

[38:26] as an organization. So, I just think that this is amazing work. I want to put

[38:31] the the compliment and accolades to the members of the organization because I

[38:37] know that they are all with other jobs, they are all with families, and when

[38:42] they sign up to do these shifts, they're doing it off their own back and their

[38:47] own time. You know, uh so easy for us as just council members to talk so big

[38:53] about how amazing we are and what we do, but we're not the ones that's out there,

[38:58] um you know, patrolling till 10:00 at night

[39:01] or going out when putting a fire that is rapidly growing um out, and I just know

[39:07] how incredible these people are, and I'm just happy to see this work. Like you

[39:11] said, Chief Dean, this is good news um messaging, and it is because

[39:18] we want our community to feel confident, not scared that everything's going to

[39:22] burn. We want them to feel like we have this um under control, and we can pay

[39:28] attention to it. From the day that I joined the organization,

[39:32] um which was back in the late '90s, we were

[39:36] doing proactive burns at the Stampede Grounds and proactive burns in Bow

[39:40] Valley Park because people used to go and light it back then. So, I just love

[39:45] to see this continuation of this great teamwork and great positive initiatives.

[39:50] Thank you. >> Councilor Moses, thank you. Councilor

[39:53] Paisley. >> Thank you, Worship.

[39:57] Yeah, first off, thank you so much, Fire Chief, for the work that you and your

[40:00] team have continually been doing to keep our community safe.

[40:05] Uh the the points that Councilor Delaney

[40:07] made, I think, are spot-on on the the work that you're doing inside and

[40:12] outside of the box and within within a very contained budget. So, thank you so

[40:17] much for making sure that that work is being done.

[40:20] And I I also agree with Council Nelson that if our if our our team needs some

[40:25] help in the future on this topic that I'll I'll be in support of making sure

[40:29] that that you get the the

[40:33] resources the resources that that your team could would need because you're

[40:38] you're doing such a great job and we need that to continue. Um

[40:43] if anyone wants to be an extra pair of eyes to to help make sure that that our

[40:48] our community sees these faster, I recommend everyone looks into uh the

[40:52] citizens on patrol and see if you can take some time to volunteer. Uh being

[40:57] able to get get our our teams out there a few minutes faster often makes a

[41:02] really big difference. Uh so, big thank you and congratulations, Fire Chief, for

[41:07] for leading such a successful summer and keep keep going with it. Thank you.

[41:12] » Please convey our gratitude and thanks to your team, Chief.

[41:16] And um I can't say enough. Our community is so lucky to have the

[41:21] staff we have. And your dedication, your compassion,

[41:25] each and every one of you. I'm going to name very lucky.

[41:30] I want to thank from bottom of my heart to each and every one of the city staff

[41:35] and the leadership of Mr. Maraca. We're very lucky to have it.

[41:39] Reference to citizen patrol, just 35 40 year back, I was one of the person who

[41:45] started this community policing in William Wright.

[41:47] But I have never seen this many members citizen of patrol and very active.

[41:53] Congratulation to the chair, uh Bob Sunner, and the

[41:58] team members. I I really appreciate it.

[42:02] Council Moses one of them and I got another member sitting in the audience.

[42:06] Um Ruth Lloyd, thank you very much. And all the other people visiting, I will

[42:12] equally encourage, please join the session patrol. Thank you very much for

[42:16] once again, appreciate. Uh any more comment, compliment? Hearing

[42:19] none, all in favor. Thank you. Carry fire service review,

[42:24] please. >> Recommendation that pursuant to the

[42:27] report of the director of protective services dated July 21st, 2026, council

[42:31] award the contract for the fire service review, community risk assessment, and

[42:34] fire master plan to Tim Play and Associates Limited for the proposal

[42:38] price of $66,113.25,

[42:42] including applicable taxes, reflecting the city's deductive scope change issue

[42:46] during the RFP process. >> Moved and seconded. Any question,

[42:50] concern to chief? Hearing none, all in favor.

[42:55] Thank you. Thank you, chief. >> Thank you very much.

[42:57] » Appreciate it. Moving along, uh

[43:00] crematorium re-bricking award. >> Recommendation that direct that pursuant

[43:06] to the report of the municipal services coordinator dated August 4th, 2026,

[43:09] council waive the purchasing policy number 138 to approve a direct award for

[43:12] the re-bricking of the retort of the crematorium to Stingray Crematory

[43:16] Services Limited for the purchase price of $71,000

[43:19] plus applicable taxes. >> So moved.

[43:22] » Yeah, uh uh thank you. Anybody had any compliment or

[43:27] comment or question? Hearing none, I'll say a couple word.

[43:30] It's uh bypassing because there's a very limited

[43:35] people, in fact, one or two people in Western Canada, never mind in BC, who

[43:41] does this work. It's very specialized work. As most of you know, I don't uh

[43:47] like um bypassing the RFP, but this I'm in favor. The person is doing lot

[43:56] with the less money compared to what would be regular. He's making the round,

[44:02] and it's a long overdue. And uh so, I recommend the council we go through with

[44:08] the staff recommendation, even though it's moved and seconded. All in favor?

[44:13] Carried unanimously. Thank you.

[44:21] Response letter from the Minister Osborne.

[44:24] » Clerk's note that the letter from Minister Osborne dated July 14th, 2026

[44:27] in response to letter from the mayor dated February 4th, 2026 regarding

[44:31] support for ambulance paramedics of BC be received for information.

[44:34] » So moved. Moved and seconded. All in favor?

[44:39] Carried. Response letter from Minister Parmar,

[44:43] forestry is a solution. >> Clerk's note that the letter from

[44:46] Minister Parmar dated July 13th, 2026 in response to letter from the mayor dated

[44:50] March 12th, 2026 regarding support for the BC Council of Forest Industries

[44:54] Forestry is a Solution Initiative be received for information.

[44:57] » So moved. >> Second.

[44:58] » Moved and seconded. Mr. Parmar was here Friday on a quick tour along with the

[45:03] Mr. Amali. Uh he traveled pretty late night uh

[45:08] Wednesday around 11:30, 12:00 midnight. They came to see us and give us the

[45:14] update on the timber supply as well as uh the fire situation and they traveled

[45:21] back Thursday night after. It's an honor that minister the from minister time to

[45:27] time our coming minister of uh environment,

[45:31] minister of mining was here and I had a great opportunity to represent the

[45:37] community and the council. So, it's uh been an excellent that even

[45:42] the Victoria and Ottawa is listening, watching us. They know we exist.

[45:47] Um they're keeping us

[45:50] in the loop and I keep twisting their arm

[45:53] at time to time. All in favor? Thank you.

[45:58] Um proclamation, please. >> Recommendation that the list of

[46:02] recognitions provided in the uh agenda be received for information.

[46:06] » Second. >> Moved and second. Any question concern?

[46:09] Hearing none, all in favor? Carried.

[46:13] And nothing here. We'll go in camera. Nothing nothing.

[46:18] Okay, council information package. >> That the uh recommendation that the

[46:22] council information package for August 11th be received for information.

[46:26] » Second. >> Anything you wanted to bring at the

[46:28] council, Moses? >> Yes, thank you, Your Worship. There's

[46:31] two letters I would like to pull out of the package if if you allow.

[46:35] Uh the the first one is a letter from the Aboriginal Housing Management

[46:39] Association from July 17th. >> Mhm.

[46:43] » Uh the this was a request for for our council to support a motion that's being

[46:49] made at UBCM this year, and I would like to advocate on the behalf that we do

[46:54] support this motion when it happens. Uh what what is happening is that the

[46:59] Aboriginal Housing and the Friendship Centres are are uh destined to lose

[47:03] their funding in 2028, I believe it is. And what this will do is cause another

[47:09] wave of homelessness across our country, and indeed right also right here in

[47:14] Williams Lake, because that funding does affect Williams Lake directly. So I I

[47:18] just want to say that I'll I'll definitely uh individually be in support

[47:23] of this uh motion at UBCM, and I hope that our our colleagues in the room will

[47:27] also join us in that. >> Is there anything you wanted to move to

[47:30] make the special motion, anything? >> No, Your Worship.

[47:33] » Okay, fair enough. I'll be when we go to UBCM, I don't think very many council

[47:38] members are going to UBCM. Uh only two three of our four of us

[47:42] going. We will definitely be watching and we'll definitely support that, and

[47:46] you got my support. >> Thank you. And I uh the second letter

[47:48] I'd like to pull out is the letter from Billy Sheridan regarding the memorial

[47:53] complex potential renames. >> Yes.

[47:56] » Thank you, Your Worship. Um she she brings up good points that renaming the

[48:00] complex could bring the unexpected consequence of removing the memorial

[48:04] aspect of the name. And this memorial aspect is to pay respect to our to our

[48:10] veterans and our our currently serving. So, I I would like to to just make a

[48:16] simple motion that we have this letter forwarded to joint committee so that

[48:20] along with the regional district we can review these unintended consequences and

[48:25] make sure that we we move forward in a way that we continue to pay our respects

[48:30] to our veterans while also looking for opportunities for them

[48:33] » the recommendation to forward that to another problem. I moved and seconded it

[48:37] but it was a misunderstanding for as I'm concerned. There's no such thing of

[48:41] removing the name memorial but I'm not against

[48:44] » Perfect. >> what you're saying. As far as I'm

[48:46] concerned, there's nothing no discussion removing the memorial. It will never

[48:51] happen. But you moved it you seconded it. It's not your motion or seconded

[48:55] motion. It's a council motion. Now I'll take it to the motion as presented. All

[49:00] in favor. >> Wait, may may I speak to the motion?

[49:03] » Yes, please please please. >> I just want to say thank you for for

[49:06] your words of of encouragement and of of saying that that

[49:10] the memorial will not be removed. So, let's just for for the the sake of the

[49:16] motion to make sure that we make that known to the public.

[49:19] » You bet you. We will definitely take it to information. You're right. That's

[49:22] another problem. All in favor of taking it to the joint. Thank you.

[49:26] Carried. And there is no round table anything. We will be going

[49:31] in camera quickly. I just want everybody the media the

[49:36] the people know because 90 days before since 17th July there's no more round

[49:41] table till the election happen. Motion for the in camera, please.

[49:45] » So moved. >> Moved and seconded all in favor.

[49:49] So motion to adjourn regular meeting. Moved it. I need second. Move and second

[49:55] a constitutional second. All in favor. Carried. Thank you.

Regular Council - 11 Aug 2026

Transcript