[0:00] Good morning everyone and welcome to the regular meeting of city council for

[0:03] Monday August 24th 2026. The city of Dawson Creek acknowledges that we are

[0:08] privileged to live and work on treaty territory and the traditional home of

[0:11] the cre daz stoy and enslavey first nations. We value the matei peoples that

[0:17] live and gather here. We commit to upholding a respectful relationships

[0:21] these nations have built with the land and we acknowledge our responsibility to

[0:24] carry that forward today and into the future. Um, next order of business, two

[0:28] delegations, 2.1, we have Shelby Halley and Blake Johnson and Janice Anderson,

[0:33] residents of Dawson Creek in attendance, uh, for proclamation to declare

[0:38] September 2026 as craniois awareness month in Dawson Creek.

[0:44] » I didn't hear you. Sorry. >> Did I do that? All right. Don't worry,

[0:47] you'll hear it seven more times. So, yeah. Morning. Hi.

[0:52] » How are you doing? >> Good.

[0:57] I will just read this out here. Um, so craniointosis.

[1:05] Did I do good? Yeah. Awareness month. I have Janice up here not just for the

[1:08] proclamation but to help me uh with my speaking as well. So uh whereas cranio

[1:15] synitosis is a medical condition in which one one or more of the sutures in

[1:20] an infant skull close too early which may affect normal skull and brain

[1:24] growth. And whereas craniointosis affects approximately 1 in 2500 infants

[1:30] and and increased awareness can help support early recognition, diagnosis,

[1:36] treatment and family family support. And whereas early recognition and treatment

[1:40] can help reduce the risk of serious health complications including increased

[1:45] pressure inside the skull, vision problems, and learning or physical

[1:49] delays. And whereas craniointosis awareness month provides an opportunity

[1:55] opportunity to increase public understanding of this condition and to

[1:59] recognize the experience experiences of children, parents,

[2:03] caregivers, and families in our community and beyond. And whereas

[2:07] raising awareness helps promote education as well as compassion and

[2:11] support for those impacted by craniotosis.

[2:15] Um I now therefore I Darcy Dober, mayor of the city of Dawson Creek, do hereby

[2:20] proclaim September 2026 as craniosis awareness month in the city of Dawson

[2:26] Creek and encourage all citizens to join me in this worthy observance. So

[2:31] » yeah, >> great job.

[2:32] » Yeah, thank you. Unironically, the literacy society's up next.

[2:36] » Yeah, [laughter]

[2:39] » it was like a chest for me. I was [laughter] like,

[2:43] » "Here, I got you a little something." >> Oh, baby.

[2:46] » There's a little stuff in there. If you want to give one of them to your sister,

[2:49] I'll let you pick which one. And then there's some stuff in there. But do you

[2:51] want to give one of those to your sister?

[2:53] » Yeah. >> Which one do you want to give to her?

[2:58] » Say thank you. >> Thank you.

[3:00] » You're welcome. And this is for you, too.

[3:02] » Say thank you. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Was there anything that

[3:05] you wanted to say? >> Um,

[3:07] » there is a mic here. >> Okay.

[3:10] [laughter]

[3:13] » So, cranioinistosis is quite rare. Um, Blakes is the only one that we know of

[3:19] here in Dawson Creek at this point. Uh, she had sagittal cranioinistosis. So,

[3:24] her suture from her soft spot back was fused um at birth. So she has had

[3:31] surgery at 14 and a half weeks. Y >> um to remove a piece of her skull

[3:39] » and uh so she has a wide strip of her skull is missing um to allow proper

[3:44] brain brain development. Um she's doing really well. Uh she's just graduated

[3:49] from her helmet. She was in two helmets throughout the uh treatment plan. um

[3:55] kids had to make 14 roundtrip trip trip round trips to Edmonton for checkups and

[4:01] uh thank you. So yeah, so we're just uh

[4:05] hoping that to bring some awareness so that

[4:10] » um catch it early. >> Yeah. Yeah. Hers wasn't caught till 3

[4:13] months. >> Oh yeah.

[4:14] » So um yeah, the earlier the better. >> Yeah.

[4:18] » She had she was able to have the non-invasive or minimally invasive

[4:22] surgery. Um whereas the other one is they actually open their skull from ear

[4:26] to ear and remove pieces of their skull, reshaped them and put them back in.

[4:30] » Yeah. >> So thankfully she didn't have to have

[4:32] that surgery. But >> yeah.

[4:34] » Yeah. Well, thank you for coming in and thank you for like bringing attention to

[4:38] this too. I know just from Janice too like what you guys have went through and

[4:41] I could not imagine. So it's >> nice to see her on this end and so happy

[4:45] and smiling >> and a little scared of me. [laughter]

[4:50] » Yeah. >> Okay.

[4:54] You're welcome. I think we got to get a You want to get a picture? Can we get a

[4:58] picture together? >> And I will give you this to take on this

[5:09] » one00.

[5:18] » And so she she doesn't need to wear those anymore.

[5:22] August 12th was her last day. >> Oh, excellent.

[5:25] » Yeah. 6 months. Exactly. >> And then do you have to go back for

[5:28] checkups every >> uh one year posttop? So February will go

[5:31] and then go yearly until she's about five. So they can monitor

[5:34] » just to make sure it continues to like >> close up again.

[5:38] » Yeah. And then obviously like that part that they cut out will grow back over at

[5:43] one point. Yes. >> Eventually they were they basically told

[5:46] us that it should. >> Yeah.

[5:51] And then they'll just put mesh over >> that part just to protect.

[5:56] » And can I ask question? >> Yeah, go ahead.

[5:59] » Um, so is is that something when you're doing the um pre the nal appointments

[6:07] with the the doctor? That's part of the standardized screening or is that part

[6:11] of >> No, it's actually kind of a fluke thing

[6:14] that kind of happened. Um, she was breached. So I think what happened was

[6:17] then her head was at the top of the uterus. It signaled her brain to protect

[6:21] itself and closed. >> Okay.

[6:24] » Yeah. >> So,

[6:25] » is it I'm just wondering, you know, with respect to raising awareness, how do we

[6:31] » basically >> it's a simple routine thing they can

[6:33] check at. >> Now, it's going to be a little bit more

[6:36] because after her first appointment, I talked to her doctor and they put

[6:39] together a whole uh pamphlet with uh pictures and things to watch for

[6:44] » because it was the shape of her head that concerned me, but no one had ever

[6:48] heard of it or seen it. thought like, oh, her head will go back to normal,

[6:51] don't go back to normal. And it never did. So then her follow appointment was

[6:56] when it >> really became caused a concern. Her

[6:59] doctor has never seen it in Canada. >> Oh, okay. So

[7:04] cool. Well, that's

[7:08] » a picture.

[7:12] » Awesome.

[7:34] » [laughter] >> It's hard to say.

[7:37] » I know. I like

[7:42] having trouble.

[7:46] » Thanks. Nice meeting. Thank you.

[7:55] » Yeah, I'm going to ask you how to spell it. That's or

[8:01] » um All right. Uh next order business 2.2, we have Michelle Moy, executive

[8:05] director with the Dawson Creek Literacy Society in attendance regarding

[8:08] proclamation to declare September 20 26 as literacy month in Dawson Creek. So,

[8:15] » you want to just start off spelling it or is that what somebody's going to ask

[8:18] you that? So, >> could you scroll that

[8:20] » back? [laughter]

[8:26] » All right. Uh, whereas literacy month is recognized across British Columbia

[8:30] during September. And whereas literacy is essential for Canadians to succeed in

[8:34] today's complex world as it extends beyond beyond reading and writing. And

[8:40] whereas engaging children and youth in literacy programming provides the best

[8:44] possible environment for them to become lifelong learners. And whereas strong

[8:48] literacy skills are vital to Canada's social and economic development,

[8:52] offering everyone the opportunity to contribute to the education, growth, and

[8:56] prosperity of our nation as well as the well-being of our communities. And

[9:00] whereas the 2026 literacy month theme, your gift, their next chapter,

[9:05] highlights the important role that literacy and community support support

[9:10] play in creating opportunities for learning and growth. And whereas many

[9:13] organizations across British Columbia in Canada, including the Dawson Creek

[9:18] Literacy Society, demonstrate their commitment to literacy by fostering a

[9:22] culture of community- based learning. Now therefore, I, Darcy Dober, mayor of

[9:26] the city of Dawson Creek, do hereby proclaim September 26 as literacy month

[9:30] in the city of Dawson Creek and encourage all citizens to join me in

[9:34] this worthy observance. So, yeah, thanks Michelle for coming in. It's always a

[9:39] pleasure to have you here and >> always good to be here.

[9:41] » Yeah. Was there some things that you wanted to share?

[9:44] » Uh, >> or

[9:46] » yes and no. >> Okay, I'll give you that just in case

[9:48] that there's >> I don't know if I need a microphone. Um,

[9:50] but >> it's not for here. It's for those that

[9:52] are online listening. Yeah. the um September being literacy month, the

[9:58] color is purple. Our mayor remembered and [snorts] he

[10:02] wore a purple tie. And I really appreciate that because I was in a hurry

[10:06] this morning. We have five clients, uh five citizens of Dawson Creek who are

[10:12] becoming citizens of Canada this morning. So, I was in a bit of a rush

[10:16] getting out of the house. So, I appreciate that you wore some purple. Um

[10:20] just on the note of lifelong learning um if anybody is interested in knowing

[10:25] where some of our literacy gaps are here in our own community um it is with folks

[10:31] over the age of 50 60 digital literacy is huge. Everything has moved online

[10:37] your government services your applications

[10:40] and a lot of people just a don't have the skills or b don't have the

[10:44] technology. Um, so I'll leave that with you and your connections and talk about

[10:51] what you can do to help people in our community. So, thank you so much.

[10:56] » Thank you, Michelle. And not to take any credit for the purple tie, but last year

[11:00] for this proclamation, >> I just grabbed a purple tie, not

[11:04] knowing. And Michelle told me that it was that was the color. So,

[11:08] » you knew. >> Yeah. Yeah. Well, maybe I did. Yeah. So,

[11:11] today I did. I was like, "Oh, yeah. There's a color for it." I had to look

[11:14] it up. So, but um yeah, and just yeah, I thank you for what you do. I I know um

[11:20] uh this city and this council is very grateful for the literacy society and

[11:24] what you do to help those um individuals that that need the support and help and

[11:29] yeah, so just really thank you to everybody. So, you're welcome. We'll

[11:33] just sign this

[11:40] up here for a picture. I was actually thinking because this is my last

[11:47] These are the

[11:56] » Thanks so much.

[12:00] » All the best. >> Yes. Thank you very

[12:11] » um All right. Uh next 2.3 we have Taylor Mills outgoing executive director and

[12:15] Thomas Taylor the incoming executive director with the s Southpiece art

[12:20] society in attendance uh regarding annual update to council. So

[12:27] » good morning Taylor and Thomas >> morning

[12:32] had me a little bit confused with the last name

[12:35] » Thomas and then Taylor's first name. >> Lot of aliteration going on right now

[12:39] around the gallery. Yeah. [laughter] >> Uh, welcome and the floor is all yours.

[12:44] So, >> yeah, thank you very much. Um, so yeah,

[12:47] I'm Thomas Taylor. Um, for anybody that didn't know me already, uh, really happy

[12:51] to be joining the team, but yeah, I'll start um with, uh, with a message from

[12:55] our board chair here. Um, so it's, uh, Amanda Fawsome, who was just, um, voted

[13:00] in our last board meeting as the new president. Um, so as the new president

[13:04] of the South Peace Art Society, I first want to acknowledge the privilege our

[13:06] group has operating uh the Dawson Creek Art Gallery in the most iconic Green

[13:10] Elevator. Its influence and I do apologize to the farming community

[13:14] causes my daughters to call all green elevators art galleries. I personally

[13:18] know how difficult it can be uh to be an artist in this world. Uh so to live in a

[13:22] city that provides everything the Dawson Creek Art Gallery has to offer is a

[13:25] luxury that not many uh get to experience. As a board, uh we are

[13:29] continuously grateful for the city's financial generosity and encouragement.

[13:33] It helps us create opportunities for professional artists in our area and

[13:36] nurture the most important creatives, our youth. Our board is comprised of

[13:40] artists and community professionals uh with their experience on board being a

[13:45] valuable range uh from multiple years to just one month. As we say farewell to

[13:50] our previous executive executive director, Taylor Mills, we're pleased to

[13:54] introduce um our new ED, which would be myself. Uh, I encourage anyone listening

[13:58] to pop into the gallery and say hello. Lastly, I'd like to thank Tamara

[14:02] Golinsky for her past years as the board president. I fear I have some big shoes

[14:06] to fill, but thankfully she's not going anywhere. We look forward to continuing

[14:09] to serve the art community for years to come. Until next time, Amanda Fawsome.

[14:15] So, that is a message from her. Um, and then I have a message from myself as

[14:19] well. Uh, just short and sweet. I'm honored and excited to be joining the

[14:22] Southpace Art Society as the new executive director. I look forward to

[14:25] continuing uh build continue building upon and fostering the valuable

[14:30] relationships within the community and with the city of Dawson Creek.

[14:34] Um now I have just a brief overview and an intro to the gallery structure. Uh so

[14:39] what we do, we love fostering lifelong relationships with the arts and building

[14:43] artistic literacy. Um it's key to helping people love where they live and

[14:47] celebrate the beauty and depth of the Southpiece. Um and a couple categories

[14:53] that help with that. So uh the curation of exhibits uh the art gallery curates

[14:57] and displays many exhibits across the year and presents them to the public.

[15:01] Behind this is our season curator uh kit fast. Uh we have our youth programming

[15:06] sector. A variety of different youth programs are offered to the community

[15:09] serving our community's youth in an inclusive creative learning environment.

[15:12] Um Amanda Eny is uh the uh she oversees the operations um in that uh sort of

[15:19] sector. And then we have our consignment and gift shop uh which is an eclectic

[15:23] collection of mostly local regional practicing artisans and craft makers um

[15:27] that we have available for the public to see and that is overseen by uh the

[15:31] administrative assistant that we have Gwen Hawkins. And uh lastly uh we have

[15:36] our framing department uh so custom framing department assistance for the

[15:39] public and artisans alike um uh with any of their framing needs and that is done

[15:44] by page 14.

[15:49] Um, so now it's just uh some events and activities that we have uh that we had

[15:53] throughout the summer that I'm kind of just joining on to that I can speak to a

[15:57] little bit here. So we have the art auction. So art works and uh stuff like

[16:01] that that go on uh and they're bid on uh during live bidding periods. It serves

[16:05] as a major fundraiser to support our exhibitions, educational programs, and

[16:08] outreach. Um our youth membership show um that's one that I'm excited to be a

[16:13] part of coming up. It's a beautiful event where youth members from across

[16:16] the Peace region uh have their artwork on display and parents and and kiddos

[16:20] alike from all across the peace region come and see that. So that's a fun one.

[16:24] Um it's uh Indigenous Day is another one uh

[16:28] collaborative event done with the Quantis Performing Arts Center serving

[16:32] as a celebration of Indigenous Day. Um the summer membership show uh our

[16:37] members displayed a wide range of artistic practices. We're actually just

[16:40] taking it down today and transitioning into a new one, but it was beautiful. a

[16:44] great time for me to join the gallery. It was lots of really nice stuff in

[16:46] there. Um and then our artwalk expansion, so temporary pop-up exhibits

[16:51] across the Peace Region um at local businesses and partners and stuff like

[16:55] that. Uh we have exhibitions uh across the Peace Region in Dawson Creek, Fort

[17:00] St. John, Hudson's Hope, and Cetwin. And then last but not not least, we had

[17:05] Rock the Block, which we wrapped up this weekend. It was our second of two that

[17:08] we ran there. Um, and that was also in partnership with KPAC, the Quantis

[17:12] Performing Arts Center. Um, where we brought, uh, some live musicians into

[17:16] the parking lot of the art gallery and, uh, had free entry for the public and

[17:20] stuff like that. It was lots of fun. Um, that'll segue into our community and

[17:26] organizational partners that we would like to work with. Um, so the the

[17:29] gallery continues to welcome uh, and celebrate uh, all kinds of different

[17:33] collaborations within the community. Uh prominent partnerships so far this year

[17:38] um have been the Quantis Performing Arts Center, Nakin, uh the Southpace Arts

[17:42] Council, Co-op Dawson Creek, uh various local businesses uh uh participating,

[17:49] pardon me, in ArtW Walk 2026, and proudly also the city of Dawson Creek as

[17:54] well there. And then a couple highlights and

[17:57] accomplishments, the new president and uh executive director, kind of a tandem

[18:02] segue into both of us. We've got some big shoes to fill. Um but uh yeah, we're

[18:07] super excited for the opportunity to be joining the team. Um the youth

[18:11] exhibition is uh is one to highlight. We had 150 attendees this year. Um and it

[18:16] was something special from what I've heard. So yeah, like I said, I'm really

[18:19] excited to be a part of that. The city of Dawson Creek uh we were able to

[18:23] increase our funding um to support our mission to deliver arts and culture uh

[18:27] to the community in an inclusive um and welcoming sort of environment. So very

[18:31] thankful for that. And then the youth artist mentorship program, a new and

[18:36] exciting uh program that we're kind of introducing that I'm ready um to kind of

[18:40] get behind. Um but it's something to look forward to here in the future for

[18:43] us. And then uh some outlooks and priorities

[18:47] as we move deeper into 2026 and begin planning for 2027. I think the main

[18:51] focus um for us at the gallery is our youth programs and stuff like that and

[18:55] continuing to flourish in that regard. I think it's uh really important. Um and I

[19:00] think that fostering youth is fostering the future. Um and with that being said,

[19:04] I think arts and culture is uh of utmost importance in that regard. Um in terms

[19:09] of the future and what that's going to look like. So having youth uh get proper

[19:14] access to it is very important to me and important to the Southp Art Society and

[19:18] the Dawson Creek Art Gallery as a whole. And then uh we're kind of segue I'll let

[19:23] Taylor speak to this um but we're going to give a project update uh on our

[19:26] murals and stuff like that that we have throughout town.

[19:29] » Yeah. So this was really exciting. We had three murals this year. We were kind

[19:33] of behind over the past couple years. So I do apologize about that, but we should

[19:37] be back on track this year. So I'm going to highlight two of our three because

[19:41] the third one is still underway. And we'll kind of segue back to that later

[19:45] in the year once we finish it. We'll come back and chat about it and show you

[19:49] what that looks like. But at this time, we have a brand new mural on the dollar

[19:54] store with more that was done by Kaylee Oldershaw. It is up and finished and

[19:59] it's quite beautiful. It's a piece of the piece uh here in Dawson Creek and we

[20:06] collaborated with the owners to come up with the design and this is kind of what

[20:09] they came up with. Um, but if you know Kayle's pieces, she does a really great

[20:13] job with the scenery and kind of like a warm, welcoming feel. It's in a really

[20:19] nice place downtown. So, if you haven't taken a look, go down, have some

[20:22] pictures. It's quite beautiful. And then secondly, we had the CJDC TV building

[20:29] mural renovated and fixed. So, we had to pull down the wood and get that all

[20:32] done, but uh that was done by Tegan Skin. uh she is um an indigenous artist

[20:38] in the community and she focused on uh specific

[20:42] um insects and berries of the region and then specifically what she did with the

[20:47] the the wings here is that so people can stand in the center of it and get their

[20:51] picture taken. Um we've seen a lot of great comments online in regards to

[20:56] these murals and they had a very fun time doing it as well. The third mural

[21:01] that we're doing is on Iron Heads and that's going to be done by Paige Forte,

[21:05] which I'm sure you're all familiar with. It is going to have a few different

[21:10] musicians on it. So, we had to get Paige on that job because she's really good

[21:14] with doing human features. It is going to be quite lovely when it's done. We do

[21:19] promise that we're going to work very diligently to get it done before the end

[21:22] of September because the weather seems to be decent these days. Um, but just

[21:27] keeping that in mind, we should have the majority of it done or it all completed

[21:30] by the end of September. But we'll keep you updated if anything changes. Um, so

[21:34] with that being said, just with the completion of these two murals, we're

[21:38] asking for a partial release of funding to cover and pay the artists for their

[21:42] their time and their designs, which is around uh the 12,000. So 12,000 release.

[21:48] It's 20,000 for all three. The eight grand is going towards the um sorry Iron

[21:55] Heads mural, but we're asking for release of the 12 grand for these two to

[21:59] to get the payments sent out on our end. But yeah, they're quite beautiful. So,

[22:05] uh hopefully you'll see them in the walk um the mural walk that you guys have

[22:08] created. I'll send over the details so you can add them in there, some artist

[22:12] bios, their names, um and then just pictures of them as well. But they're

[22:16] quite beautiful. I think everybody in here could benefit from a butterfly sort

[22:21] of photo op there, too. So, you might as well get down there and get it done

[22:24] while you can. >> Seen councelor Parlo going up to the

[22:26] screen there. I thought he was maybe trying to get one right now.

[22:28] » Exactly. [laughter] Yeah. Spread the wings. Um, I can uh kind of come back to

[22:33] round us off. Thanks so much, Taylor. Um, uh, but, uh, now I'll just get into

[22:37] community involvement. Um, so the gallery's committed to achieving as much

[22:40] community outreach and involvement as possible. Um, so far in 2026, a few

[22:44] events to highlight uh for our community engagement include the youth membership

[22:48] show, which had a really great turnout of of people coming to it. So, that was

[22:52] really fun. Packed the art gallery by the looks of it. Um, and yeah, really

[22:56] good time. And also uh the art walk, I think uh it's a it's a really fun uh

[23:02] project that we that we have and uh I know um myself, I reside currently in

[23:07] Fort St. John, so I'm commuting for the for the work, but people in Fort St.

[23:11] John are noticing the exhibits. Uh I was in the health food store yesterday and

[23:14] it was uh it was a nice moment. There was a lot of public interaction there.

[23:17] So really proud of that. And uh yeah, and last but not least, I'll just give a

[23:22] quick thanks to the key uh funders for us. So thanks to the city of Dawson

[23:26] Creek, BC Community Gaming, and the Vancouver Foundation for 2026 for all

[23:30] your support and funding and stuff like that. And that will uh round off what we

[23:34] had for you guys today. >> Perfect. Thanks Thomas and thanks Taylor

[23:37] for presenting. And just before I open it up to council for questions, Kevin,

[23:41] on the request for release of early funds, is that something that needs

[23:46] council approval or is that No. No. Okay.

[23:51] Just thought that might be a question. Okay. Thank you. Any questions, council?

[23:56] Council McDonald. >> Uh thank you, worship. Um no questions.

[24:00] Uh I love the the two new murals. Absolutely beautiful. And uh I just more

[24:06] wanted to highlight how great it is to see an outgoing executive director here

[24:11] mentoring her successor for uh just the continued highlevel operation of the

[24:18] arts society. So Taylor, thank you for uh all your time and effort for the art

[24:23] society and really it's great to see the mentorship going on. So well done guys.

[24:27] Thank you. >> Thanks Councelor McDonald. Any other

[24:29] questions? >> No, I don't have any either. I um do

[24:33] want to just um thank you Taylor for uh the relationship's been been a been

[24:38] great since you've been here and working and just really appreciated what you've

[24:41] done um for the community and and the arts in the community. So thank you and

[24:45] uh it was nice to meet you as well, Thomas, today and look forward to um to

[24:49] the future and what that brings. So congratulations on the new role and u

[24:53] and well done presenting too. So yeah, you're welcome.

[24:56] » Thank you. >> Appreciate it. You're welcome. Thanks.

[24:58] Have a nice day. >> You as well.

[24:59] » Thank you.

[25:03] All right. Next, uh, three is the 2026 strategic priority chart. Uh, no update,

[25:09] Sarah. Any questions? Anything from you, Kevin, on that? No. Okay. Uh, four. Any

[25:15] no late items? Uh, five. Any new counselor business?

[25:23] No. All right. Uh, next.

[25:26] » Sure. I'll go. >> Oh, go ahead, Councelor McDonald.

[25:29] » Uh, thank you, worship. just like to highlight that uh this coming weekend

[25:33] will be the uh B Creek Chamber of Commerce uh charity golf tournament

[25:38] raising funds for uh for the chamber. So they continue their hard work here. So I

[25:44] uh congratulate them. Uh organizing a golf tournament is never easy and uh

[25:49] they did it in a very quick efficient manner.

[25:53] Thank you. Um, and yeah, so if uh anybody out there is looking to golf

[25:58] this weekend, I know they're still looking for some teams.

[26:00] » Thanks, Council McDonald. Anything else? No. All right. Next, uh,

[26:05] six, adoption of minutes 6.1 public hearing minutes from August 10th, 2026

[26:10] for adoption. Councelor Kemp, second, Councelor Earl. All in favor?

[26:16] Opposed? It's carried. All in favor?

[26:22] I was getting back to my older routines when I thought I seen somebody pushing a

[26:26] button. I'm like, "Oh, where's the screen?" Um, next 6.2 minutes of the

[26:30] regular meeting of council held on August 10th, 2026 for adoption.

[26:34] Councelor McDonald, second councelor Kemp. All in favor?

[26:40] It's carried. Any business arising?

[26:45] Uh, next correspondence. Uh, 8 8.1. We have email from Crystal Hardy, president

[26:50] of Dawson Creek Kodiaks, um, received on August 10th, 2026, regarding

[26:57] a request for swim passes uh, for o August 24th to 28, 2026.

[27:06] » Councelor McDonald. >> Thank you, Worship. I'd like to move

[27:09] that we grant the request for 120 complimentary swim passes for the Kodiak

[27:14] Saki tournament. >> Thanks, Council McDonald. Second,

[27:17] councelor Sednik. discussion. >> Um, as always, just want to confirm that

[27:22] this is within our uh our grant fund still

[27:29] and sorry through you your worship. >> I hit the button.

[27:34] » Yeah, you're on when the buttons. >> Oh, okay. Sorry. My first uh meeting

[27:38] here at the new location. So, I can um confirm that remaining in the city

[27:45] council's grant budget is $3,900. Uh 68% of the current grant budget has been

[27:51] used and the estimated cost we sorry I just need to find the email

[27:58] is um just under $700. >> That's if they're all used, right? We

[28:03] reconcile after the fact. >> Correct. And we will um they would

[28:07] typically when we do this um they're eligible for only the span of the event.

[28:14] Um so they would be eligible for this week barring that the pool is closed on

[28:19] Friday. Um so we would track the usage over the four days and um only the

[28:24] amount that is used will get charged against your grants budget and we do

[28:27] often find that um typically they do come in less than what is projected.

[28:35] » Yeah. I guess the other thing to um because the event started today is that

[28:41] allow city the city team enough time to get them printed and get them over

[28:45] there? I would probably defer that to

[28:49] » Yeah. Okay. >> Ryan.

[28:52] » Thank you, Coun. Thanks, Melissa. Councelor,

[28:55] » uh, thank you, worship. Just one or two, uh, questions through to staff. Number

[28:58] one, is this, um, a new request or did we get it? Okay, so it's new. Um, and

[29:05] then I guess a thought and and as someone who's outgoing, I maybe

[29:10] making work for the next guys, but uh as we get these these uh requests for inind

[29:19] recreation access,

[29:23] um it might be worth looking at a policy whereby we split this off from actual

[29:28] grants, which is dollars going out the door versus something that yes, we need

[29:33] to put a number to it because there is a cost, but we um

[29:40] it it's it's it's different from a grant. It's different than us handing

[29:44] somebody a check. Um, and it might be worth having a separate

[29:51] uh line item for grant requests of this nature because

[29:56] they are essentially inind donations of access to city facilities that are

[30:02] already operating with an existing base co. you know, it doesn't cost us to send

[30:10] 50 extra people to the pool what it would be if we were sending out

[30:15] giving out a check for $700. Um, and just that given that these requests are

[30:22] becoming more numerous and that they do seemingly add value to the events, uh,

[30:28] it might be worth looking at a different stream um, for requests like

[30:35] this. But that's just a thought for uh future council to maybe pick up.

[30:39] » Thanks, [snorts] councelor. Just to comment on it um being a new request,

[30:43] it's also wasn't um this event wasn't held in Dawson Creek before. Well, it

[30:48] was and then it went to our neighbors in Tumblr Ridge for a few years and it's

[30:52] back here. So, any other comments? No. Okay, I'll call this to vote. All in

[30:57] favor? It's carried.

[31:01] Uh 8.2, 2. We have email from Taylor Sims, executive assistant, city of Fort

[31:05] St. John, received on August 13th, 2026, regarding a request for letter of

[31:10] support the aquatics facility and fieldhouse project. Councelor Parslo.

[31:16] » Yeah, I'd like to speak about this uh this one.

[31:20] » Receive discussion. >> So, yeah. Okay. Receive discussion if

[31:24] you like. >> Second, councelor.

[31:27] [laughter] >> All in favor?

[31:31] It's denied. No, I'm just kidding. [laughter] I'm kidding. It's carried.

[31:36] » So, um, this may be just a a little of my personal quirks, but, um, I I'm

[31:44] looking at this as very similar to when people hand me a petition to sign.

[31:52] Um, I don't sign petitions if I don't understand what

[31:59] is really planned. Um, and sometimes the people giving me a

[32:05] petition sheet don't know either. And so I'm inclined to suggest that uh because

[32:12] this is a a the scope of this project and the cost

[32:16] of this project, the scheduling of this project um is there's so much discussion

[32:24] about it. I really don't know what is what is right and what is wrong. What

[32:29] are what are we supporting? It's if you if you are comfortable with

[32:34] supporting a sort of a a general thing. We plan on building a new swimming pool

[32:42] and and a sports stuff. Um then Ryan, you can do that. But I'm not comfortable

[32:47] supporting things that I don't understand the scope and and cost of and

[32:53] and u so I would suggest that we invite them uh city of Fort St. John to give a

[33:00] presentation to this council. Um I believe they did give one to the

[33:04] regional district. So I'd like to move that we invite representatives of the

[33:09] city of Fort St. John to give a presentation to us about the project and

[33:14] be prepared to answer some questions. Thank you.

[33:17] » Second councelor Sudnik. Any I guess was there any discussion on the first? Well

[33:24] well just if there's discussion now there can be. So go ahead, councelor.

[33:29] » Um, thank you, worship. I I guess um my my concern is more with the nature of

[33:37] the letter they're ask. Is this just a generic open-ended letter of endorsement

[33:41] for the project? I I don't see the letter being addressed to anyone. We're

[33:45] just sending them back a letter saying we support it that they can then

[33:49] presumably turn around when they apply for grants or apply for anything else

[33:54] » and say we've got which I I mean once again if I I guess more information

[34:01] as to councelor Parel's point would be helpful but generally speaking we don't

[34:07] have we ever been asked to issue a letter of this now usually when someone

[34:10] comes to us asking for a letter of support it's for a specific grant or a

[34:13] specific initiative or going to a specific person in government. Um

[34:18] whereas this is just kind of an open-ended endorsement for something.

[34:22] That's my point. support.

[34:26] » Well, I I I understand what we're supporting, but once again, it's what is

[34:30] the I mean, not to be uh uh

[34:36] mercenary about this because it's obviously we all rise as a region and

[34:41] fall as a region, but there are times when

[34:45] uh we do compete for resources as well, whether it's from the provincial

[34:50] government, from some sort of grant provider. Um, and are we in a

[34:56] unintentionally going to put ourselves in position where we're competing for a

[35:00] grant against a project we've given an open-ended endorsement to.

[35:04] Um, and once again, I I don't, you know, generally speaking, this is a

[35:11] a project that's obviously near and dear to the people of Fort St. John or some

[35:15] people in Fort St. John and they're very passionate about it. But

[35:19] it would be I think useful to have that conversation. But also if if they were

[35:25] looking for a specific letter for a specific reason as opposed to just

[35:29] something that five years from now they can still trot out and say well we've

[35:33] got the endorsement of the city of Dawson Creek irrespective of how the

[35:36] circumstances may change. I that's my my reservation I guess.

[35:44] Yeah. Thanks councelor. Yeah, I don't know the question if

[35:47] there's any risk. I don't know if there would be having we haven't had to do

[35:50] this before, but >> I don't know. I mean, in support of the

[35:55] project, it's great for the region and it's also, I believe, just sitting on

[35:59] the regional district board, I've um had a bit of the presentation, but it is

[36:03] going to referendum this fall, too. So, it'll be a lot more um clear on which

[36:09] direction that's going after that. But yeah, I don't know if you want to add

[36:12] anything, Kevin. >> Uh three worship. just going to add that

[36:15] um we sought a letter of support from the

[36:19] city of Fort St. John regarding our water security project and we went and

[36:22] made a presentation able to answer questions and they were able to provide

[36:27] that letter. So I think you know to to be fair to what councelor Parzo is

[36:31] saying I don't think that's a bad thing. It enables questions. It's not that we

[36:34] don't support it but I think it's it's helpful to have uh that information and

[36:38] and that opportunity to ask those questions.

[36:40] » Yeah. and very clear in their letter too. If you need more information,

[36:43] there's two individuals to request. So, yeah, I think they're offering through

[36:47] the letter to come. So, yeah. Okay. Any other discussion? I'll call that motion

[36:53] to vote. All in favor? It's carried. Uh, next 8.3 we have letter from Caitlyn

[36:59] Tribel, artistic director with the Dawson Creek Coral Society, received on

[37:03] August 18th, 2026 regarding a request for letter of support for the BC Gaming

[37:08] Capital Projects grant application.

[37:12] » Councelor, >> uh, thank you worship. I will move that

[37:16] we provide the requested uh, letter of support.

[37:19] » Thanks, Councelor. Second, councelor McDonald. Discussion.

[37:23] Call this to vote. All in favor? It's carried.

[37:29] Uh, next nine reports. 9.1 we have report number 26-128 from the human

[37:34] resource manager regarding a recruitment selection and employment equity policy.

[37:46] » Councelor Parsaw, I just need some guidance on procedure here. there's a

[37:50] list of policies um

[37:54] and um I don't wish to be an impediment uh but there's I think uh I there's some

[38:03] questions I have particularly around the first policy which might impact

[38:08] discussion so >> do you want to just make a motion for

[38:11] discussion >> I'll make a motion for discussion then

[38:14] » second council McDonald all in favor it's carried

[38:19] Go ahead, councelor Parslo. >> Okay.

[38:26] Um, I want to start off by saying obviously a great

[38:31] deal of thought and work's gone into this and this is not some of this stuff

[38:38] how it's interpreted um is often very interest. I really want

[38:44] to focus on the first policy, recruitment, selection and employment

[38:47] equity. Um

[38:52] I know some employers and I'm not saying this is the city of Dorson

[38:56] are often charged with reverse discrimination.

[39:01] Um and by that I think people mean uh that uh generally mean the way way I

[39:10] interpret it is white males often are put at a disadvantage because of their

[39:17] gender and ethnicity. Um so if I read this um policy and I

[39:26] want to focus um on some specific centers uh

[39:34] sections of this policies I don't know quite [clears throat] what they mean. So

[39:38] let's just start off with 5D under meritbased selection.

[39:46] Um D reads the city will select candidates based on then D capacity to

[39:53] perform the requirements of the position.

[39:59] Uh do would you care to expand what is meant by that and what is include might

[40:05] be included?

[40:10] » Go ahead >> through your worship.

[40:15] Uh so the capacity to perform the requirements of the position is uh

[40:20] refers to a person's um

[40:30] I apologize clearly I'm struggling with words this morning. Um, essentially we

[40:35] want to ensure that whoever we hire to do this is the person who is going to be

[40:38] able to take on the full scope of the work uh at a full-time uh or part-time

[40:45] depending on how it's posted um in a in uh in [clears throat] that role uh long

[40:51] term. So that refers to not just the skills, not just the qualifications, but

[40:56] their overall ability to uh complete the work long term

[41:00] » fulfill it. So if I >> Yeah, go ahead.

[41:03] » So would that include um

[41:07] uh if a job may require um some time extra time or dealing with

[41:14] emergencies being able to work at the weekend?

[41:19] » Yep. >> So how does that impact

[41:23] inversely a female with young children?

[41:28] Uh I think that um that is a nuanced

[41:35] uh and uh sometimes quite complicated issue uh that we are re-evaluating our

[41:40] approach to um regularly as it comes up. But essentially it boils down to um we

[41:47] have a requirement as as an employer um to

[41:53] uh to the point of undue hardship to accommodate

[41:58] that type of thing. Um, now if we have a uh if we have a job where we might

[42:04] require somebody to be working outside of school hours, for example,

[42:10] um we would address any concerns that a

[42:15] person may have around child care, um getting kids to and from school, all of

[42:20] that sort of thing. um through our uh flexible work uh arrangements policy uh

[42:27] that allows us to support folks who might have some of those concerns by

[42:33] adjusting some of their work hours to be able to still get their work done. Um

[42:38] most commonly what it looks like is we might shift someone's working hours to

[42:41] start after 9:00 a.m. so that they can drop their kids off. Um that sort of

[42:46] thing. But ultimately uh if it is a requirement of the job that a person is

[42:51] available on Saturdays to run certain programming or something like that for

[42:55] example, we need to know that the person hired for the position will be able to

[42:58] do that. Um and if there are some concerns as far as the um

[43:06] uh the childcare aspect in particular, which is a specific area where we are we

[43:10] are um >> would in 5D would a determination of

[43:17] their physical capacity to engage in lifting?

[43:21] » Yep. that be judged? Would you would judgments be made

[43:26] u just based upon an interview or what do what would you be based upon if if a

[43:32] job required uh heavy lifting?

[43:37] » Yeah, you bet. through your worship. Um we uh when we go through our recruitment

[43:42] process, we uh ask um our candidates whether they meet the minimum

[43:50] requirements of the job, which does include having physical agility um in

[43:55] order to meet job requirements. Some have higher requirements than others,

[43:58] obviously. Um, and we uh we do not uh just trying to

[44:09] think if before I make a blanket statement. Outside of our firefighters,

[44:13] we do not have physical testing before um before giving people uh a job offer.

[44:21] Um but it does often again come up through um accommodation requests if

[44:25] someone has injured themselves or something like that. uh and we work with

[44:29] someone at that point but not not during the recruitment process uh other than as

[44:33] I said the firefighters. >> I I recognize

[44:38] the word that you use the word nuanced. I know and I respect that it is this is

[44:44] very difficult stuff um administering it. Just moving on to

[44:49] sit C, removing barriers that may disadvantage

[44:54] under representative groups. Um,

[45:02] what sort of things are you referring to? What barriers would there be for

[45:09] um

[45:13] I know language might be or the use use of the English language might be a a

[45:20] barrier but I'd be interested in how you mitigate that. Um

[45:27] um but uh what other barriers are there besides language? of course uh through

[45:32] your worship. The um the primary areas where we really start um looking at um

[45:40] removing barriers are around um driver's licenses and criminal records checks.

[45:47] Those are the the two primary areas where um we really evaluate does this

[45:53] need to be in here or does it not need to be in here? Do we genuinely need

[45:57] someone to have a driver's license because we may be keeping a whole

[46:00] section of the uh population? Um we may be putting a barrier up to allow them to

[46:06] apply on a job. Um because realistically you

[46:10] may not need to have a license for that job. Criminal record checks is another

[46:13] area. Um and that is one that is really uh you get a lot of pressure from um

[46:22] uh federal provincial um uh regulation

[46:27] to ensure that you are not throwing up again barriers in the way. Do we need to

[46:32] have a criminal record check for this position? And there's a whole uh

[46:36] checklist essentially or flowchart that you go through. Does it do this? Does it

[46:40] work with the public? Does it work with vulnerable peoples? Is it uh a position

[46:44] of authority over others? And um so we uh where this most often comes up is

[46:49] when we work with um our unions to evaluate our jobs and we'll sit down and

[46:55] say, "Okay, are the requirements of this job um being set in a way that are

[47:00] preventing people who would do a really good job of doing it just because they

[47:05] got in a bar fight 20 years ago or just because they only have their learner's

[47:10] license." Uh those are the two biggest areas and while we do look at it u kind

[47:14] of in other areas um around experience and that sort of thing. Does this job

[47:18] really require experience? Uh it's an entry-level job. Why are we expecting

[47:23] four years of experience for an entry- level job? Um the the primary areas

[47:28] where we look at it though are around the um driver's licenses and and the

[47:32] criminal record checks.

[47:38] somewhere in this policy. I I have another reference. I wanted voters, but

[47:44] you talk about I think correct me if my interpretation is a misrepresentation

[47:51] that we want to have a workforce that represents

[47:55] mirrors the composition of this community.

[47:59] Does that mean we're going to have a quot system? What does it mean?

[48:05] [clears throat] >> Pardon me. through your worship. Uh what

[48:07] that means is that if we are doing our jobs correctly during the recruitment

[48:10] process, um which includes things like removing some of those barriers, which

[48:15] includes things like posting jobs in places that you might not think of, um

[48:20] particularly places where um folks who [sighs] um come from less

[48:28] well-represented groups might find them easier. If we are doing all of the

[48:32] things that we should be doing, then our um workforce should very closely mirror

[48:39] the makeup of our uh community. >> So, we're not having a quota system.

[48:45] » Not absolutely not. No. >> 8B.

[48:48] Something I don't understand. It may be my

[48:52] last question.

[48:56] insured candidates are not excluded due to barriers related to disability which

[49:01] I understand or other protected grounds. What does that those words protected

[49:08] grounds mean? Uh so protected grounds uh falls under

[49:14] both the Canada apologies through your worship um the uh through both the uh

[49:21] federal and uh the provincial human rights code and

[49:26] um

[49:32] I guess I'll I'll relate a little story uh to to illustrate this. Um we have um

[49:40] someone who's a CEO in our region uh who once had a chat with me about having um

[49:46] an interview in it must have been the 80s or 90s with um with a trans

[49:52] individual and how that was new ground for them at that point. It it certainly

[49:58] wasn't as uh visible or or as accepted as it is now. and how they sat down and

[50:04] they had a talk ahead of time about how they were going to approach it to ensure

[50:09] that they weren't just being uh biased against this person because they had um

[50:15] they were visibly visibly different from what what they expected uh that person

[50:20] to look like. And uh that's essentially what this boils down to is we have um a

[50:27] significant number of things that are are protected. Uh sex, age, religion,

[50:31] country of origin. Um there's a whole list and we need to be doing whatever we

[50:37] can to ensure that none of those factors are considered during the recruitment

[50:42] process. We do that through through a few

[50:45] different things. um primarily through our um interview process being very

[50:52] transparent. We always have the same questions for everyone. They are um

[50:57] they're rated on a on a scale where we weight different questions heavier

[51:00] depending on how important they are. And then we also have a section where we're

[51:04] like this is what a good answer should tell you. so that we can be very

[51:07] consistent with um with our recruitment process and ensuring that we are basing

[51:13] it on the person's skills and abilities and not you know their family life or

[51:19] their first language. >> So

[51:23] thank you. Yes, I I as soon as you started illustrating protected grounds,

[51:28] I began to my mind was not embracing that, but I I do embrace

[51:36] th those part those principles embedded in protected grounds for sure.

[51:42] So if I'm, you know, if I'm uh let's say in need of work and

[51:49] I uh I personally apply to the city, you're saying that um I would be

[51:56] considered equitably be there would be no seniors discrimination,

[52:02] no race discrimination, no religion, no disability stuff. It's

[52:08] an equal How does one

[52:13] this I think the city's been accused by some people very unfairly. Um

[52:21] [snorts] uh and I'm just going to say it but uh I'm just and then then asked a

[52:26] question you know it's like an old boy club. Well it's not old boys let's say

[52:31] old boys and old girls club. How does one guard against

[52:36] inherent bias? I mean I I hated recruiting. I have strong

[52:44] biases, you know. Um uh I just mean it's uh explicit. If

[52:50] someone came in into to be a administrator in my school district

[52:56] wearing a nose ring, they may as well turn around, right? They're the old

[53:01] days. Now it wouldn't it wouldn't bother me. We all have biases. Some of them are

[53:06] ridiculous. Some of them are cultural. Um, so is there a team approach to

[53:12] recruiting? It's can you can you paint a picture how you go about recruiting for

[53:19] let's say a just a regular position in the city?

[53:22] » Absolutely. Uh through your worship uh it's uh bias is inevitable. Everyone is

[53:29] biased in some way. Um sometimes you're aware of what your biases are, sometimes

[53:34] you're not aware of what your biases are. Um something that I work with um my

[53:38] team on and with the managers on is there's a

[53:43] a little dated but very educational um bias testing center put out by I

[53:53] you have caught me flatfooted here but I'm pretty sure it's it's Harvard um

[53:58] where you can go through and take different tests and it'll tell you how

[54:01] biased you are in these different areas. Um

[54:05] and then uh an area where I I particularly do this is um before

[54:10] interviewing um in some of our investigations uh

[54:16] we sit down as a team and we say okay what are our biases? This is we're not

[54:22] here to judge each other's biases here. We're here to identify the biases and

[54:26] then say okay here's here's something where I know I might be biased.

[54:31] Uh, I don't like the color purple and this person's hair is purple, for

[54:36] example. Well, how am I going to um deal with that? The number one is

[54:42] being aware of it. Number two is being prepared for it. Um,

[54:48] and then it really comes down to ensuring that you have multiple people

[54:51] involved at every step. Um at the uh at the unionized level we have

[55:00] always the manager and generally the supervisor as well. If not they'll pull

[55:04] in another manager to be there for the interviews. For um management we always

[55:10] have at least two managers there. And then uh it's just a matter of making

[55:15] sure that everyone realizes that it's part of their job to

[55:19] call it out if they're seeing an issue. say, "Oh, I don't think you're giving

[55:23] this person a fair shake because what about this, this, this, and this?" And

[55:27] um I think the the main thing that really helps with that for us and our

[55:31] team is just that constant um touching base with everyone. How are you feeling

[55:35] about this? Have you thought about this? Hey, let's talk about bias again. I know

[55:39] that you guys just heard from me not too long ago about it, but let's talk about

[55:43] it again. Uh and I think that that our um well I know that our managers uh work

[55:49] very hard to ensure that they are making uh what Devon always likes to call the

[55:53] right choice not the easy choice when it comes to um some of our recruitment uh

[55:58] decisions. >> Thanks councelor Parslo. Thanks Lisa.

[56:02] Any other questions discussion? No.

[56:08] Right. Anybody like to >> um I have a question. I I looked through

[56:13] the entire report and I couldn't find one um mention of it but it's something

[56:16] I wanted to gauge whether it's on your radar as we are uh crafting these new

[56:22] policies uh the use of AI in the application process and how are you

[56:27] screening for that and what are you doing to ensure that

[56:31] you're not getting 100 applications written by somebody's computer.

[56:39] Well, um, through your worship, I would say that we, uh, don't

[56:46] » I I'm biased against it. So, >> currently, um,

[56:51] but really where a lot of this stuff comes out is in the interview, right? We

[56:56] do 90% of our interviews in person. Um, and the ones that we do online as well,

[57:03] they're very conversational. It's not like we we tend to focus on um comp

[57:10] competency based questions. So, it's not like they can just look up what the

[57:13] right answer is because they have to talk to us about um their experiences

[57:17] within their career and and how they've managed to deal with certain problems or

[57:21] issues as they arose. Um will we have to become more stringent in the future?

[57:26] Likely. Uh but uh currently it's not something that's really shown up as an

[57:32] issue for us at this point. Thank you. >> Thanks, councelor. Any other discussion?

[57:37] » No. Anybody like to move for a recommendation?

[57:42] » Councelor Parlo. Thank you. >> I'd like to move that report number

[57:46] 26-128 from the human resources manager

[57:50] recruitment selection employment equity policy be received. Further, council

[57:55] approved the recruitment selection and employment equity policy as presented in

[57:59] this report pending the required 30-day review period. Further that the hiring

[58:05] hiring personnel policy hiring hiring of staff policy and hiring dash you call

[58:11] employment opportunity opportunity policy be rescended. And finally, the

[58:17] hiring guidelines for hiring policy and hiring induction of a new employee

[58:22] policy be rescended and verted into administrative procedures.

[58:26] » Thanks, Councelor Parslo. I have a second. Councelor McDonald. Any

[58:29] discussion? I'll call this to vote. All in favor?

[58:33] It's carried. Just going to take a quick break here.

[58:38] Uh I'd like to call a regular council meeting for Monday, August 24th. Back to

[58:42] order. Next order business is 9.2. We have report number 26-145 from the

[58:46] general manager of major infrastructure and development uh regarding the water

[58:51] supply system project phase 2 planning and recommendations.

[58:56] » Councelor McDonald. >> Thank you worship. I'd like to move that

[58:59] report number 26-145 from the general manager of major

[59:02] infrastructure and development regarding water supply system project phase 2

[59:07] planning and recommendations be received for discussion.

[59:10] » Thank you councelor McDonald. Second, councelor Kemp. All in favor?

[59:15] It's carried. Anybody?

[59:23] » Councilor McDonald. >> Uh, thank you, worship.

[59:27] Um, it's a great report. Um, the thoughts,

[59:33] the insights into it are extremely strong.

[59:37] Um just on a a high level first impression reading the report and

[59:43] breaking up uh phase 2 into A and B. Um,

[59:51] I wonder as you acknowledged in there that it is

[59:56] going to put us possibly behind when it comes to

[1:00:02] um possible grants, funding, etc.

[1:00:07] Um, was that built into your cost

[1:00:11] projections that we received last council meeting as well?

[1:00:20] So through your worship, council McDonald, uh I don't believe I had any

[1:00:25] cost projections last council for the phase 2 A 2B.

[1:00:29] » Sorry, I meant the overall. >> The overall? Yeah, I don't believe so.

[1:00:35] Breaking the phases into phase 2 A and 2B should not change our grant funding

[1:00:42] um opportunities. What it's going to do though likely with the 2A is uh we're

[1:00:48] going to miss some environmental timing windows which means it'll push some of

[1:00:52] the field work. What we've done in 2A essentially is taken all of the field

[1:00:55] work and the site work and moved it all the geo the the technical work and moved

[1:01:02] it to a following year. Our concern as staff, my concern was that I didn't want

[1:01:07] to go down too far down a path of of carrying all these options and doing a

[1:01:11] lot of technical work on all these different routes because we've we've

[1:01:14] narrowed it down to three different options when we don't quite know where

[1:01:18] we're going to get to yet. >> Mhm.

[1:01:20] » So, our feeling strongly and the consultant team um generally feel that

[1:01:25] that we can comfortably put that forward and carry those risks and we'll manage

[1:01:31] those when we get there. Um and it and it won't it won't hurt us too much on

[1:01:35] the on the front end right now when we've talked about the most important

[1:01:38] thing right now is is really refining down to that finding that final solution

[1:01:44] and that starts with a lot of conversations.

[1:01:47] But is finding that final solution going to be contingent on a lot of that

[1:01:53] technical work, actual routing investigation where we get on the ground

[1:02:00] looking at each route thoroughly um with the professionals, the engineers, etc.

[1:02:06] Um, so are are we going to be delayed in

[1:02:10] making that final decision that way or are we hoping just through phase 2 a

[1:02:16] that'll narrow down from three to maybe two or 3 to one or

[1:02:23] » without having the the true technical side of the information?

[1:02:28] » Yeah, absolutely. Uh I don't believe we'll be able to get to a single

[1:02:31] solution without that final fieldwork, >> right? Um,

[1:02:35] but I believe as I mentioned in the report, I think we can go a long ways

[1:02:38] with the work that we're doing. And the reason that I recommended the the

[1:02:42] recommendation number two as it stands is because it it sits as a strong middle

[1:02:46] ground. I understand recognizing the the capital funding that we have um and the

[1:02:51] capital reserves that we have. This gives council a way to move the project

[1:02:56] forward and set up next council and move the project forward decently well

[1:03:01] without spending a lot of money. Uh if we wanted to do all the fieldwork now I

[1:03:09] didn't put this recommendation in the report but you're looking at probably

[1:03:13] 900 900,000. So, we felt there was a strong balance

[1:03:17] here of some cash to keep the project going, but also we recognize that we do

[1:03:22] need to have those conversations and find those partners and there's there's

[1:03:26] a lot of value in doing that and we can likely the risks that we would be

[1:03:31] pushing further in the project should not be as um negative if we if we keep

[1:03:38] going at this time. Does that make sense?

[1:03:42] » And just one more. So, sorry. Um just you know mentioning that we're looking

[1:03:47] at possibly you know just short of a million dollars for the cost on the

[1:03:51] technical um groundwork to be done. As we've seen so often in the last four

[1:03:59] years every time we hesitate and wait to do something the inflationary costs grow

[1:04:04] and grow. Is there any worry about that? that if

[1:04:08] we wait another year, 900,000 turns into 1.1 now and we're at 200,000.

[1:04:15] » Yeah. Uh there there's value in that. There's that's a a great point. Um

[1:04:22] my biggest concern right now is is trying to make sure that we're we're

[1:04:26] taking the time to do it right. I don't think uh we're definitely not slowing

[1:04:31] down by any means. We will be moving quickly. the first seven months in that

[1:04:35] first phase that feasibility study uh we crashed the schedule and hit it real

[1:04:40] hard. Uh so now as about I think this next phase 2A is going to take some time

[1:04:46] because it is all about those getting those those people together in those

[1:04:49] rooms the nations the um interested parties the industry industry parties

[1:04:54] and also uh members of council and chiefs and council and that that is

[1:05:00] going to take a good solid part of the winter. Now, there is some environmental

[1:05:05] sighting eroding work we can do, but again, if we have these conversations

[1:05:09] and we are able to narrow even further, I'm really cognizant of of not doing

[1:05:14] work that's unnecessary. As I've heard from our council, we need

[1:05:19] to we need to balance the costs and I I felt that this was a strong balance on

[1:05:23] that. Meanwhile, also in the report, my understanding is if it comes through as

[1:05:28] recommended, uh staff will be hitting the ground hard trying to find that

[1:05:33] funding, external funding as soon as possible. So hopefully we won't need to

[1:05:37] expend the full 500,000 before we find a funding partner to to assist us with the

[1:05:42] planning process. >> Okay, perfect. I just want to state that

[1:05:46] I appreciate we are taking the time to do this,

[1:05:50] right, Devin? um there's a lot of thought and um planning etc going into

[1:05:56] this and I totally respect it. I was just curious on that

[1:05:59] » and as I mentioned if the full there is a larger phase 2A it does not include 2B

[1:06:04] you're looking at 900,000 for that larger and that will include

[1:06:08] environmental timing work that we would be doing immediately to try to hit that

[1:06:12] window this fall. Whereas, if this 500,000 that we've requested in the

[1:06:17] recommendations, that would likely be pushed until council were to make

[1:06:20] further decisions later in the spring when we have more information available

[1:06:24] to us and we may have possibly narrowed even more options at that time.

[1:06:29] » Okay. Thank you, worship. >> Thanks, Council McDonald. Go ahead,

[1:06:31] councelor. >> Uh, thank you, worship. So, that 900,000

[1:06:35] you just cited was not the cost for uh phase 2b. It would be the cost for an

[1:06:39] expanded phase 2a. >> Yes. Um, I guess I'll go through this is

[1:06:44] I had a a larger 2A that was involved in this that that the project team had put

[1:06:48] together. We had reduced the scope because the 900,000 seemed a little too

[1:06:52] much for where we're at, our capital, water reserves, things like that. We

[1:06:56] wanted to provide something to council that we felt was a strong balance as I

[1:06:58] mentioned. Um, the 900,000 would include some some highly specific site work and

[1:07:04] technical work and routing work. And do we have a price tag for 2B?

[1:07:11] » Not at this time. >> Not at this. But we're guessing that

[1:07:14] would be the more costly of the two simply because of the technical and on

[1:07:18] the ground. >> 2B would be a continuation of 2A and it

[1:07:21] would come from those after those discussions. We've had those engagement

[1:07:26] discussions we've narrowed down to only a few options. Mhm.

[1:07:29] » And 2B we our feeling is that by the end of 2B we would have we would be at a

[1:07:35] spot where we would have one single solution.

[1:07:37] » Okay. And it's not advisable to do them in tandem just because we still have to

[1:07:42] do the stakeholder engagement with various partners on the front end. So

[1:07:47] spending that money investigating options that may not be viable based on

[1:07:52] those conversations might as well split them apart and keep

[1:07:57] it until after the fact. The biggest risk to the city is that carrying

[1:08:00] multiple options through um heavy intensive investigation because there's

[1:08:05] archaeological reviews, there's environmental reviews, there's a lot of

[1:08:08] permitting and regulatory reviews. It can become very expensive very quickly.

[1:08:12] » Okay? >> So, the conversation is we need to

[1:08:14] balance that with with trying to narrow down. There's nothing wrong with having

[1:08:17] a couple options. A couple options is good. Uh but if we can get down to only

[1:08:23] a few from the ones we have, that would be even better.

[1:08:28] Okay.

[1:08:31] Um, [clears throat]

[1:08:34] I think that was was my chief uh is yeah, just making sure that we're

[1:08:40] I mean, I guess if if I want to play devil's advocate for someone out there

[1:08:45] uh looking at this conversation who maybe is

[1:08:49] opposed to who who thinks the need for a new water source is overblown and um

[1:08:57] that we're uh we're overshooting the mark and

[1:09:02] we just need to build another reservoir or what have you. Um, seeing us move

[1:09:07] forward in this kind of incremental phase

[1:09:11] may not be perceived as us being cautious. It may be more a matter of,

[1:09:17] you know, incrementally you get so far down the rabbit hole that you have to

[1:09:22] continue with it. you know, we're we're um walking ourselves into a situation we

[1:09:27] can't back out of because the sunk costs are going to be such that

[1:09:32] um you know, you have to keep moving forward. Um and I don't believe that,

[1:09:37] but I could imagine there might be some people out there who are going to watch

[1:09:40] this who will think that is as as this is how big expensive projects get

[1:09:47] » the multiplex. >> Yeah. as councelor Parsov all people

[1:09:50] would know um as you ferry these large projects get them to the point of no

[1:09:56] return so that you're you're essentially trapped by your own

[1:10:04] um so so yeah that once again I don't think that's the case but I could see

[1:10:08] someone cynical about our intentions here viewing this and saying well no

[1:10:13] this is just a matter of by the time you actually get to decision-m point you've

[1:10:18] dumped three and a half $4 million into this and you can't it's too late to turn

[1:10:23] back. So, um I don't think that's the case, but a cynical person may draw that

[1:10:29] conclusion. >> Council Parzo looks like he'd like to

[1:10:33] add something. >> Are you good, Council? Good for now.

[1:10:35] » Thank you, Council. Go ahead, Councelor Parlo.

[1:10:39] Yes, there's lots of random thoughts going through my mind, but uh I I want

[1:10:45] to unto it with uh I too appreciate the work and the writing. Uh it's it's good.

[1:10:54] So I want that out front. This is not intended to be criticism at all.

[1:11:01] I'm working on the I'm not working. I am uh I believe correct in saying that

[1:11:11] this whole bureaucratic

[1:11:16] engagement consultant stuff

[1:11:22] at great cost. um is is judged and you have been told

[1:11:29] that this is a a necessary prerequisite for any real consideration by senior

[1:11:38] governments. Is that correct? I I've I've read it somewhere that this is

[1:11:44] basically the process that is been dictated to you

[1:11:50] » uh through your worship. >> Correct. So through your worship to

[1:11:53] council parzo there's a number of permitting involved regulatory reviews

[1:11:56] that need to happen as well as um obviously most recently the UNRIP and

[1:12:03] province's duty to consult that duty to consult through the province falls on us

[1:12:07] and our project uh as well as environmental archaeological impacts uh

[1:12:12] regulatory impacts we have many of our solutions go through agricultural land

[1:12:17] commission agricultural land reserve lands uh there's also other potent

[1:12:21] potential impacts to other pipelines in the area. One of the one of these

[1:12:25] solutions crosses a number of existing pipelines. All of those require

[1:12:30] technical reviews, technical or regulatory reviews. Every regulator,

[1:12:35] ministry, agency that we're going to be going to is going to be requiring a

[1:12:39] number of highly detailed technical reports. So,

[1:12:43] uh yes, it is it is the process. Uh the process exists obviously for a reason

[1:12:49] and it takes a number of consultants to do a 50 kilometer pipeline because there

[1:12:54] is interferences every couple hundred meters along this as well as obviously

[1:13:00] the most important cultural engagement that we do with our nations and our

[1:13:03] neighbors to make sure that we are not impacting or creating any cumulative

[1:13:07] effects. Um as the courts have have proven is something that we need to to

[1:13:13] engage on. Right.

[1:13:18] So, are we um facing

[1:13:23] an emergency with our water system? Um

[1:13:30] not this year for sure, but in future years, we we're at risk, are we not?

[1:13:35] with the with the uh environmental science predictions for this area being

[1:13:43] a drought area. So do you have any um timeline? Do you

[1:13:50] have some mile posts um with some timelines because

[1:13:58] you know the good reporting etc. We were facing an emergency.

[1:14:06] We had a pretty good situation this year that we feel secure

[1:14:13] at this moment, but that could change quickly. Am I correct in saying

[1:14:19] you're not in? Yes. >> Yeah. Through your worship. Um

[1:14:23] [laughter] I had sent something out to council uh

[1:14:26] last week. It was one of our watershed reports and so

[1:14:30] » we are feeling very good about it. But it was nice for my staff to bring us

[1:14:34] back to reality a little bit and and share that although uh if you look over

[1:14:40] the last three or four years the river is doing quite well but if you look over

[1:14:43] the historical narrative over the last 20 years we are actually at the 50th

[1:14:49] percentile uh for flows. So we are still low. So the question becomes, is this

[1:14:55] year the blip in the radar where we had a decent year and the previous couple

[1:14:59] years are more the norm or is it the other way around? I was just reading an

[1:15:04] article this morning about uh the El Nino that is is all but guaranteed for

[1:15:09] this coming winter. >> Uh and really now the discussion is just

[1:15:14] how severe it is going to be. It's not whether it'll happen, it's just how bad

[1:15:18] it'll be. Um and so for us that typically results in lower than normal

[1:15:23] snow and warmer than average temperatures throughout the winter. So

[1:15:28] um I'm certainly concerned that at this stage the uh this year is the blip and

[1:15:34] we're next year we're back to maybe something that looks maybe like last

[1:15:38] year or the year before. Um, so from an emergency standpoint, we have done a

[1:15:44] great amount of work to to establish um a response and a solution to an

[1:15:50] emergency. So we've got that um with the province uh that if we get in a spot, we

[1:15:57] have the ability to provide emergency source water. Uh that coupled with our

[1:16:02] reservoirs gives us time to manage it. Um

[1:16:07] so that is that is a solution. Um, it's not necessarily a long long-term

[1:16:12] solution, but all honesty, if it takes us a couple of years to go through uh

[1:16:17] the process that Devon's talking about, we have the means and the plan to ensure

[1:16:23] that during those years of of planning and

[1:16:27] [snorts] constructing a future water supply, uh, we have security for the

[1:16:31] community through that emergency plan that's been developed.

[1:16:36] » The Thank you. So we're I'm on the same page with you. That's good. So the other

[1:16:44] thing now that that I want to comment on because I the writing is very good.

[1:16:49] However, writing is not a very good way of communicating

[1:16:54] to the to many many groups of people uh me being one of them. Most people's

[1:17:02] leads as you know is visual. And so I strongly recommend that you

[1:17:09] think about all these translitations that you do need to have some engaging

[1:17:16] visuals, infographics, whatever you want to call

[1:17:20] them, easily understood. Okay. Um it's some attention because giving a

[1:17:29] report like this to is a waste of time, right? It needs to

[1:17:35] be done. But you could use this material um that I to to develop

[1:17:44] clear uh images, right? The picture is worth a

[1:17:49] thousand words and you'll need to >> I just need to put our fantastic

[1:17:54] directory communications Melissa on the spot then her and the comm's team have

[1:17:58] been doing a fantastic job with infographics and I think they're already

[1:18:01] down the path on exactly what you're talking about. Good.

[1:18:04] » Yeah.

[1:18:09] » Are you good, Councelor Parzo? >> Are you looking for

[1:18:13] » I was wondering if we would see some of those one day.

[1:18:18] » Go to the city's Facebook page >> through your worship to councelor

[1:18:21] Parslo. Uh, of course, we will share those with you. Uh, we uh do have an

[1:18:27] excellent team that I am working with um on infographics and materials. We also

[1:18:32] have um been actively making sure that we're taking photographs whenever

[1:18:36] possible to ensure that we can describe um this is as easy as possible. Um it is

[1:18:42] a difficult one to describe to the general public. So you're correct. We do

[1:18:46] need to make sure that we are providing visuals um that are easy to understand.

[1:18:52] » Thanks Melissa. Thanks councelor Parsler. Go ahead councelor.

[1:18:55] » Uh thank you worship. Just uh another quick followup through to staff. So uh

[1:18:58] recommendation number three with respect to the environmental assessment office

[1:19:03] and how the new understanding of the project may change the interplay between

[1:19:10] us and them. Does that have a meaningful impact on the overall uh budget of the

[1:19:16] project? Is that and was that taken into account in previous estimates?

[1:19:22] So through your worship um yes obviously if if we the the current project uh that

[1:19:29] we and the work that we've done certainly indicates that we're we're

[1:19:34] below the threshold that would require um the environmental assessment office

[1:19:39] and that whole process that uh would save us uh an incredible amount of

[1:19:47] time and with time comes expense. um there's just a lot of process and for

[1:19:52] all the right reasons, but this project uh honestly just it's um it just

[1:19:58] wouldn't be required with what we're looking at. So, so that is a uh that is

[1:20:03] a positive for sure. So, it definitely be savings.

[1:20:07] » Cool. Thank you. Thanks, councelor. Thanks, Kevin. Any other discussion?

[1:20:11] No. Somebody like to move a recommendation?

[1:20:15] » Councelor Parslo. >> I'll move recommendation two.

[1:20:20] The council approved an additional allocation of 500,000 from the water

[1:20:24] capital reserve for the water supply system project to undertake the phase 2A

[1:20:30] work program as outlined in this report with additional funding to be

[1:20:34] incorporated into the next amendment to the 2026 financial plan bylaw and

[1:20:40] carried forward to 2027 as required. >> Thanks councelor Parslo second.

[1:20:45] Councilor McDonald discussion. Call this to vote. All in favor? It's

[1:20:52] carried. Thank you, councelor Parzo. Councelor

[1:20:55] Roll, go ahead. >> Thank you, worship. I'll move

[1:20:57] recommendation number three. Um that council authorize staff to conclude

[1:21:01] participation in the environmental assessment office process if staff

[1:21:06] determine continued participation is no longer necessary or beneficial to the

[1:21:10] project. Further, that staff report back to council regarding that decision.

[1:21:14] Thank you councelor second councelor McDonald discussion

[1:21:19] I guess for those that are watching Kevin I mean the main reason for this is

[1:21:22] just the uh the amount of volume. >> Yeah. So through your worship, the uh

[1:21:29] environmental assessment uh act has uh thresholds within it. And so with uh all

[1:21:37] the work that we've done uh with our current uh use, future demand, uh

[1:21:42] projected population growth, economic growth, all those things indicate that

[1:21:46] we are well below that um threshold. So there would it would make no sense for

[1:21:51] us to ask uh for for those volumes. >> Okay. Thanks, Captain. Go ahead,

[1:21:56] councelor. >> Sorry, just an added bit of context

[1:21:58] because I did not initially understand this myself when [snorts] it it became a

[1:22:03] big deal. Um, but basically when we apply for a permit for X amount of

[1:22:08] water, whether or not we ultimately use that water is secondary to the fact that

[1:22:13] the amount the permit is for, which gets pulled out of the available inventory of

[1:22:17] water. So if we're asking for way way way way more than we need whether we use

[1:22:21] it or not um for all the other users of that water effectively

[1:22:28] that amount is is pulled out of what's available for them. So it's a lot more

[1:22:33] work a lot more expense and a lot more contention essentially to

[1:22:39] get more water than we need. >> Thanks councelor and any other

[1:22:44] discussion call this to vote. All in favor? It's carried.

[1:22:51] Council McDonald. >> Thank you, worship. I'll move that uh

[1:22:54] recommendation number four that council direct staff to prepare correspondence

[1:22:58] to the province of British Columbia, including the office of the premier and

[1:23:02] the ministry of housing and municipal affairs, requesting financial support to

[1:23:06] advance the water supply system project, and requesting consideration of funding

[1:23:11] opportunities toward shovel ready status.

[1:23:13] » Thank you, council McDonald. Second, councelor Sednik.

[1:23:17] Discussion. Councelor. >> Uh, thank you, worship. And I guess

[1:23:20] just, uh, touching on the concern I raised earlier. What would we define

[1:23:25] shovel ready status as for this project? >> Through your worship, counselor, I

[1:23:32] believe I may have defined it in the report just for the public's knowledge,

[1:23:35] but it's buried in a lot of text, so I understand. Shovel ready would be ready

[1:23:39] for procurement of construction services.

[1:23:42] » Okay. So, basically ready for tender. Uh yes, that includes preparing the

[1:23:46] procurement documents which would be extensive for a project like this. Yeah.

[1:23:50] » So just if we were to generically put an figure to it because we know that

[1:23:55] essentially bringing something to shovel ready can be between 10 and 15% of the

[1:23:59] overall cost of the project. >> Yeah. Uh yeah projects big and small

[1:24:03] that is the estimate we use. 10 to 15% is for your consultation. So it could be

[1:24:09] depending on what solution we ultimately land on anywhere between 15 and $30

[1:24:14] million. >> You're likely closer to getting ready

[1:24:16] for for procurement. Shovel ready is is a portion of that. So you're you're

[1:24:20] probably closer to 8 to 10% of a of the construction value of the project.

[1:24:25] » Okay. >> Yeah.

[1:24:26] » Thank you. >> Thanks, Council. Councelor McDonald.

[1:24:29] » Thank you, worship through you. I'm just wondering if uh this recommendation

[1:24:33] should be expanded for communication with the federal government as well.

[1:24:41] » So, uh through worship, yes, I think um we should. We just haven't uh had that

[1:24:48] conversation yet. So, that's why I wasn't in here, but I think that's going

[1:24:51] to be the next logical step is to reach out to the federal government as well.

[1:24:56] » So, should we amend the motion then or? Again, we're having that conversation

[1:25:01] now. [laughter] So, if if council would wish, we can

[1:25:06] certainly add that uh that we could move that to our uh local MP and to the uh

[1:25:12] housing and infrastructure uh minister at the federal.

[1:25:17] » Okay. I'd like to move that we amend the motion to include our local MP and the

[1:25:21] housing infrastructure minister. >> Minister of federal minister.

[1:25:26] I'll >> second. Second council all

[1:25:31] discussion I'll call the

[1:25:35] council. >> Um so just to be clear Kevin through

[1:25:38] through to staff. Sorry your worship. um it's prudent to do so at this time and

[1:25:42] just recalling our conversations with the premier um suggested that provincial

[1:25:49] support would be intended to bring us along to

[1:25:54] the point where we were shovel ready and then able to seek federal support. So,

[1:26:00] are we we're not worried we're jumping the gun or it's prudent just to keep

[1:26:04] them in the loop or >> I think can I I think but a bit of our

[1:26:07] discussions we've had federally and proincially it makes sense to add this

[1:26:10] in there because if we can get both on board right now then that helps as the

[1:26:15] project goes along. So, yeah. >> Welcome.

[1:26:22] Any other discussion? No, we'll call the amendment to vote. All in favor?

[1:26:28] It's carried. The motion as amended. Any discussion?

[1:26:33] Call that to vote. All in favor? It's carried. Thank you.

[1:26:40] Um that was four, right? Yeah. Right. Uh

[1:26:45] next order of business is 9.3 report number

[1:26:50] um and just before I move on, thanks Devin for the report and everything on

[1:26:54] there. Appreciate it. Um, next 9.3 we have report number

[1:26:58] 26-153 from the community culture and

[1:27:02] recreation manager regarding community services refund transfer credit policy

[1:27:10] counc

[1:27:15] 26-153 from the community culture and recreation manager regarding community

[1:27:19] services refund transfer credit policy be received further that council approve

[1:27:24] the community services refund transfer credit policy attached to this report

[1:27:27] pending a successful 30-day review period.

[1:27:29] » Thank you, councelor. I'll second councelor Kemp discussion.

[1:27:34] » Yeah, I think it's a great initiative. Um,

[1:27:37] you know, it's it's when dealing with the public if we can have a clear set of

[1:27:43] rules and standards and policies in place to ensure that people have a

[1:27:48] [clears throat] consistent experience across the board when they're they're

[1:27:52] coming into our facilities. that's uh ultimately leads to a better more

[1:27:56] consistent experience for the public. So, good work.

[1:28:00] » Thanks, councelor. Councelor Parslo.

[1:28:04] » Yes. I'd like to talk about the policy uh considerations

[1:28:12] 3 C which reads a withdrawal request

[1:28:19] received after the program has started will be prrated and subject to a 50%

[1:28:26] withdrawal fee on the prrated amount. the remaining amount of the program fee

[1:28:34] will be issued as an account credit. I find that overly generous. Um,

[1:28:42] you've uh started a program based upon a commitment

[1:28:48] presumably. I'm making this up from my well I arrange a lot of art courses. So

[1:28:54] that's let's use that as an illustration and it

[1:28:58] may not apply. If it doesn't, tell me how it doesn't apply. So I I engage a

[1:29:06] instructor based upon

[1:29:10] uh uh a number of participants taking the class or the course.

[1:29:17] Um if that number drops prior to the course um

[1:29:25] so many days I can secure maybe some other additional people

[1:29:34] if I can't I cancel the course

[1:29:39] I can't afford to lose money

[1:29:44] if if I enter if I start off the course with sufficient numbers

[1:29:51] um and somebody halfway through wants to drop the course. Tough.

[1:29:58] We've made a financial commitment. Now you've got the exceptional circumstances

[1:30:04] as a later clause which I do accept. But if I've made a commitment and there's no

[1:30:10] exceptional circumstances, uh, why should the rest of the taxpayers

[1:30:17] pick up your your the whim of you deciding, well, I really don't like it.

[1:30:25] So, it's I the rest of the stuff, as I say, it's D is fine, right? The rest of

[1:30:32] it is fine. I just find C is rather

[1:30:39] Thanks, Council Parzo. Go ahead, Lindsay.

[1:30:43] » Uh through your worship to council Parlo. Uh we did discuss this quite

[1:30:47] quite a lot. Um most of this policy is coming from um the pool. So, we find a

[1:30:55] lot of times young kids, they'll be three years old, their parents think

[1:31:00] that they're ready for swimming lessons and they'll come in and they will scream

[1:31:05] and cry. The instructor has to take all of their time with that one particular

[1:31:10] child uh sacrificing the safety of the other kids. So, in those kind of

[1:31:15] circumstances, that's where we're seeing this withdrawal after the program has

[1:31:19] started. So, we wanted to make it that could be

[1:31:23] included, you're right, it could be included in the exceptional

[1:31:25] circumstances for sure. Um, but as a customer service point of view or like

[1:31:33] we thought too last week we did um an equestrian camp also, this could be

[1:31:38] those exceptional circumstances, but kids who have never been around horses

[1:31:42] show up to camp on the first day and find out that they're actually allergic

[1:31:46] to horses. Um, so that's why we put that in there just as a customer service.

[1:31:51] Nice and quick. We can give that withdrawal and then the money still does

[1:31:54] stay with community services because it's a 50% fee on the withdrawal.

[1:32:02] » Council parcel button. >> You've given two very good examples, but

[1:32:08] I think they're covered off by the exceptional. This policy doesn't just

[1:32:13] apply to the pool. It is all recreation, right?

[1:32:17] So yes, I would concur with the decisions around

[1:32:23] the equestrian program um which uh I've heard very good things

[1:32:29] about by the way um and uh the pool decision. Uh that's just the good

[1:32:36] judgment of veteration and what most people I would hope would do as well.

[1:32:42] But it's the on a whim and I think uh I don't think you need I guess the C

[1:32:50] because the way you would administer D is is in my mind very satisfactory.

[1:32:58] So that's just a concern I have.

[1:33:01] » Thanks councelor Parslo. Go ahead councelor.

[1:33:04] » Um thank you uh your thank you to staff for

[1:33:08] the report once again. Um I did note uh the the uh item C that councelor Parslo

[1:33:15] um highlighted earlier but I satisfied by

[1:33:19] your answer and I figured um yeah the customer customer service piece and the

[1:33:23] fact that it is retained within the city as an account credit so it'll be used

[1:33:26] for another program and it keep them in the

[1:33:31] um in the tent so to speak. Um, I guess question just kind of and I apologize if

[1:33:38] you're not uh able to speak to this, but I think it's worth

[1:33:41] asking. Um, how does this policy align or compare to other city- owned

[1:33:48] facilities that are leased by nonprofits that offer offer coursework and

[1:33:52] programming like KAC, like the art gallery? Um,

[1:33:58] is there any interest on their end in aligning policies? So, not to say

[1:34:03] obviously we don't want to do what they're doing and run their thing, but

[1:34:07] uh a consistent policy around this could also be useful for anyone offering these

[1:34:12] kind of amenities in the city. So, there's a a consistent expectation.

[1:34:17] » Yeah. Through your worship to councelor Earl. Um we can definitely approach KAC

[1:34:21] and the art gallery to discuss that. Uh the aquatic customer service supervisor

[1:34:26] did check with other municipalities though before we wrote this policy um to

[1:34:31] check to see what they were doing and it's it's fairly consistent. Everyone's

[1:34:34] a little bit different but we >> and yeah the nature of what you're

[1:34:38] offering it could be very different. >> Yeah.

[1:34:40] » Um and not necessarily to to approach them and and suggest they do it but I

[1:34:46] know a lot of these nonprofits struggle to maintain

[1:34:51] up-to-date best practice policies. So it might be a valuable resource for them

[1:34:54] just to provide to say this is what the city is doing now in case you're

[1:34:58] interested. >> For sure. Yeah.

[1:34:59] » Um and similarly uh what kind of integration do we have through the

[1:35:06] city's website for say once again organization like the art gallery or KAC

[1:35:12] it just to give them another outlet to have people sign up for course work. Are

[1:35:17] they able to utilize the city's recreation portal

[1:35:21] » through your worship? They are not. Uh they all have their own registration

[1:35:27] portals. Um ours is it's called NextREC. Um and it's just just for city

[1:35:33] facilities or just for city programming. Um unfortunately, we can't add anybody

[1:35:38] else to our licenses. And we have an administrator of our program as well. So

[1:35:44] the way that they do it is is different than ours. I know KPAC use a

[1:35:47] registration system as well. >> Yeah.

[1:35:49] » Um I'm not sure about the art gallery, but

[1:35:51] » Okay. Yeah. I was just once again wondering for the sake of consistent

[1:35:54] experience communitywide if that was something that was an option, but thank

[1:35:58] you. >> Thanks.

[1:35:58] » Thanks, Council. Any other discussion? No. Thanks, Lindsay. I just want to

[1:36:04] thank you for the report and your um ability for to go above and beyond with

[1:36:09] the customer service aspect. It's much appreciated. So, thank you. Um I'll call

[1:36:14] us to vote. All in favor? Opposed?

[1:36:19] One opposed. Councelor Parslo. It's carried.

[1:36:24] Uh, next 9.4, we have report number 26-155 from the general manager of

[1:36:28] community services regarding naming and development of new park, Finn Park.

[1:36:34] Councelor Kemp. Oh, >> thank you, your worship. I'll move the

[1:36:37] recommendation the report number 26-155 from the general manager of community

[1:36:42] services regarding naming and development of the new park Finn Park be

[1:36:46] received further council approve Finn Park as the official name for the new

[1:36:50] city park located at 1125 118th Avenue and further that staff be directed to

[1:36:56] bring forward as part of the 2027 capital budget process a request for

[1:37:00] council's consideration for the development of the playground area

[1:37:03] including playground structures and equipment, fencing, signage, site

[1:37:07] preparation and improvements and all other related components required to

[1:37:11] establish the playground area. >> Thanks, Councelor Kemp. Second,

[1:37:14] councelor Parslo. Discussion. Call this to vote. All in favor? It's

[1:37:20] carried. Uh, next 9.5 report number M26-157

[1:37:25] from the chief administrative officer regarding memo regional aviation fuel

[1:37:31] price comparison. Councelor Parsaw >> move that report number M26-157

[1:37:38] for the CAO re regional aviation fuel price comparison

[1:37:43] which compares Dawson Creek's aviation fuel prices with available prices at

[1:37:48] selected regional airports be received for information. Thanks councelor

[1:37:51] Parislo. Second cam councelor Kemp discussion on the information.

[1:37:57] Call us to vote. All in favor? It's carried.

[1:38:02] Uh next 9.6 we have report number 26-159 from the corporate officer regarding

[1:38:07] land acquisition 5202nd Avenue and 12007th

[1:38:13] street. >> Councelor Parslo.

[1:38:17] » No sorry. Okay.

[1:38:23] Councelor McDonald. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'd like to move that report

[1:38:27] number 26-159 from the corporate officer regarding land acquisition 520 122nd

[1:38:33] Avenue and 12,000 7th Street be received for the council direct staff to add the

[1:38:39] following properties to the city land sale list for sale at the respective

[1:38:44] appraised market values. um 5202nd Avenue at $237,000

[1:38:51] and 1207th Street at $498,000. >> Thank you, Councelor McDonald. Second,

[1:38:56] Councelor Kemp. Discussion. Call us to vote. All in favor?

[1:39:02] It's carried. Uh, next 9.7 we have report number

[1:39:07] M26-160 from the capital project projects

[1:39:11] manager regarding memo 100 Avenue drainage and roadway maintenance update

[1:39:16] and long-term infrastructure planning.

[1:39:24] Uh, councelor Sudnik. Thank you worship. We'll move recommendation report number

[1:39:29] M26-160 from the capital projects manager

[1:39:32] regarding memo 100 Avenue drainage and roadway maintenance update and long-term

[1:39:36] infrastructure planning be received for information.

[1:39:40] » Uh thank you councelor Sednick. Second council McDonald any discussion?

[1:39:45] Kevin assuming this one will be communicated with

[1:39:49] residents up there. We had a couple this is where we had a couple letters on this

[1:39:52] one right? >> Yeah. So through your worship, what we

[1:39:55] can do is um we can actually send this report to them just to ensure that

[1:39:59] they've got it. They can see what the plan moving forward is.

[1:40:01] » Okay. Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Oh, councelor.

[1:40:06] » Um thank you worship and thank you staff for the report. I think it's uh great to

[1:40:12] to very prudent and and it'll be I'm sure um somewhat reassuring to some of

[1:40:18] the residents of that area. um when we and I'm try and be

[1:40:26] very

[1:40:32] um ask question basically saying to what extent when we are planning these

[1:40:37] undertakings is this motivated by political

[1:40:42] considerations or squeaky wheel getting the grease versus actual

[1:40:47] priorities compared to other aspects of the community cuz there's several areas

[1:40:52] in the community that could use some love. Um how are we ensuring that this

[1:40:58] specific area isn't crowding out other um other priorities so that we're not,

[1:41:05] you know, not that they don't deserve to have their their concerns addressed, but

[1:41:10] there's once again plenty of areas in the community that need some attention.

[1:41:15] And um how are we we triaging those things and not just are are is this

[1:41:22] consistent with our plan or are we kind of somewhat upending the plan to because

[1:41:26] we got some letters of people who aren't happy about drainage.

[1:41:31] » Wow. Through your worship that's a it's a loaded question.

[1:41:34] » It is a loaded question. And while I I don't I I don't want to diminish their

[1:41:39] concern or their frustration, um I also want to ensure that we're allocating

[1:41:44] capital funds in an equitable fashion that are ultimately not, you know, we

[1:41:48] look at what it costs to replace a road that's failed. I want to make sure we're

[1:41:51] not neglecting those roads that we could get in and and save some money on if we

[1:41:57] do it right now in order to um you know

[1:42:03] » so uh this particular uh avenue 100th Avenue uh was in or is in our plan for

[1:42:10] 2028 for resurfacing. So that's one issue. That's just the road service

[1:42:14] issue. The other issues that have come forward

[1:42:17] uh through the conversations with the property owners is is the drainage

[1:42:21] that's not unknown to us but maybe hasn't been elevated to a higher higher

[1:42:26] priority. So I would say uh there's kind of two parts to this. Uh the paving was

[1:42:30] already identified and was going to be addressed. Um the request from the

[1:42:35] property owners is that it gets expedited perhaps. Uh there's some

[1:42:38] immediate stuff that needs to be done and and as it should and and we're doing

[1:42:43] that. So, the paving probably it's probably on time as per the plan. The

[1:42:50] drainage uh you see here is is a bit of a bigger issue. We can we can just

[1:42:55] maintain the ditches and just kind of have the same as we've always had. Um

[1:43:00] what we're proposing is that we look at a bit of a bigger uh picture because if

[1:43:05] we want to uh what we talked to council prior about considering urbanizing this

[1:43:10] and moving away maybe from ditches >> storms longterm benefits

[1:43:15] » but it has short-term uh capital pain that comes with it perhaps. So, um I

[1:43:22] would say that this storm plan and that consideration of urbanization is going

[1:43:27] to that's where you're probably seeing the um

[1:43:31] » crowding rising to the top a little bit quicker than maybe it would have.

[1:43:34] » Okay. >> Not that it shouldn't have. Um, and I

[1:43:36] guess just when with respect to costs, I know, um, on a a cost,

[1:43:42] uh, from a cost standpoint, getting in there and doing everything at once

[1:43:47] versus paving and then going back and doing, is that stand for urbanization or

[1:43:52] is that just when you're already replacing an existing storm sewer?

[1:43:56] » Yeah. So the >> the challenge is is we could go pave the

[1:44:00] road, but if we're going to do urbanization ultimately, uh that road

[1:44:04] elevation might be different in the future. So we need to make those

[1:44:08] considerations now. So everything, you know, will will fit together. So um

[1:44:14] again, albeit this might take uh some time and some money to to do the plan, I

[1:44:20] think it's it's probably the right thing to do. We have talked internally about

[1:44:25] the Park Hill area and that road network of

[1:44:29] needing and wanting to do something in that area to talk about this, but

[1:44:32] frankly as we go through the budget process, there is always so many things

[1:44:38] that uh are considered and and it just it hasn't made it till this point. So,

[1:44:43] um >> yeah.

[1:44:44] » Okay. Yeah. Once again, I don't want to diminish the the value of people

[1:44:49] advocating for their neighborhood or their block when they feel like they're

[1:44:52] being underserved or they're or I that's a perfectly valid part of the democratic

[1:44:57] process. Um, I just, you know, I want to make sure that council is is

[1:45:03] understanding uh the tradeoffs and making sure that

[1:45:07] we're not inevit unintentionally costing ourselves more money 10 years down the

[1:45:13] line because someone lit a fire under our ass for this.

[1:45:17] » Yeah. So, >> pardon my language, sorry. you will know

[1:45:20] that staff will always be bringing um priorities forward based on uh

[1:45:26] engineering reports and data. Uh but that's always subject to change in this

[1:45:31] room or at the council chambers of of there's always some political influence.

[1:45:36] That's your role. That that's what your job is. So that

[1:45:39] » we accept that that that will happen from time to time and sometimes for very

[1:45:42] good reason. So um but our our recommendations will be driven on

[1:45:47] planning documents. >> Much appreciated. Thank you. Thanks,

[1:45:50] [snorts] councelor. Councelor Parlo.

[1:45:57] » I'm still smiling about this, but uh I I this this report has struck a chord with

[1:46:03] me. Um I really like it. I like the structure of this report. You know, one

[1:46:09] of the things that Jim Shu many years ago shared was some standards as it

[1:46:16] relates to responding to presentations whenever you you're seeking uh cons uh

[1:46:25] opinions, collaboration, you share what you've done,

[1:46:31] right? What you plan to do. Now, I'm not saying that you've this this has never

[1:46:36] been done before this format, but I love it because it shows that we've listened

[1:46:43] or staff in this case has listened and we're doing something about it or if we

[1:46:48] can't do something about it, it would explain why we couldn't. So I just want

[1:46:53] to commend I love this structure and I really that was one of the things that

[1:46:58] uh when Jim presented that 10 15 years ago I don't remember

[1:47:04] [clears throat] it really resonated me this is a classy

[1:47:07] way you know if you go out you consult

[1:47:12] share what you've done with the information

[1:47:16] what you're not going to do and why so I just uh and I know Kevin, you give all

[1:47:23] the love out you could possibly give, but if we don't give him enough money to

[1:47:28] do that or the taxpayers don't, we can't spread it around is rather thin. Yeah.

[1:47:34] But anyway, I love the metaphor of love, you know, as for council. But seriously,

[1:47:40] I do like this structure. Has it been used before like this? But that's what's

[1:47:44] hit me, you know. >> Yeah. So through your your worship,

[1:47:49] honestly, I I I can't say but I agree. I think it is great and we'll certainly um

[1:47:54] make sure that Dne receives the accolades he deserves on this and and

[1:47:59] something for us to take away when we're we're dealing with this in the future.

[1:48:02] » Yes, it's that second sentence, you know, that uh in the in the purpose,

[1:48:06] right, that I think is an important uh standard to keep to if if that's the

[1:48:14] right word. Thank you. >> Thanks, Councelor Parzo. Thanks, Kevin.

[1:48:17] Any other discussion? I'll call this to vote. All in favor?

[1:48:23] It's carried. Next order business 10 bylaws 10.1. We

[1:48:27] have report number 26-156 from the city planner regarding zoning

[1:48:32] amendment 26-01 bylaw number 46362026 for consideration of adoption. Councelor

[1:48:39] Cam. >> Thank you worship. I'll move the

[1:48:41] recommendation that report number 26-156 from the city planner regarding zoning

[1:48:45] amendment 2601 BA number 46362026 be received for the zoning amendment

[1:48:52] 2601 by law number 46362026 which provides for a sightspecific use

[1:48:59] to permit a school wood metal shop with the existing building on the subject

[1:49:03] property be adopted. >> Thank you councelor Kemp. Second

[1:49:06] councelor Sudnick discussion call us to vote. All in favor? It's

[1:49:11] carried. 10.2. We have report number 26-163 from the city planner regarding

[1:49:16] OCP amendment 26-01 bylaw number 4639 2026 and zoning amendment 26-02

[1:49:25] bylaw number 4638 2026 for consideration of third reading

[1:49:30] and adoption.

[1:49:35] » Councelor Kemp. >> Thank you worship. I'll move the

[1:49:37] recommendation that report number 26-163 from the city planner regarding

[1:49:41] additional community plan amendment 261 bylaw number 46392026

[1:49:47] and the zoning amendment 2602 bylaw number 4638206

[1:49:52] be received for that the official community plan amendment 2601 bylaw

[1:49:56] number 4639206 and zoning amendment 262

[1:50:01] by number 4638 2026 which resates the property at 1636 999th Avenue from

[1:50:08] industrial to commercial and reszones the property from M1 light industrial to

[1:50:12] C2 general commercial to permit the continued operation of a fitness

[1:50:17] facility be given third reading and adopted

[1:50:20] » thank you councelor Kemp second councelor McDonald discussion call us to

[1:50:24] vote all in favor it's carried uh next 10.3 we have report number

[1:50:31] 26-116 from the corporate officer regarding land sale 632 2 and 6 286th

[1:50:38] Avenue and 153796th Avenue bylaw number 46372026

[1:50:44] for consideration of first three readings. Counc.

[1:50:47] » Thank you. Your worship. I'll move the recommendation that report number 26-116

[1:50:51] from the corporate officer regarding land sales 632 and 628 106th Avenue and

[1:50:56] 153796th Avenue bylaw number 46372026 be re received. Further that land sale

[1:51:04] bylaw number 46372026 which formally records the disposition

[1:51:09] of three former city-owned properties and the acquisition of two properties uh

[1:51:14] 10424 and 1042817

[1:51:18] street through the completed land exchange with 1342000

[1:51:23] BC Limited be given first three readings.

[1:51:25] » Thank you councelor second. Councelor McDonald discussion

[1:51:30] call this to vote. All in favor? It's carried. Next 10.4, we have report

[1:51:36] number 26-165 from the city planner regarding official community planned

[1:51:40] amendment 26-02, bylaw number 4642,2026,

[1:51:45] and zoning amendment 26-03, bylaw number 4641 2026 for consideration

[1:51:52] of first and second reading. Council,

[1:51:56] » thank you. be worship. I'll move that report number 26-165 from the city

[1:52:00] planner regarding official community plan amendment 26-02 bylaw number 4642

[1:52:05] 20226 and zoning amendment 26-03 bylaw number 46412026

[1:52:11] be received. Further that official community plan amendment 26-02 bylaw

[1:52:16] numbers 4642 20226 and zoning amendment 26-03 bylaw number 46412026

[1:52:23] which redesates the subject properties to parks natural

[1:52:27] areas and trails in the official community plan and reszone the

[1:52:30] properties to P1 parks and natural areas in support of flood mitigation purposes

[1:52:35] begin first three first and second readings. Thank you, councelor. Second,

[1:52:39] councelor Kemp. Discussion. Call us to vote. All in favor? It's

[1:52:44] carried. Next. 10.5, we have report number 26-167 from the director of

[1:52:50] development services uh regarding nuisance abatement cost

[1:52:54] recovery bylaw number 46432026 for consideration of first and second

[1:52:59] reading. Uh, councelor McDonald. >> Thank you, worship. I'd like to move the

[1:53:04] report number 26-167 from the director of development

[1:53:07] services regarding nuisance abatement cost recovery bylaw number 4643 2026 be

[1:53:14] received. Further that nuisance abatement cost recovery bylaw number

[1:53:18] 4643 2026 which establishes a mechanism for the city to recover costs incurred

[1:53:24] in addressing repeated nuisance activity at properties be given first and second

[1:53:28] reading. >> Thank you councelor McDonald. Second

[1:53:31] councelor Kemp. discussion >> through your worship. I'd just like to

[1:53:36] say that uh the city's done a great job on this bylaw. A lot of thought and

[1:53:42] process has gone into it to make sure that the city is on a very good stable

[1:53:49] footing in regards to

[1:53:54] recovering the cost of uh these nuisances nuisance properties, but we're

[1:54:00] in a good legal standing to do so. Um it was a lengthy process to create the

[1:54:05] bylaw but I appreciate the thought and uh work that has gone into it to make

[1:54:10] sure we are in a good position as a community.

[1:54:14] » Great. Thank you councelor. >> Uh thank you worship. Yeah. No, this is

[1:54:18] I mean I I think um a reluctant kind of next

[1:54:25] step. Anytime we as a government are seeking more power to

[1:54:34] deal with people on their personal property, we always have to be very

[1:54:37] cautious. Um and people sometimes give us some very good reasons to seek that

[1:54:43] authority. Um and uh I think similar to the um I guess

[1:54:51] it's nuisance as opposed to false alarm, but we we um enacted a similar

[1:54:55] chargeback scheme for businesses that were um

[1:55:01] not responsibly using emergency services or or municipal government services. I

[1:55:06] think it was last year and I guess this is a continuation of of that or a

[1:55:11] different avenue of that. Um not necessarily a false alarm but nuisance.

[1:55:17] Um I guess a question through you to staff. What provisions do we have in

[1:55:22] place to ensure that this is not being abused by a particularly latigious

[1:55:28] neighbor? And you know, we're not going to end up with two two old dudes arguing

[1:55:34] over rose bushes um calling bylaw on each other making escalating claims of

[1:55:41] misconduct cuz that's you know where my mind goes

[1:55:45] is yeah 95% of the time it's for a good reason but you're always going to have

[1:55:49] those particularly latigious people who are going to abuse the process

[1:55:53] » because they can't have [clears throat] a civil conversation with their neighbor

[1:55:56] » right so through your worship um I'll I'll start and then maybe Bill can can

[1:56:00] add to that. But I think that's part of this process uh which is where council

[1:56:06] are the ones that actually deem it a nuisance. So the complaints could come

[1:56:09] in. Um the complaints though are the nuisance is driven by actual

[1:56:16] responses to by you know RCMP emergency services. So again verifying that

[1:56:21] there's some checks and balances. Um, I think through that process alone, you

[1:56:25] could probably verify whether they are legitimate concerns or not, cuz if

[1:56:30] they're false alarms, let's call it. I mean, obviously staff isn't going to

[1:56:34] bring that forward as a nuisance property to council. That's going to be

[1:56:38] cut off at at that process. Um, but again, if it does get in front of

[1:56:43] council, council has the ability to deem it a nuisance. Uh, the property owner

[1:56:48] has an ability to come in and appeal and have those conversations. So there's a

[1:56:51] number of opportunities for everybody to have their their say

[1:56:55] » and ultimately council will be the one that determines it. So um I think that's

[1:57:00] important for the public to understand that this is not

[1:57:04] some power that we will grant to a bylaw officer or somebody else within the

[1:57:09] organization that could you know it keeps those checks and balances. Um,

[1:57:14] okay. And I guess the the next question would be if someone disagrees with the

[1:57:19] decision of council, um, is that something they have the ability to

[1:57:24] pursue in the courts as far as and and how do we need to be dotting our

[1:57:29] eyes and crossing our tees to ensure we're not opening up a whole new avenue

[1:57:34] of potential expense and >> right

[1:57:37] » frustration? I'll look to Bill, see if he's got any

[1:57:40] comment on that. I go ahead. Yeah, thank you. Through your worship to councelor

[1:57:44] Earl, um there is a uh response time in the bylaw where the owner can come to

[1:57:51] council >> for reconsideration.

[1:57:54] » Okay. Um >> sorry I was just going to add that

[1:57:58] normally in these things that um there is no appeal

[1:58:03] uh you know like the planning decisions and such and such when council makes a

[1:58:07] decision there isn't a mechanism for people a higher court so to speak. Um,

[1:58:13] so I guess the question is Bill is once if council makes the decision

[1:58:18] » uh of the nuisance property um and it's justifiable I think

[1:58:23] » the decision is made >> and I guess you know that's always the

[1:58:26] thing is there's you know a fine line between um you know you might not be

[1:58:34] particularly keen with how someone manages their property or their

[1:58:37] household but there's a difference between that and somebody who's doing

[1:58:41] blatantly anti social things to the detriment of their neighbors. Um, and we

[1:58:45] just need to make sure that we're, you know, understandably there's some

[1:58:49] reasons we're pursuing this, but we need to make sure it's not just council, a

[1:58:54] future council, you know,

[1:58:59] making life harder for people they deem socially undesirable without, as you

[1:59:04] said, some justification. Um, so no, that that I appreciate that.

[1:59:10] I just wanted to um follow up a little bit to make sure

[1:59:14] because this is a new authority the city is going to have. So anytime we seek

[1:59:20] that um we should make sure we we interrogate what our motives are and how

[1:59:26] the public can expect that to manifest. >> Yeah. So through your worship, the the

[1:59:31] process and the power really is, and Bill, correct me if I'm wrong, is very

[1:59:34] similar to the remedial action process where we have the ability uh with

[1:59:40] someone's property. If it's a hazard, um if it's a nuisance, if there's issues

[1:59:44] with it, we council has that authority to go through the very similar process

[1:59:49] um where staff has to present uh the reasons why we should deem it as such.

[1:59:55] the property owner has an opportunity to come in and and uh appeal andor provide

[1:59:59] a a restoration plan. Um so I just want to be it's not new. It's it's slightly

[2:00:07] different or maybe expanded into a slightly different way, but it's it's

[2:00:11] the process is is the same as what we already utilize with remedial action.

[2:00:16] » Thanks councelor. Thanks Kevin. Councelor Parlo,

[2:00:19] » does the city have a what a noise bylaw? It does, doesn't it?

[2:00:24] Yeah, >> it so would a rowdy party uh repeated

[2:00:32] rowdy party uh which violates the noise value, could

[2:00:38] that be considered to be a nuisance property because

[2:00:42] uh of the noise emanating on a regular basis from it

[2:00:47] » through your worship to councelor Parlo cor you're correct. Yeah. nuisance um

[2:00:52] defined in the proposed bylaw does speak to noise, loud music, revving engines,

[2:00:58] frequent late night attend attendance of vehicles, uh etc. So, it does speak to

[2:01:05] it. So, a barking dog

[2:01:11] or a cat that goes into my property and repeatedly ds up freshly planted plants.

[2:01:22] Would that property be um where that cat emanates from or from

[2:01:29] where the dog that repeatedly barts from the deck every morning waking me up?

[2:01:35] Would that be a nuisance property?

[2:01:42] Are you referring to me because we're neighbors?

[2:01:44] » Sorry. Are you referring [snorts] to me because we're neighbors?

[2:01:48] » Um I'm just >> No. The regional district doesn't have a

[2:01:52] noise bylaw that I'm aware of. Maybe it needs one. Are you? You've been very law

[2:01:58] abiding since you've lived there. So I have no complaints to file against you

[2:02:04] yet. [laughter]

[2:02:05] » Thanks, Councelor Par. >> Seriously, about dogs and cats, uh, you

[2:02:09] know, is is that covered? Would that make it a nuisance property? through

[2:02:14] your worship to councelor Parslo's question. Um that would be directed to

[2:02:19] the animal responsibility bylaw in my opinion which we're in the process of

[2:02:24] unwinding. So >> oh I don't why why would you do that? Uh

[2:02:29] why would you take it to that one rather than deal it with through this? What

[2:02:33] would be what would be uh your discerning factor?

[2:02:39] Was it because they're an animal of a nonhuman nature?

[2:02:45] » Uh through your worship to councelor Parzo because staff have been directed

[2:02:50] to resend the animal responsibility bylaw.

[2:02:56] Everything regarding barking, dogs, animal like animals at large speaks to

[2:03:02] that is spoken to in that bylaw. So >> I see.

[2:03:08] So, human animals under this and other animals under the other.

[2:03:13] » No, seriously, that's fine. That's fine. >> Thanks, councelor Parcel.

[2:03:18] Any other discussion? >> Thank you, Bill. And thanks for all the

[2:03:21] work on this. [snorts] Um, all right. I'll call this motion to vote. All in

[2:03:25] favor? >> It's carried. Uh, next, mayor's business

[2:03:29] 11.1. I just had a meeting with Salvation Army. Actually, a couple of

[2:03:34] them uh there's just a new area manager in the region. So, they came in, met

[2:03:38] with me. They're just talking a little bit about uh their future and plans and

[2:03:42] what the needs are in the community. So, I'm just kind of uh connecting them with

[2:03:47] the city team to to look at that and and to know if there's areas where they

[2:03:51] could help in the social service department. So, that was good. Uh Kevin

[2:03:55] and I met with Lori from the regional crown council meetings. I think that was

[2:03:59] our second or third time. Um was great meeting. uh extremely beneficial and

[2:04:03] there's so much um that comes out of those meetings. So grateful that she

[2:04:07] comes out of her way to come up here. She's also uh we did suggest maybe um

[2:04:13] the next time that she comes up if she could time it were around a council

[2:04:15] meeting so everybody could be available for that, but then she also mentioned

[2:04:19] that she's going to be down in uh Vancouver for UBCM. So she's suggested

[2:04:24] um some times for that. So once we get all our information, if you guys can

[2:04:27] just make sure you respond to to Kathy on what works, um it's definitely

[2:04:31] worthwhile meeting with her. Um Kevin and I went up and met with uh MP Zimmer

[2:04:37] just on the water project just to kind of give him a brief overview and just to

[2:04:41] kind of try to get more to that federal minister and to get some support there.

[2:04:47] Uh the Ravali plaque. So, um, Ross and Cindy Ravali and their family actually,

[2:04:53] um, donated or contributed to the multi-use courts, the building of that,

[2:04:58] uh, when we were building it, they donated. So, there's a beautiful plaque

[2:05:02] that's been put up there. I don't know if anybody's seen it. Um, but it's great

[2:05:05] job by the the city team to put it up. They were very pleased by it. It's very

[2:05:09] it's nice. Um, so we had a a little ceremony or present picture really there

[2:05:14] last week and a visit with Ross and Cindy. So, [sighs] uh, Tormolene Energy

[2:05:19] was in town, um, as well and met with, uh, council, myself, uh, councelor,

[2:05:25] counselor parzlo, and councelor Mcdonald um, and Kevin attended. I just want to

[2:05:30] thank them for their time as always to come up and, uh, to educate us. Uh, I

[2:05:35] had a couple things I just wanted to add to this um that came after uh the agenda

[2:05:41] went out, but I just wanted to um thank the city team for the signage on it's

[2:05:46] 8th Street and the corner of Co-op there. They put up that way signage on

[2:05:49] the fenced area there. Um uh just pointing downtown talking about tourism

[2:05:55] Dawson Creek. Uh like what a phenomenal way to clean up that corner and I just

[2:06:01] wanted to thank them. It it looks amazing. So, thank you Melissa and

[2:06:05] [snorts] Courtney um for the work. It just uh yeah, just really looked good

[2:06:09] and cleaned up a lot that had a leaning fence and not looked great for a long

[2:06:14] time. So, it's just yeah, it's just nice. Um also just wanted to just

[2:06:20] mention too that the playground there's a couple new three new playgrounds that

[2:06:24] are almost complete. So, just a thank you to them as well for that. Um and

[2:06:29] then another one I had a meeting on Friday with Northern Health just around

[2:06:32] doctor recruitment. So I just wanted to touch on that as well. Um just some big

[2:06:37] wins on the retention and recruitment. So this meeting was just directly with

[2:06:40] Northern Health. Uh but I just wanted to share a few things. So there is three

[2:06:44] new family doctors um this year. There is by fall of 2027 there's planned to be

[2:06:50] seven um new. Uh there is some things that can can change but there's been a

[2:06:55] lot of work done on the retention and recruitment and there's a lot of things

[2:06:58] moving that are um you're starting to see the results of the last 3 years

[2:07:03] really of the efforts that have been put in. Um so that was just some good news.

[2:07:07] They've also just signed an orthopedic surgeon which will be here in the fall.

[2:07:11] Another good news. Um yeah so just really good there. It was a lot of good

[2:07:16] news. The one downside is is we're running out of of facilities to house

[2:07:22] family physicians. So all um with the um three new ones that are coming, pretty

[2:07:30] much all of the medical clinics are going to be full. Uh one of them does

[2:07:34] have a specialty physician in it. Maybe two of them actually do, too. So there

[2:07:38] might be a little bit of room there. Uh but there's a need in the community for

[2:07:41] another facility uh to house family physicians. So, um I I did run some

[2:07:48] ideas by her and she did get back to me this morning on some of that. I just uh

[2:07:53] not can't share them publicly yet, but there is an opportunity out there. So,

[2:07:58] um but yeah, uh any questions on any of that?

[2:08:03] No. All right. Uh next 12, uh chief administrative officer operational

[2:08:10] updates. Over to you, Kevin. >> Thank you, worship. Um, couple quick

[2:08:14] updates. Uh, reminder for council and everybody else out there that the pool

[2:08:19] will be shut down August 29th to October 2nd for the

[2:08:25] annual uh maintenance shutdown period. So, um, people will often ask why, how

[2:08:32] come? Um, it's important for us to uh take that time uh to maintain the

[2:08:39] facility. If we don't, um, we will have more

[2:08:44] shutdowns in the future as we're, um, dealing with unnecessary or unscheduled,

[2:08:50] um, you know, um, repairs. So, it's important for us

[2:08:55] to take this time each year and and maintain, as I've always said, that uh,

[2:09:00] pennies on the dollar to maintain it because uh, we certainly can't afford to

[2:09:05] rebuild a new pool sooner than we than we should have to.

[2:09:10] Um quick update. Um we had a power surge, bump something this morning in

[2:09:18] the community, specifically downtown. Uh we had reports of at Kpack that there

[2:09:23] was something going on there. They could smell some electrical

[2:09:29] um those electrical kind of burning smells you can tell. So something

[2:09:32] happened there. don't know uh what equipment may or may not be damaged, but

[2:09:37] we also uh had similar instance at the memorial arena. Um and so we had some

[2:09:44] challenges first thing this morning with the ice plant. Um we were at risk of

[2:09:48] losing the ice. Uh right now uh we have the plant running and things are

[2:09:54] maintaining and hopefully starting to cool off with some work that we'll have

[2:09:58] to complete later today. But knock on wood, right now we seem like we're we're

[2:10:02] holding our own. So, let's hope that continues.

[2:10:05] » Thanks, Kevin. >> Yeah,

[2:10:07] » not great news, but good news. >> Yeah. Thank you,

[2:10:12] » Councelor McDonald. >> Thank you, worship through you to uh CEO

[2:10:15] Henderson. Our uh ECD contract position that we were developing. Is there any uh

[2:10:22] further progress on that or developments?

[2:10:25] » Yes, through your worship. Actually, I was going to mention that and sorry I

[2:10:28] didn't. Um so, we are at a spot that we're going to put that out. Um, we were

[2:10:32] just actually talking on Friday, just ironing out some details. We're at a

[2:10:36] spot um where we're we're going to get that advertisement out. So, we're there.

[2:10:41] » Beautiful. >> Thank you.

[2:10:43] » Thanks, Council Tom. Thanks, Kevin. >> Um,

[2:10:49] all right. Next. Uh, 13 diary. Nothing there. 14 consent calendar. Anybody want

[2:10:54] to lift anything? Motion to accept. Councelor Kemp. Second. Councelor

[2:10:59] McDonald. Call that to vote. All in favor? It's carried.

[2:11:04] Uh, no media question. 16, recess meeting,

[2:11:08] recess to close meeting 16.1, resolution to move into the meeting of council

[2:11:12] closed to the public for agenda item 5.1 and 5.2, section 91 C, labor relations

[2:11:19] or other employee relations. Agenda item 5.2, 2 section 91J information that is

[2:11:25] prohibited or information that if were presented in a document would be

[2:11:29] prohibited from disclosure under section 21 of the Freedom of Information and

[2:11:33] Protection of Privacy Act and section 91K negotiations and related discussions

[2:11:38] respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their

[2:11:42] preliminary stages and that in the view of council could reasonably be expected

[2:11:47] to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in

[2:11:49] public. and section 92B, the consideration of information received

[2:11:55] and held in confidence relating to negotiations. Uh, one between the

[2:11:59] municipality and provincial government or the federal government or both

[2:12:03] between the municipality and another local government or between another

[2:12:07] local government and a third party and between the municipality and a first

[2:12:12] nation or prescribed indigenous entity. Agenda item 6.1 section 91G litigation

[2:12:19] or potential litigation affecting the municipality. Councelor [snorts]

[2:12:24] Kemp second councelor McDonald. Call that to vote. All in favor?

[2:12:28] It's carried. Thanks everyone.

Regular Council Meeting - August 24, 2026

Transcript