[2:56] No, it's just me hitting the wrong

[2:57] button. All right, welcome everyone to

[3:01] this very warm meeting and a balmy

[3:04] August night. I'd like to start by

[3:07] recognizing that we are on the unseated

[3:08] territory of the Quudsen nation and that

[3:11] in this room we have different views,

[3:13] different ways of expression, different

[3:15] emotional intensities, and different

[3:16] roads that lead to conclusions. May we

[3:19] combine clarity of mind with kindness of

[3:21] heart and may we be impartial without

[3:23] bending to strong personalities. May we

[3:25] sacrifice self-interest for the good of

[3:27] the whole. And may we do our work with

[3:29] love and clarity of vision for the

[3:30] benefit of those that we represent. And

[3:32] with that, I will call this evening's

[3:34] meeting to order. There's one late item

[3:37] for permissive tax exemption for the

[3:39] couch and district hospital auxiliary.

[3:42] We can just move that as it is without

[3:44] anyone having to go anywhere. Is that

[3:46] correct? Okay. All right. So, approval

[3:49] of agenda with the late item added.

[3:53] Do we have to

[4:05] Yeah, but no one has to go anywhere.

[4:09] >> Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean right now. Yeah.

[4:11] Okay. Thank you for the clarification.

[4:15] All right. So, uh I'll move for an

[4:18] approval of that agenda. Is there a move

[4:20] in a second? Okay. Thank you. And we'll

[4:22] go to the adoption of minutes from July

[4:24] 27th that those meetings be adopted as

[4:26] circulated. Is there a mover and a

[4:28] second? Any discussion? All those in

[4:29] favor? Motion carries. And we'll move to

[4:32] our first or uh our only delegation

[4:35] tonight, Staff Sergeant Beard. Welcome.

[4:38] And you brought a guest with you, I see.

[4:40] Welcome,

[4:48] Just have to turn on your mics.

[4:52] » There we are.

[4:53] >> There we go.

[4:53] >> Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Council. Um

[4:56] my colleague Stasher and Deb Kelly is

[4:58] here. Um ma'am, with your approval, it'd

[5:00] be nice to have her come up and give

[5:01] some updates on uh a rather tragic file

[5:04] that we were dealing with on on Friday

[5:05] this weekend. So,

[5:06] >> yes, absolutely. Thank you.

[5:07] >> Awesome. Um if I may, I think

[5:11] everybody's got a copy of our policing

[5:12] report. This is the one from uh April,

[5:15] May, and June. So, the most recent

[5:16] quarter. We're actually in the That's

[5:18] our first quarter, our CP's first

[5:19] quarter. Um, if I can draw your

[5:21] attention to the first couple of pages

[5:22] there, uh, of the report, it talks about

[5:25] some of the things that the RCMP members

[5:27] at our detachment here were able to do

[5:29] uh, in support of the community.

[5:32] Um, quite a cross-section of events that

[5:34] we were involved in. Um,

[5:37] yeah, it's it makes for for a busy busy

[5:39] year and and well-rounded. If you have

[5:41] any questions on that, I' I'd love to to

[5:44] update you and answer any questions.

[5:47] Uh pending that uh we have the uh

[5:50] three-month comparison. Again, this is

[5:52] April to June 2026. Uh city of Duncan is

[5:55] the center column. Um overall, we've

[5:58] seen a 16% increase in crimes against

[6:00] persons between 25 and 26. Um I always

[6:04] have to caution uh with these numbers

[6:06] here. The the percentages of 100% or

[6:10] 300% increase. Uh don't be thrown by

[6:12] that. That's that those you have to

[6:14] really look at the statistics. So, we

[6:16] went from one uh extortion file to two.

[6:20] So, that's 100% increase. So, keep that

[6:22] in mind when you're looking at these

[6:23] numbers if you could. Uh 200% increase

[6:26] in robbery. So, that's one file in 2025

[6:31] to three in 2026.

[6:33] And then down the page, crimes against

[6:36] property, an 83 in 83% increase in theft

[6:40] from vehicles. Uh, and just some some

[6:42] background on those. Um, the uh the the

[6:49] uh made my notes here.

[6:53] Yeah, the the harassment files there uh

[6:55] that was um files involving one

[6:58] individual that was creating a a higher

[7:01] volume of of harassment files. So that

[7:04] contributes to the the issues that we

[7:06] were seeing there. And then the thefts,

[7:08] um, there was an increase in thefts. Uh,

[7:10] and these were characterized mostly by

[7:13] parking lot and residential unit type thefts. So they're kind of again on

[7:18] the the lower end of the the lower end

[7:20] of the scale. Uh, they're consistent

[7:22] with opportunistic thefts, the low

[7:23] value, minimal effort to require to take

[7:25] the item. Uh, rather unremarkable uh,

[7:29] for the the first three months of our calendar year.

[7:34] Uh and then following up on that,

[7:36] there's the uh pages um with the uh the

[7:40] pie chart. I just wanted to draw your

[7:42] attention to the increase in call volume

[7:44] for the first quarter of this year. Uh

[7:46] compared to last year, we actually saw a

[7:49] 20% increase in in a jump in call volume

[7:52] uh January, February, March. This year

[7:54] versus last year, uh it's starting to

[7:56] even off. Now we're we're basically only

[7:58] up 9%. But uh first three months of the

[8:01] year I thought if if we carry on this

[8:02] way we're going to be there be no

[8:04] shortage of job security for us.

[8:08] And then um as you can see the next

[8:11] couple pages uh talk about our

[8:13] performance year to date on our annual

[8:16] performance plan. Some late starts some

[8:18] slow starts particularly in the crime

[8:20] reduction area. Um part of that has to

[8:22] do with uh school being out as it

[8:24] relates to the um school liaison

[8:27] program. We are weeks away from

[8:30] starting, maybe two or three weeks away

[8:32] from starting our partnership with uh uh

[8:35] VIHA with a mobile crisis response team

[8:38] to help deal with some of the mobile

[8:39] mental health calls for service that we

[8:42] experience uh quite regularly daily.

[8:46] Um and um reporting under the Revoy and

[8:49] SEO program reporting zero year to date.

[8:51] That's the first three months of this

[8:53] year, but I I'm looking forward to the

[8:54] report for this quarter because we're

[8:57] actually going to show much better

[8:58] statistics. This is the Coint program

[8:59] just got started this year as well. So,

[9:02] a little bit slow out of the blocks um

[9:04] uh in that regard, but we're definitely

[9:06] going to pick up

[9:08] and uh and continue to support the

[9:11] community as best we can.

[9:14] Then there's victim services graph or

[9:16] not graph but table followed by the

[9:19] prisoner statistics.

[9:23] Yeah, nothing nothing really there to of

[9:26] any remarkable nature.

[9:30] So, subject to that, I know there might

[9:32] be some questions about some other

[9:34] things, but uh subject to that uh if

[9:36] there's any questions, please let me

[9:37] know.

[9:39] >> Thank you,

[9:41] Council Harington.

[9:44] [snorts]

[9:44] >> Thank you so much for your report and

[9:46] all the work you guys do in the

[9:47] community. Um going back briefly to the

[9:51] um opportunistic

[9:53] thefts from vehicles. Um are these

[9:56] vehicles broken into or are they

[9:58] unlocked and people are going into them?

[10:01] >> Yes ma'am. Uh good question. Uh

[10:03] predominantly vehicles left unlocked and

[10:05] is change taken change taken from the

[10:08] console. Uh a cell phone here and there

[10:11] maybe something of lower value. It's on the lower end of the spectrum.

[10:14] Yeah.

[10:16] Councelor Duncan.

[10:18] >> Thank you, Madam Mayor, and thank you

[10:20] for the updated report. It's nice to see

[10:22] that there's very little red in the

[10:24] Duncan section. Red being bad news for

[10:27] us. Uh but uh my question relates to

[10:30] these statistics and recently, you know,

[10:32] we were accused of being the worst uh

[10:35] community in the province. Uh, so I'm my

[10:38] question is were these the stats that

[10:41] they were using to try and come up with

[10:42] that incorrect uh information? Uh, I do

[10:47] note that you're you and our CEO were

[10:50] going to look into it with Stats Canada.

[10:53] >> Yes, sir. Great question. I'm going to

[10:55] do my best to explain the the CSI

[10:58] program. This is a federal government

[11:00] initiative uh CSI community uh crime

[11:04] severity index. They take police off uh

[11:06] police municipal and RCMP data and they

[11:09] calculate um uh a number to reflect

[11:14] crime in the communities across Canada

[11:16] that are based on volume of calls for

[11:18] service. It's a combination volumes of

[11:20] volume of calls for service with the

[11:22] seriousness of crime. Um it's not our

[11:25] calculation

[11:27] and it comes with a couple of provisos.

[11:29] Number one, they don't calculate CSI for

[11:31] populations under a thousand because it just throws off the numbers. It just

[11:36] it's an inaccurate reflection. Uh and

[11:38] they also say that any communities in

[11:41] around 5,000 use that number with

[11:43] caution. So, it's a it's it's dangerous.

[11:47] It's it's risky to use the CSI. And I I

[11:50] know you're getting at there, sir. Uh

[11:51] we're reporting a 3 336 uh CSI for the

[11:55] city of Duncan in 2025 and a 401 violent

[11:58] CSI um figure for 2025.

[12:02] Um

[12:04] I'm going to do my best to try and

[12:05] explain this. So CSI is a is a ratio

[12:10] between the weighted

[12:13] number associated to the amount of time

[12:17] that the justice system convicts people

[12:20] for offenses in the country over the

[12:23] last 5 years and that becomes a weighted

[12:25] number and that number is divided by the

[12:28] population in the community. So anytime

[12:31] you have a small population in the

[12:33] community that will throw that number

[12:35] off um and it becomes in my view it

[12:39] becomes an inaccurate reflection of the

[12:42] community and what's going on in the

[12:43] community.

[12:45] This the CSI number is best used for big

[12:48] cities, big centers because there's a

[12:50] large large population and they have the

[12:52] cross-section of call volume, but they

[12:54] have a a large population that's the

[12:56] denominator that gives us the CSI number

[12:59] that's more reflective of what goes on

[13:00] in the community. So, um, just to draw

[13:04] your attention to a couple of things

[13:05] here.

[13:07] In 2021, the city of Duncan reported a

[13:11] CSI of 192.

[13:13] And then in 2022,

[13:16] uh the federal government

[13:18] split Duncan into a rural and a

[13:21] municipal uh component. So in 2022, and

[13:25] it's a little bit the numbers are a

[13:27] little bit off because of the the way

[13:29] they split in the middle of the year,

[13:30] but in 2022, the city of Duncan uh

[13:34] reported a 230 CSI and the rural side of

[13:37] it reported a 165. In 2023, all of a

[13:41] sudden, now we got the full year data.

[13:43] 2023, Stats Canada is now reporting a

[13:45] 471 CSI in the city and a 145 rural.

[13:52] In 2024, the city was reported as being

[13:56] 345

[13:58] uh against the 131 rural and the city in

[14:02] 2025 reported 336 uh and rural was

[14:05] reporting a 118. So if you take to kind

[14:08] of put this all in context, if you take

[14:10] the entire valley and you calculate the

[14:12] CSI for the valley, the it actually the

[14:15] CSI is 140. Now because the population

[14:18] in the city of Duncan is 5,700ish about

[14:21] there and we have a about four 4,800

[14:26] calls for service in the city of Duncan

[14:28] last year in 2012. You take that

[14:30] weighted average given the five years of data from [clears throat]

[14:35] uh given u from sentencing from various

[14:38] offenses in the across the country and

[14:40] you divide that by 5,500 people you get

[14:44] a very very high CSI like what we have

[14:47] again not reflective of our community so

[14:50] it's really important that people take

[14:51] that into account and on stats Canada's

[14:53] website it actually says that it says

[14:55] this very clearly don't rely on this

[14:57] information because it's not reflective

[14:59] of what goes on in a community of 5,500

[15:01] people.

[15:03] So, a little bit more information.

[15:06] Um, so what's driving up the violent CSI

[15:09] for the city of Duncan in 2025? So, we

[15:12] had three extra uh aggravated assaults.

[15:16] We had one human trafficking extra human

[15:18] trafficking um file. It was drugrelated.

[15:22] We had two extra kidnappings. Uh that

[15:25] was one was involved uh at happened at

[15:27] Shell gas station and the other one was

[15:29] on Garden Street over here. The uh the

[15:32] suspects were captured and they're still

[15:34] in in in custody and we had six extra

[15:38] robberies

[15:39] and they're all drugreated.

[15:42] So um it doesn't take much to throw that

[15:45] number. So for instance, give you an

[15:47] example. Um we haven't had a haven't had

[15:50] a homicide in the city of Duncan since

[15:51] 2022. So, a a homicide is worth 8,200

[15:56] points. This what Stats Canada gives us.

[15:59] A stolen wheelbarl is 29 points. So, if

[16:02] you have a series of stolen wheelbarls,

[16:04] our CSI comes way down. But if you have

[16:07] a murder, all of a sudden, our CSI goes

[16:09] very high. So, that's the relationship.

[16:11] And when you're dealing with such a

[16:12] small population, it throws off that

[16:15] number. So, it's not something that is

[16:19] in in my mind, it's not

[16:22] while accurate given the the confines of

[16:26] the context, in my mind, it doesn't

[16:27] describe our community.

[16:30] >> Uh, you have a followup.

[16:32] >> Uh, thank you. Um, I'm confused a little

[16:35] bit with the rural designation that we

[16:38] somehow got. I I can't think of as being

[16:41] too much of a rural area because we're

[16:43] only one square mile and we've got a

[16:44] couple of parks, but uh, other than

[16:47] that, how did we get to that rural

[16:48] thing? And um over the years we've

[16:51] complained about the failed to appears

[16:53] that that are part of the stats that we

[16:56] sort of have to bear.

[16:57] >> Yeah.

[16:58] >> Uh would those failed to appears have

[17:00] been included in the five years?

[17:02] >> Uh well there's typically not

[17:04] convictions. There's not the sentences

[17:06] off of a fail to compare. So it's very minor in nature in terms of uh

[17:10] weight. So it it's almost minuscule. It

[17:12] doesn't even really play into it. Um,

[17:14] and in terms of the uh Duncan rural,

[17:18] it's typically going to be anything

[17:20] south of the river. And that's just what

[17:22] the federal government has decided to

[17:24] determine

[17:25] that there's there's the municipality

[17:28] north couch on the north end. On the

[17:30] south end, there's the city and then the

[17:32] rural. And then, of course, the city is

[17:35] just this tiny little spot. and and that

[17:37] with this small population but this very

[17:40] transient um

[17:43] elevated population but not necessarily

[17:45] residents but everybody's contributing a

[17:48] lot of those people are contributing to

[17:49] the the call volume.

[17:54] [snorts]

[17:55] >> Yeah. So, so when they split it, they did they didn't do it according to

[17:58] the area that you service and that would

[18:01] be a difference as well like because in

[18:02] a larger city the police force would

[18:04] service the city. They wouldn't. So, you

[18:07] would be looking at the number that the

[18:08] police service actually um is in charge

[18:11] of whereas here it's split into three

[18:14] and then the the dominator doesn't make

[18:16] any sense.

[18:16] >> No.

[18:17] >> So,

[18:18] >> yeah. Okay. And and if we were to add

[18:21] just the area that you service, it was

[18:23] one what was the number [snorts] that

[18:25] >> 140 would be the if we actually averaged

[18:27] it if it was averaged based on the area

[18:30] that you serve.

[18:30] >> Yeah, that's right. And that would

[18:32] include the 35,000 population

[18:34] municipality north couch and 5,700 here

[18:37] and 10,000 in the rural Duncan rural

[18:40] area.

[18:41] >> Okay. Thank you. And again, just the

[18:43] area that that um Duncan North Couch and

[18:45] RCMP serves.

[18:46] >> Yes, ma'am. Yeah.

[18:47] >> Thank you. Uh, councelor Duncan, are you

[18:50] done with your questions? Okay,

[18:51] councelor Bruce, over to you.

[18:54] >> Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Um,

[18:58] uh, Staff Sergeant Beard, um, with the

[19:02] new program with VHA that's about to get

[19:06] started, is it not?

[19:07] >> Yes, sir.

[19:08] >> And, um, how do you see that helping your group, your your employees?

[19:15] How does that how can you explain how

[19:17] that starts off in the morning? How do

[19:20] you designate who's going with who?

[19:22] >> My pleasure. My pleasure. Uh so over the

[19:25] last two months or so um uh Vanc Health

[19:29] Authority has gone through a selection

[19:31] process and they've selected a

[19:33] designated clinical counselor or crisis

[19:35] nurse. That nurse has been sitting

[19:38] waiting for us to get our house in

[19:39] order. Um and we've gone through the

[19:41] process now of selecting a member who

[19:43] will be designated to be that partner.

[19:46] And so Monday morning at 9:00 in the

[19:48] morning or 10 o'clock in the morning,

[19:50] our team goes out and they start

[19:52] answering calls for service for all that

[19:54] all are all mental health related or

[19:56] based. Last year we had 1500 mental

[19:59] health calls for service. Uh in that

[20:01] process or in that time we ended up

[20:03] apprehending over 500 people under the

[20:06] mental health act. So with this

[20:08] designated partnership, we're going to

[20:10] be able to have subject matter experts,

[20:13] particularly the clinical counselor, uh

[20:16] member, their twoperson team going to a

[20:19] scene. The member contains the situation

[20:21] and then the clinical counselor takes

[20:23] over and starts to use their expertise

[20:26] to try and deescalate and minimize risk

[20:29] to the the indivi individual and to the

[20:32] public and make calls based on the

[20:35] information they get. and then when

[20:36] they're not on calls for service, they

[20:39] wrap around to do follow-up with uh

[20:41] those folks that have been identified

[20:42] that need some support. So, it it it

[20:45] should it's going to help our call

[20:46] volume with the detachment. It's going

[20:48] to give our our members a better

[20:49] opportunity to be on the road, be more

[20:51] visible, and it will put um expertise

[20:54] where it's needed.

[20:58] » So, uh so that's that's one that's one

[21:01] shift then, one

[21:02] >> oh

[21:03] >> 10 hour shift or whatever.

[21:04] >> My apologies. uh it' be Monday, Tuesday,

[21:07] Wednesday, Thursday and then uh Friday

[21:11] uh our member our members work four

[21:13] hours four on four off but the the vihan

[21:16] nurse works five days a week so we will

[21:18] work Monday to Thursday or or a Tuesday

[21:21] to Friday and then when we're not

[21:23] working that that crisis nurse is

[21:26] responding to other uh concerns in the

[21:28] valley uh through through the mental

[21:30] health um

[21:33] uh unit.

[21:35] Yeah, we're we're looking forward to it.

[21:37] I'm hoping that that the the data is

[21:39] going to show that this is uh this is a

[21:41] definitely a need in our community.

[21:44] >> Thank you. And is this this what would

[21:46] have been the car 60 program?

[21:48] >> It would be it'd be enhanced. Yeah. Just

[21:50] like that.

[21:50] >> 60 program. Okay.

[21:52] >> Any other questions for anyone? Not

[21:56] right now. So, um would you like to

[22:00] pass?

[22:01] >> Yeah, if I could with your approval.

[22:02] Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you very

[22:04] much and thanks again for coming out and

[22:07] for clarifying the CSI as well.

[22:13] » Thank you, Mayor and Council. Um I have

[22:15] a few updates. Um but first, um I I'll

[22:20] talk about the fire. So, um, tragically,

[22:23] um, on August 21st, Friday morning, in

[22:26] the early hours, um, at 10:30 Government

[22:28] Street, there was a massive fire that

[22:31] was responded to, and I can confirm two

[22:33] individuals are deceased. Um, it is

[22:36] being treated as suspicious. The

[22:38] autopsies are this week. Um, and the

[22:40] investigation is ongoing, and we'll

[22:42] learn we'll learn more. So, it's well in

[22:44] hand. Um,

[22:47] any questions on that or

[22:53] I don't see any questions right now.

[22:55] I'll speak to it at the end. Perfect.

[22:57] Okay. On a more positive uh note, I have

[23:00] two um updates. The first one is I'd

[23:03] like to invite everybody to our third

[23:05] annual community safety expo at the

[23:07] North Couch and Duncan Detachment on

[23:09] September 26 from 12 to 2. Um last year

[23:13] we had over a thousand community members

[23:15] come out. We have over 50 partner

[23:17] agencies. um country grocerers donate at

[23:20] lunch. Um PDS, our police dog services

[23:23] and our emergency response um team are

[23:26] putting on presentations. Um and it

[23:28] should be a great afternoon for family

[23:30] and friends and and the community. So um

[23:33] just wanted to make sure everybody got

[23:34] an invite. And then the second um

[23:37] positive news is uh the detachment put

[23:41] in an application to the province of

[23:44] British Columbia for extra funding under

[23:46] the community safety and target

[23:48] enforcement program. It's called Seep.

[23:51] Um and we were successful um in they

[23:55] granted us $232,000

[23:58] um to utilize over the next year. So the

[24:01] objectives of the C um step program are

[24:03] to support police operations that

[24:05] address crimes associated with street

[24:07] disorder and their impacts on public

[24:10] safety, community well-being, and

[24:11] economic activity. Um the funds will

[24:14] assist law enforcement activities in

[24:17] high incident high hotspots, including

[24:20] major shopping c corridors and areas

[24:23] where public safety concerns intersect

[24:25] with homelessness, addiction, and mental

[24:27] health crisis. Um, so what we're doing

[24:30] is we're increasing our patrols um that

[24:33] are extra um twice a week and there'll

[24:36] be high uh visibility um bike patrols uh

[24:39] walking mobile patrols. We'll do some

[24:41] shoplifting blitz and it's a phased

[24:43] approach over the next eight months.

[24:47] Thank you. Are there any questions from

[24:50] anyone right now? No questions.

[24:53] I just wanted to thank thank um the RCMP

[24:57] and all of your staff for the response

[25:00] and the all of the emergency um

[25:03] responders. When I was up there on

[25:06] Saturday, I guess it was uh just

[25:09] speaking to people about how respectful

[25:12] everyone um was, how much support people

[25:15] felt that they had. And there was still

[25:18] there was people there including people

[25:21] in here that had not slept all night.

[25:24] And I I was there early in early midday

[25:26] I guess. And um and that was what the

[25:31] experience of the people who were

[25:33] displaced um was that was all the all

[25:35] the reports that I got back just really

[25:38] were grateful and thankful but also

[25:40] really pointed out how people supported

[25:42] them. um from RCMP to fire department to

[25:45] the emergency responders to the

[25:47] community. So, I just wanted to thank

[25:48] you while you were here and and please

[25:50] pass that back to to your members and also the the tragedy and the loss of two lives. Um I know one of the

[25:58] families has now shared um on social

[26:01] media around their lost um their their

[26:05] loved one who was who was lost. And so,

[26:10] yeah, the community is in mourning right

[26:11] now. And um I I just feel like people

[26:16] need a lot of extra support right now

[26:18] and am grateful for the services that

[26:20] are being offered um offered to everyone

[26:24] and for what you have done. So thank you

[26:26] very much and thanks for your report and

[26:29] uh the work that you continue to do for

[26:30] our community. I look forward to hearing

[26:32] more about the funding and also um we

[26:36] know that the other program works. It's

[26:39] worked well and uh we've and when it is

[26:42] active and and running, it it works well

[26:44] and I'm grateful that that is um coming

[26:46] back in in an an updated form. So, thank

[26:49] you for all your work on all of these

[26:50] files and for our community.

[27:02] All right. So, next on our agenda,

[27:06] uh we have the report of the chief

[27:08] administrative officer, Mr. Dverti.

[27:11] Thank you, Mayor Staples.

[27:14] A few things to update on. The Heather

[27:16] Street water main replacement is out for

[27:17] tender. Constructed uh construction,

[27:20] sorry, is expected to start this fall.

[27:23] Uh we've also started the um camera

[27:25] work, which is the annual CCTV

[27:28] inspection program. It's underway for

[27:30] focusing on the sanitary and the storm

[27:31] mains in neighborhoods at the top of

[27:33] Government Street as the for this year's

[27:35] focus.

[27:36] The uh two small ornamental trees uh

[27:40] that are at their end of life have been

[27:42] removed in anticipation of the

[27:43] installation of the new Duncan gateway

[27:45] sign at the south corner uh or south

[27:48] east corner of the old high school field

[27:50] along the TCH.

[27:52] the Miller Road uh water man, the

[27:55] engineering department is working with

[27:56] Couch and Tribes uh and um myself I'm

[27:59] working with uh um engineering staff at Couch and Tribes and and Duncan at on

[28:05] the agreements to put in place for a new

[28:09] uh 8 in uh water man from Trestle Road

[28:11] to Coo Isil Road that would loop the

[28:15] system through that area and that would

[28:17] be subject to council consideration of

[28:18] the terms of the agreement. The the area

[28:20] is currently a major focus for couch and

[28:22] tribes as it's currently on a do not

[28:25] consume notice from Island Health and

[28:26] they need a new water source. All of

[28:28] them are on wells that are uh not

[28:30] potable or forget potable, not use, not functional, not consumed. Um the

[28:37] next one to update on is uh 447 Fester

[28:42] uh street which is the couch and housing

[28:44] association um development for 18 units

[28:47] on u on fester there that we have now

[28:50] received a building permit application

[28:51] and that's under review by staff.

[28:55] And just two more, the the 2026 property

[28:57] tax notices. Uh the payments of and

[29:01] homer grant claims were due July 2nd and

[29:04] 5% penalty was added to outstanding

[29:06] balances at that time. A second 5%

[29:08] penalty will be added to any remaining

[29:11] balances unpaid at 400 p.m. on September

[29:14] 1st. So just encouraging folks to get those done so we don't have to apply

[29:18] additional penalties. And lastly, the

[29:21] 2026 tax sale. Properties with taxes

[29:23] that remain unpaid for three years in a

[29:25] row are subject to an annual tax sale

[29:27] pro process which is a legislated

[29:29] process for municipalities to recover

[29:31] outstanding property taxes through the

[29:33] public auction of properties with

[29:35] delinquent taxes. The tax sale is held

[29:37] on the last Monday of September each

[29:40] year in all municipalities around the

[29:41] province. There's currently five

[29:43] properties with delinquent tax

[29:44] delinquent taxes in the city that are

[29:46] subject to this tax sale process.

[29:48] Currently, staff are actively pursuing

[29:51] uh payment with those uh property owners

[29:54] in an effort to resolve the outstanding

[29:55] taxes before the tax sale process

[29:57] commences.

[30:00] That's it.

[30:03] >> Excellent. Thank you. Are there any

[30:05] questions for Mr. Dvertai right now?

[30:09] >> Councelor Bruce, go ahead.

[30:11] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um the the apartment

[30:15] block I don't think it's mentioned here

[30:17] on uh Evans Street. Um there was was the

[30:22] um senior's

[30:24] uh the sign is still up right right next

[30:28] to Duncan Manor on Evans.

[30:31] Um is that still

[30:33] is is it's gone away or is it the sign

[30:37] is still there? I was just wondering if that is [clears throat] still in the

[30:41] works at all.

[30:42] >> You know what? Do you know the one I

[30:43] mean?

[30:44] >> Yeah, I I know which one you're speaking

[30:45] of. Uh to my knowledge, I think we

[30:47] haven't heard from the applicant in

[30:48] quite some time. So, um not thinking

[30:52] that there's a lot of action that we're

[30:54] expecting on that on that application

[30:56] currently. So, we do check in

[30:57] periodically, but um I I think they're

[31:00] um going through some some challenges.

[31:06] » All right. Any other questions for Mr.

[31:08] Dvertai?

[31:10] Seeing none, uh, that the council

[31:12] receives the August 24th report of the

[31:15] chief administrative officer for

[31:16] information only. Move in a second. Any

[31:19] further discussion? All those in favor.

[31:22] Motion carries. We'll move to Miss

[31:25] Crossman who's going to talk about the

[31:28] budget update.

[31:30] Thank you, Mayor Staples. Uh, I normally

[31:33] would bring this in earlier in the year,

[31:36] maybe in June, but I didn't get a chance

[31:39] to bring it. And so, here we are. We're

[31:41] going all the way from January to July

[31:43] 31st. There's a listing of our operating

[31:47] income and expenses and a listing of our

[31:50] capital projects. I won't go through it

[31:53] line by line by any means, um, but if

[31:56] there are any questions, I'm happy to

[31:59] try and answer them for you.

[32:02] Are there any questions for Miss

[32:03] Crossman on this?

[32:07] I'll read out the motion and give people

[32:08] a little bit more time if they need it.

[32:10] The council received the report titled

[32:12] 2026 budget update dated August 24th by

[32:15] the director of finance for information

[32:17] only. Mover and a seconder. Any

[32:19] questions? All those in favor? Motion

[32:23] carries. Thank you. And we'll move to

[32:25] Miss Hodgkins for the Royal Canadian

[32:27] Legion fee waiver request.

[32:37] Thank you, Mayor Staples. Earlier this

[32:39] year, council provided a letter of

[32:41] support for the Royal Canadian Legion

[32:43] Branch 191 application to the

[32:45] commemorative partnership program for

[32:47] funding to refurbish the Senate at

[32:49] Charles Hoey Park. The Legion was

[32:51] successful in its application and has

[32:53] begun planning for the refurbishment

[32:55] work. However, as the Senate is located

[32:58] on city property, a work on city

[32:59] property permit is required. The city's

[33:02] fees and charges bylaw establishes a fee

[33:04] of $50 for applications to conduct work

[33:07] on city property and does not provide

[33:09] staff with discretion to wave the fees.

[33:11] The Legion is therefore requesting that

[33:13] council authorize the waiver of fees.

[33:16] Thank you.

[33:18] >> Thank you very much. Are there any

[33:20] questions for Miss Hutchkins? No. Okay.

[33:23] that council wave the city fees

[33:25] associated with the work detailed in the

[33:27] Canadian Legion's August 11th, 2026

[33:30] letter regarding the restoration of

[33:32] Duncan Senotap in Charles Hoy Park in a

[33:35] secondary. Are there questions?

[33:38] Go ahead, councelor Dun.

[33:40] >> Not so much a question, but a comment uh

[33:42] with we were at the Burma Star

[33:45] ceremonies uh a couple of weeks ago and

[33:47] I spoke with Dave, I believe is his

[33:49] name. He's very happy with the the way

[33:52] that things are proceeding and he says

[33:54] he's had no problems at all working with

[33:57] Jessica. So

[34:00] >> excellent. Thank you so much. Uh so all

[34:03] those in favor motion carries and back

[34:06] to you for the next one. The liquor

[34:08] primary club license application for the

[34:11] lawn bowling club.

[34:13] >> Yes. Thank you. Mayor Staples. So, the

[34:16] Couch and Lawn Bowling Club has applied

[34:18] concurrently to the city of Duncan and

[34:20] the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation

[34:22] Branch for a liquor primary club

[34:24] license. And this would permit the club

[34:26] to serve liquor to its members and their

[34:28] guests at the clubhouse at 321st Street.

[34:31] And this would be uh the application is

[34:33] for that to be every day between 3 p.m.

[34:35] and 9:00 p.m. during the months of May

[34:37] through September.

[34:39] The city provided public notice of the

[34:41] application to properties within a 100

[34:43] meter radius of 321st Street by mailing

[34:46] notices the week of July 27th.

[34:49] The club has requested a person capacity

[34:51] of 40 people for the licensed area and

[34:54] this is well within the clubhouse's

[34:56] maximum occupant load of 93 people.

[35:00] The city has not received any comments

[35:02] from the public about this application

[35:05] and council's liquor and cannabis

[35:07] licensing policy outlines the areas that

[35:09] the city can comment on uh regarding a

[35:11] liquor primary license application. The

[35:14] recommendation in the report was

[35:16] designed to support council in

[35:17] developing comments for the submission

[35:19] to the LCB. However, it does not need to

[35:22] be in the form uh presented and at

[35:25] council's discretion, it could be made

[35:27] much more succinct. Thank you.

[35:31] >> Excellent. Thank you. Are there any

[35:33] questions right now?

[35:35] The council consider the location,

[35:37] person capacity, and proposed hours of

[35:39] the liquor service at the couch and lawn

[35:40] bowling club at 321st Street. The

[35:43] council offer the following comments on

[35:45] the impact to the community, including

[35:46] general impacts and noise impacts.

[35:49] If the application is approved, the

[35:52] council offer the following comments on

[35:53] the views of the residents. the council

[35:56] either recommend or not recommend the

[35:58] liquor primary license be approved

[36:02] for

[36:03] that's an interesting motion

[36:07] for the following reasons.

[36:11] So there would have to be someone to put

[36:13] forward um one to three and then four

[36:16] either a motion to approve or a motion

[36:18] to not approve.

[36:22] Councelor Newington, please go ahead.

[36:25] the the Thank you. The only um comment

[36:28] that I have is what did you say the

[36:30] hours were again?

[36:33] >> Uh 3M to 9:00 p.m.

[36:35] >> That's that's what I thought. So the

[36:37] park itself closes at 8 though, right?

[36:46] » No, I think it closes at 8, doesn't it?

[36:48] Yeah. So, if it closes at 8, how are the

[36:51] people that are um at the clubhouse

[36:54] going to get it out of the park if it

[36:56] closes at 8? That's my only observation

[37:00] when I read this.

[37:03] >> Well, I know, but let's face it, they it

[37:07] happens,

[37:09] right?

[37:10] We don't have

[37:14] um anyway, that would be my question to

[37:17] them.

[37:19] I think that's something that we could

[37:21] bring to the attention of the lawn

[37:22] bowling club and also could be included

[37:24] in the comments to the LCRB. Um, in

[37:27] terms of uh that's the 9 p.m. is what

[37:29] they have requested. Um, so this is

[37:31] something that could be included in the comments back to the LCRB.

[37:36] >> Anything else anyone would like to add?

[37:40] >> Mr. Versai,

[37:42] >> I would just say that as it stands, the Lumboly may often have events that

[37:47] are after the park hours and would be

[37:49] quite used to having to park outside the

[37:51] gate for for evenings where they have an

[37:53] event that goes past past the park hours

[37:55] because we don't we don't leave it open

[37:57] just for them. So, they're they're quite

[37:58] accustomed to knowing when when the

[38:01] gates are closing or they should.

[38:05] I realize that, but this is an event an

[38:08] event like once a month or once every couple of

[38:12] weeks is different than um four nights a

[38:15] week, right? To the to the people that

[38:19] are in the community. I I'm not

[38:20] objecting to this. I just think that the

[38:22] hours need to be um adjusted slightly.

[38:26] maybe start a tad earlier and finish by

[38:28] 8 o'clock

[38:33] or just there could also be something to

[38:35] the Lawn Bowling Club just as a reminder

[38:37] that the the park is closed and that

[38:39] they deal with that and if someone gets

[38:41] locked in it's at their expense to get

[38:43] them out

[38:45] just like we do down here. People get

[38:47] towed. I almost got towed the other day.

[38:50] I was like 10 minutes away from being

[38:52] towed.

[38:53] But that's a but that would be feedback

[38:55] not to the liquor board necessarily.

[38:56] That would just be feedback I would

[38:58] imagine through staff. So anyone else on

[39:01] does anyone have any comments that they

[39:03] would like to offer additionally at this

[39:05] time? Councelor Bruce go ahead.

[39:07] >> Well I I guess the third part that

[39:10] council offer following comments on the

[39:13] views of the residents and Jessica you

[39:16] were saying that at this point we have

[39:18] no objections. Is that is that correct?

[39:21] >> Uh that's correct. We've received no

[39:23] feedback either way on this.

[39:24] >> So, we could put that in there, I guess,

[39:26] and in that line, I suppose.

[39:33] » So, adding no comments received

[39:40] » and the comments that council had would

[39:42] be to staff, not to the the LCV. Okay.

[39:46] All right. Anyone else?

[39:51] Okay. And so then it would be that

[39:55] council uh a motion to approve.

[40:00] Correct. Okay.

[40:03] So I I won't read the motion out again.

[40:05] Um other than to add that the motion is

[40:09] to be approved

[40:11] uh and that there's no comments on 3 A

[40:15] or 3B, but no on 3A. we've actually or sorry 2 A or 3A but on 3A we've just

[40:22] acknowledged that there's no comments in

[40:24] the feedback to the other control board.

[40:26] Okay. So all those in favor

[40:30] motion carries. Thank you. Thank you

[40:33] very much for your work on that. I don't

[40:35] I was trying to remember the last time

[40:37] we had an application. I feel like it

[40:38] was the wine bar

[40:41] >> street.

[40:43] >> Oh yeah, that's right too. But that one

[40:45] already existed though. It was just an

[40:47] expansion.

[40:48] >> So, I think that yeah, it's been a long

[40:50] time. We don't get a lot of these.

[40:53] Okay. So, thank you for that. Uh we'll

[40:57] move on to the wildfire deployment gear

[40:58] and equipment. Um Chief Spriggs,

[41:01] welcome.

[41:04] » Thank you, Mayor Staples.

[41:07] As you're probably well aware, we're

[41:08] finding ourselves in a pretty

[41:10] exceptional wildfire season this year.

[41:14] Since uh July 26, we've been asked to

[41:16] deploy with wildfire service to um the

[41:20] Clinton area for the big barf fire. Um

[41:24] we're now in our third rotation of

[41:27] deployment to that. Uh the membership

[41:31] has asked me to come forward with a

[41:32] request essentially to uh use a portion

[41:36] of the profit that should be coming from

[41:38] this deployment as a reinvestment into

[41:41] the items listed for uh the continuation

[41:45] of this deployment. And we're

[41:47] anticipating with the El Nino year this

[41:49] year and anticipated next year that the

[41:52] requests will continue um which will

[41:55] keep bringing the profit back to the uh

[41:58] the organization.

[42:00] Um and with this like I said we've been

[42:05] anticipating that we might get called.

[42:08] So, we've done a lot of training this

[42:09] year in making sure all of our equipment

[42:12] and personnel are meeting the standards

[42:14] that BC Wildfire has been setting and

[42:17] they keep uh increasing the requirements

[42:20] and being very detailed in the scrutiny

[42:23] that they are looking at things like the

[42:25] equipment listed for uh coveralls as an

[42:29] example to meet certain safety

[42:31] standards. So, we have a limited amount

[42:34] of that uh equipment currently in the

[42:37] hall and this reinvestment would help us

[42:39] continue with this activity. So, with

[42:41] that, I'd like to invite any questions.

[42:46] >> Thank you. Are there any questions from

[42:47] council? I see councelor Duncan and then

[42:49] councelor Bruce.

[42:51] >> Great. Thank you, your worship. Uh so

[42:53] that this will be enough equipment for

[42:55] every firefighter or do you anticipate

[42:57] that we would only send like say five or six each time or

[43:03] >> um with the deployments? So the the goal

[43:07] is to have every firefighter trained and

[43:09] able to deploy. The deployments are

[43:12] somewhat dependent on uh personal

[43:14] schedules um and whether there's people

[43:16] actually available to respond. The um

[43:21] start of the season, as an example, had

[43:23] only two or three people interested in

[43:25] the deployment. We're up to 14 or 15.

[43:28] So, it continues to increase as the

[43:31] stories come back and as the activities

[43:34] are really necessary in the province.

[43:36] People are seeing the need and wanting

[43:38] to fulfill that.

[43:42] » Councelor Duncan or sorry, Councelor

[43:44] Bruce.

[43:46] >> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you

[43:49] for what you're doing with the with the

[43:51] whole department. Thank you very much.

[43:53] Sounds like good news in there as far as

[43:56] the way everybody's thinking about the

[43:57] department and the camaraderie and

[44:00] sounds to me like things are in a a

[44:03] healthy state and and I was just

[44:05] wondering with the $22,000

[44:08] have you got other than other than uh

[44:12] what do you call it? Uh overhauls or

[44:15] what do you call it? Other than that,

[44:18] coveralls. I mean, have you got one

[44:21] specific piece of equipment that you

[44:22] think needs to be purchased to to help

[44:25] these people when they're in the

[44:27] wildfire scene?

[44:30] >> Um the so the list that you have in the

[44:33] report is um it's the uh requests from

[44:38] the people who are actually doing this

[44:40] in the field right now. So this is the

[44:41] primary items that really uh actually to

[44:45] be fair they have many requests they'd

[44:47] like to buy a whole bunch of things but

[44:49] what we've done in the report is to try

[44:51] and focus it on things that relate to

[44:54] the wildfire activity specifically and

[44:56] the things that will assist them

[44:57] specifically um as you might see there's

[45:00] things like tents and cs and uh the the

[45:03] creature comforts of camp which uh as of

[45:06] the lightning storm that came through

[45:08] over the weekend camp is now a mud pit

[45:11] So there's a there's not very nice

[45:13] conditions that they're working in uh

[45:15] and having to live in. So the focus is

[45:18] um personal protective equipment. It's

[45:20] the wildland specific clothing. Uh it's

[45:24] having changes of clothes so that they

[45:26] can survive in those camp environments.

[45:30] Um that's the the focus of what the

[45:32] request is here.

[45:36] » You councelor Newington.

[45:39] Thank you very much for this. Now, um

[45:43] CBC had a a whole thing about

[45:45] firefighters and and that sort of um do

[45:49] our lads get training before they go?

[45:52] >> Yes. Specific. So, there's something

[45:55] called the inter agency agreement

[45:56] between the BC Wildfire Service and the

[45:59] Association of Fire Chiefs of BC. It

[46:02] outlines training standards from first

[46:04] aid requirements to the levels of uh

[46:08] wildland firefighting certificates that

[46:10] are needed to deploy. So the training

[46:13] that we've been doing this spring was to

[46:16] get that certification across the entire

[46:18] department. Um, also because if a

[46:22] wildfire was to occur here and we were

[46:25] to have the assistance of BC Wildfire

[46:26] Service here, we want to be working off

[46:29] the same page, same playbook as them.

[46:32] Uh, and then we're trying to create some

[46:35] depth in the next levels. Uh, there's

[46:37] something called an engine boss, sort of

[46:38] a leader of the crew. Uh, we only

[46:41] currently have four people trained at

[46:43] that level. So, we'd like to in future

[46:45] invest in that, but that's for our

[46:47] future planning, not related to this

[46:49] particular report.

[46:52] >> Anyone else?

[46:55] No. Okay. Uh, and just I'll do the

[47:00] motion first and then I just would like

[47:01] to just um

[47:04] just say something. Uh, that the fire

[47:07] department be authorized to purchase

[47:08] wildfire gear and equipment up to a

[47:10] maximum of $22,040.

[47:12] very specific to be funded from net

[47:14] revenues from the 2026 BC Wildfire

[47:17] Services deployment and that staff be

[47:19] directed to draft a financial amendment

[47:20] to include $22,40 for wildlife

[47:23] deployment gear and equipment. So mover

[47:25] and a second all those in favor motion

[47:28] carries. Thank you. And and just also I did see um so two things. One, thank

[47:36] you to um the department for supporting

[47:40] everyone to do this training and also

[47:42] for deploying supporting the deployment

[47:44] of people. There's is it four people

[47:48] that have been deployed or is it is it

[47:49] four at a time?

[47:51] >> There's uh one of our vehicles with a

[47:54] threeperson crew um and now on the third

[47:58] rotation. So, um it's it's a little bit

[48:01] complicated because we've had to move

[48:03] people not exactly with that 14-day

[48:05] schedule, but essentially nine

[48:08] firefighters and we've shared one to the

[48:10] Malahhat. So, 10 firefighters have

[48:13] deployed to this point um with a

[48:16] expectation that there's likely a next

[48:18] deployment as well. So, another three

[48:20] would go.

[48:21] >> Okay. Thank you. And thank thanks

[48:25] extended thanks to them and to everyone

[48:28] that also stays behind to you know fill

[48:31] in the back back fill while people are

[48:33] away too. And with that uh I did see you

[48:36] on Saturday. Um I think you were on

[48:40] about I don't even know how many hours

[48:41] when when I saw you and thanks to the

[48:44] department and and to our neighboring

[48:46] departments as well for all the work

[48:48] that you did. um that could not have

[48:50] been an easy situation on so many levels

[48:53] and just know that we're extremely

[48:55] grateful for the work that you do. And

[48:57] um when I went up to uh when I was up

[49:01] there, one of the things that I saw was

[49:04] just you know there's a lot of talk

[49:06] about um how no one works together and

[49:11] you know in different jurisdictions and

[49:13] we've just given two examples of how

[49:15] well we do work together you know one

[49:17] being um sending people out to

[49:19] deployment for fires also working with

[49:22] other fire departments on that on

[49:25] training Um, but also when it comes to

[49:28] um when it comes to to fires or

[49:31] situations, there was the CVRD was

[49:33] there, there was people from Couch and

[49:34] Tribes there, North Couch and Fire

[49:36] Department was there, Cow Bay Fire

[49:38] Department, um, and the school district

[49:41] and local businesses. And the list just

[49:44] goes on and on of the people who

[49:45] actually were in that room supporting

[49:48] everyone there. And it was just, you

[49:52] know, it's remarkable to see everyone in in that space and and

[49:58] how well oiled that whole system is with

[50:01] emergency response with the regional

[50:03] district. Um, but also just again the

[50:06] appreciation to all of you for the work

[50:08] that you do because it's not it's not

[50:10] easy and I there's been, you know, we've

[50:13] had two major fires in a month. I

[50:16] believe it is just just over a month and

[50:18] that's a lot on people. And so just know

[50:22] that we recognize that and um and I know

[50:25] that you make sure that everyone takes

[50:26] good care of themselves and that the

[50:28] community is here to support you in the

[50:30] ways that we can as well. So thank you

[50:34] councelor Bruce.

[50:36] >> Thank you mayor. I I was just wondering

[50:39] what what kind of how big is the income

[50:43] coming back

[50:45] with the firefighters from their job?

[50:49] Uh

[50:50] So, if I if I may, first I thank you for

[50:54] the comments. I'd like to take that um

[50:56] support and share that back with the

[50:58] fire department. Um and I also would

[51:00] echo the support across the region uh

[51:05] from our other partners like you've

[51:08] mentioned the emergency management couch

[51:09] and the RCMP BC ambulance service was

[51:13] working extremely hard at that

[51:14] particular incident. Um all our partner

[51:17] fire agencies um the there was a lot of

[51:21] hard work going into that and very much

[51:23] appreciated and did feel like we're

[51:26] really working as a team in the

[51:28] community. So, if I may [clears throat]

[51:31] specifically back to your question, if

[51:32] you're uh referring to from the wildfire

[51:36] deployment to the end of the current

[51:39] rotation, the profit expected is around

[51:42] 92,000.

[51:43] Um and it will depend on the total

[51:47] length of the deployment. So that's

[51:49] where we're anticipating presently. Uh

[51:52] but if we get extended, of course, that

[51:53] grows.

[51:55] You're welcome.

[51:57] All right. Thank you again and uh

[52:01] have a good night.

[52:04] We'll move on to permissive tax

[52:06] exemption. And we have a few people who

[52:09] need to get out of here. Can you please

[52:10] state on your mics why you need to

[52:11] leave?

[52:13] Um, I work for the hospital auxiliary

[52:16] thrift store as a assistant manager.

[52:20] >> I volunteer at the hospital auxiliary

[52:23] foot store as someone on sales.

[52:33] We don't need to got to make sure we

[52:35] keep quum.

[52:48] All right. So that council direct staff

[52:51] to draft a permissive tax exemption

[52:54] bylaw for the 2027 and 2028 tax years to

[52:57] include a two-year tax exemption for the

[52:59] couch and district hospital auxiliary

[53:01] for 56% of the property at 138 Craig

[53:04] Street as detailed in the August 24th

[53:07] report of the director of finance or the

[53:09] council deny the permissive except tax

[53:12] exemption application from the couch and

[53:15] district hospital auxiliary.

[53:17] So, do we have a mover for either of

[53:19] those motions? Councelor Caps.

[53:22] >> Uh, yeah. I would move approval of the

[53:24] exemption.

[53:25] >> Is there a seconder for that? Councelor

[53:28] Mumis, any discussion on that? Councilor

[53:31] Bruce.

[53:33] >> Yeah. I I'm just wondering if we're

[53:35] going I mean, I agree with it, too, but

[53:38] I'm just wondering if we're going down

[53:41] the rabbit trail of businesses of

[53:44] certain

[53:46] I know Imagine speaking against the

[53:48] hospital auxiliary. But nevertheless, it

[53:52] is a business uh that store is and it's

[53:55] a very successful business. they bought

[53:57] the property and um I'm just wondering

[54:01] if we as a community should be giving

[54:04] tax exemptions

[54:06] uh to that particular

[54:09] uh business and whether that would um

[54:13] bring other like-minded businesses

[54:16] looking for tax uh relief as well if

[54:20] they were parti partially sponsoring

[54:23] something or I'm just I'm just concerned

[54:26] that We're opening a door that maybe we shouldn't, as much as I hate to

[54:32] talk against the hospital auxiliary for

[54:35] crying out loud, but um should we be

[54:39] giving tax exemptions to uh an actual

[54:43] retail store in the city core is kind of

[54:49] my question.

[54:52] >> So, is there someone from staff who

[54:53] would like to speak to this? I'm happy

[54:55] to, but if there's I'm assuming it would

[54:58] be Miss Crossman or Mr. Dverai.

[55:02] It's

[55:04] I could only note that u last year

[55:06] council did not approve it. I think

[55:08] there was was some concern around um

[55:12] other thrift stores. So

[55:16] >> uh so the hospital auxiliary raises

[55:18] funds to contribute to the um care of

[55:20] patients at the couch and district

[55:22] hospital, residents of Karensmore Place

[55:23] and Hospice House and residents of the

[55:26] Couch and Valley. So it is an an active

[55:29] um it gives it the money that it makes

[55:32] it gives back to the community.

[55:35] So

[55:37] go ahead council Bruce.

[55:38] >> Thank you. I I I totally agree with you,

[55:40] but um so does the um um the the the

[55:45] other business on um Kenneth Street. I

[55:50] used to work there. What's it called? Um

[55:55] Sassy Lion. and um they're making

[56:00] contributions all through the community

[56:03] for various various activities, parks

[56:05] and and uh everything the Lions Club's

[56:09] involved with. So, um I mean I'm not

[56:11] sure where all the other the other uh uh

[56:15] stores, the thrift stores and so on u

[56:18] send all their money, but that is

[56:20] exactly my point. Should we be opening

[56:22] this up for all of those other ones to

[56:26] make application? And I know darn well

[56:29] this is very very wellreceived and so is the Sassy Lion. They do they do a

[56:34] great job as well. And um I think the

[56:37] Sassy Lion has one paid employee and I I

[56:42] don't know that the the hats has even

[56:46] one I don't think they have one paid

[56:49] employee, but nevertheless, I was just

[56:51] concerned about opening up that that uh

[56:55] that whole field. Uh and they're doing

[56:58] good work in the community for sure, but

[57:00] I just don't want to get something going

[57:02] here that we and that's why we shut it

[57:04] down. We did not approve this last year

[57:08] and and I would I would agree with what

[57:10] we came our conclusion last year. I

[57:14] would I would uh think that that should

[57:16] be the same thing that we come to this

[57:18] year. Thank you.

[57:21] >> Okay. Thank you. Any other comments or

[57:23] questions? Councelor Caps, go ahead.

[57:25] Yeah, just to I definitely understand

[57:27] the spirit of what you're saying and for

[57:28] full transparency, I was not at the

[57:30] meeting earlier today, so I'm not sure

[57:32] um which applications from other

[57:34] applicants were approved or denied for

[57:36] this round. Um but I I just think like I agree and I don't really see a

[57:42] situation in which we would start

[57:44] approving applications for forprofit

[57:47] retail spaces. You know, this is so so

[57:52] clearly quite different to that. And

[57:54] again, I I I see that you you do you you

[57:57] know, there's there's an understanding

[57:58] of that. I think that it's a very

[58:00] different thing and we're not seeing

[58:02] some influx of for-profit businesses

[58:04] applying for this. And if we did, that

[58:05] wouldn't be uh a fit under our, you

[58:09] know, general guidelines of this sort of

[58:10] thing anyway. So, I think I I obviously

[58:13] I moved it. Obviously, I I agree with

[58:15] it. I think this is a reasonable

[58:17] proposition. Um Yeah. Thank you.

[58:21] >> Go ahead.

[58:24] The motion was for how much? Like 100%,

[58:28] 75, 56%.

[58:31] It was Is it 56%? Yeah, it's the

[58:35] property is 56%.

[58:38] >> Right. So, um the request was made by

[58:41] the applicant to exempt 100% of the

[58:46] portion of the area that they occupy.

[58:48] They do have other areas of the building

[58:51] that they rent out and they're not

[58:52] asking for an exemption on those areas.

[58:55] So the the portion of the building that

[58:58] they occupy themselves comes to

[59:02] uh is it 56% that I wrote on here?

[59:04] >> 56%. So it's basically 100% exemption of

[59:09] the area that they use for their

[59:12] services.

[59:15] But the question was, what was the

[59:18] motion? Was 56% or was it

[59:22] 100%. I didn't didn't hear that. I just

[59:25] heard the 56% of the land, but I never

[59:28] heard a percentage of exemptions.

[59:31] >> Sorry. No, the I think Miss Crossman is

[59:33] referring to the recommendation that was

[59:35] on the um cover there of the agenda. And

[59:39] I will admit that I don't I didn't hear

[59:41] the the exact wording of recommendation

[59:43] myself. So or sorry of the resolution

[59:46] that was proposed by councelor Caps.

[59:48] Were you suggesting that it should be

[59:49] the 56%.

[59:53] » I if I may I believe um councelor

[59:56] McKinley is speaking to is it 100%

[59:58] exemption on that 56% of the property?

[1:00:01] Is that correct? that. So that's what I

[1:00:03] took from that um first suggested

[1:00:06] recommendation and so that was what I moved 100% of that 56% which they

[1:00:11] occupy and use for that purpose.

[1:00:16] Okay. Anyone else? All those in favor?

[1:00:20] Any opposed? Councelor Bruce opposed.

[1:00:22] Motion carries. We'll just take a moment

[1:00:24] and um invite them back in.

[1:00:40] Welcome.

[1:00:43] Just give them a minute to get settled

[1:00:44] back in.

[1:01:07] All right, go ahead. Welcome. Uh, thank

[1:01:10] you. Good evening, Mayor and Council.

[1:01:12] Uh, I'm here tonight to present a zoning

[1:01:15] amendment uh, application for 521 Canada

[1:01:19] Avenue.

[1:01:23] Do I have to tell you, Jessica? Okay. Uh

[1:01:26] so the purpose of the application is a

[1:01:29] proposed sightsp specific amendment to

[1:01:31] the zoning bylaw at 521 Canada Avenue to

[1:01:35] allow for the ongoing operation of the

[1:01:37] current cannabis retail store. Uh

[1:01:40] currently cannabis retail stores are

[1:01:42] prohibited in all zones of the zoning

[1:01:44] bylaw unless permitted through a

[1:01:46] temporary use permit or a sight specific

[1:01:48] amendment. The zoning amendment would

[1:01:51] allow uh for cannibal sorry the zoning

[1:01:54] amendment to allow for cannabis retail

[1:01:57] store is limited to this property only.

[1:02:00] Uh the existing cannabis retail store is

[1:02:03] operated continuously at this location

[1:02:05] for 6 years uh authorized by two

[1:02:08] consecutive temporary use permits. Uh

[1:02:11] there's been no increased enforcement

[1:02:13] calls related to the existing store.

[1:02:16] cannabis retail stores regulated by the

[1:02:18] liquor and cannabis regulation branch.

[1:02:21] Uh this change would allow the business

[1:02:22] to continue operating without needing to

[1:02:25] apply for a new temporary use permit or

[1:02:28] a renewal every 3 years.

[1:02:34] Uh this is the subject property

[1:02:38] and a couple of site photos. So, the

[1:02:41] storefront and then just the storefront

[1:02:44] in the context of the existing building

[1:02:46] in our downtown.

[1:02:48] And these are the options before council

[1:02:52] this evening. Uh so to give three

[1:02:54] readings to and adopt the zoning

[1:02:56] amendment bylaw. Council could refuse

[1:02:59] it. Uh or amend and then give three

[1:03:02] readings to and adopt the amended bylaw.

[1:03:07] » Council Duncan

[1:03:09] >> and sorry. Oh, not quite done.

[1:03:11] >> Oh, okay. Sorry. And

[1:03:13] >> this is the staff recommendation uh that

[1:03:15] council give first three readings to and

[1:03:18] adopt zoning bylaw amendment bylaw

[1:03:20] number 3166.13

[1:03:22] 2026, a bylaw to establish and permit

[1:03:25] the sight specific use of cannabis

[1:03:27] retail store at 521 Canada Avenue.

[1:03:31] Thank you.

[1:03:32] >> Thank you, Councelor Duncan.

[1:03:35] >> I was just going to move uh the

[1:03:36] resolution to grant I see a number of

[1:03:40] hands going up for seconders. Is there

[1:03:42] any discussion or questions right now?

[1:03:45] Seeing none, all those in favor? Motion

[1:03:48] carries. Thank you very much.

[1:03:56] And we'll move on to Miss Hajins for the

[1:03:58] fees and charges amendment bylaw. Thanks

[1:03:59] for coming out.

[1:04:21] Okay. Uh thank you, Mayor Staples. Um

[1:04:23] this bylaw is uh council saw it

[1:04:25] previously. It's coming back uh for

[1:04:27] adoption. Fees and charges amendment

[1:04:29] bylaw. Um, one of the primary changes

[1:04:31] within it is to um, adjust the fire

[1:04:34] hydrant flow testing report fees uh, so

[1:04:36] that the fees that we charge covers the

[1:04:38] cost of staff doing the work. Um, and

[1:04:40] there are some other uh, small

[1:04:42] corrections in there as well that have

[1:04:43] been included in the bylaw. Thank you.

[1:04:48] All right. Are there any questions?

[1:04:50] Uh, that council adopt fees and charges

[1:04:52] bylaw amendment number 3212 decimal 13

[1:04:56] 2026. Mover and a seconder. Any

[1:04:59] discussion? All those in favor? Motion

[1:05:01] carries. Thank you very much. That was

[1:05:03] so quick. Uh 9.2 financial plan

[1:05:06] amendment bylaw, Miss Crossman, that we

[1:05:09] adopt the financial uh plan amendment

[1:05:11] bylaw number 326201.

[1:05:16] Uh is there anything you'd like to say?

[1:05:20] Only that I should have waited a little

[1:05:21] bit longer because now we have a fire

[1:05:23] department amendment to bring back to

[1:05:25] you to a future meeting. But this one

[1:05:28] has come to council at the last meeting

[1:05:30] for three readings and is here for

[1:05:33] adoption. And uh there's nothing on here

[1:05:36] that affects taxes.

[1:05:38] Um so council has already seen all these

[1:05:41] items previously.

[1:05:45] Thank you very much. Uh so uh mover and

[1:05:48] a second there for that. Any discussion?

[1:05:50] All those in favor? Motion carries.

[1:05:52] Thank you. A proclamation that council

[1:05:55] proclaim September 20th to 26 as

[1:05:57] national forest week in the city of

[1:05:59] Duncan for our growing urban forest. A

[1:06:02] mover and a seconder. All those in

[1:06:05] favor? Motion carries. Are there reports

[1:06:07] from counselors this evening? Any

[1:06:10] councilors that would like to make I see

[1:06:11] councelor Newington, councelor Duncan.

[1:06:13] Anyone else? Going once, going twice.

[1:06:17] All right, the two of you are up. Do you

[1:06:19] want to draw straws to see who wants to

[1:06:21] go first?

[1:06:22] I pushed the button first. There we go.

[1:06:24] >> Over to you.

[1:06:27] >> Okay. I attended the board meeting um at

[1:06:30] the couch and independent living and um

[1:06:33] they're really coming along well after

[1:06:36] their um problems that they had earlier

[1:06:38] on or two years ago and they've managed

[1:06:41] to recover from that. And um the

[1:06:45] executive director Michelle Barrett is

[1:06:48] really doing a grand job and working

[1:06:50] hard at um getting grants and helping

[1:06:54] them fund what their programs that they

[1:06:56] have there. Um I attended the river

[1:07:00] cleanup startup. Unfortunately, my knee

[1:07:02] is in the shape that I cannot go up and

[1:07:05] down the banks anymore um until I get it

[1:07:08] fixed. But um it was nice to see a lot

[1:07:11] of the diversity of people. There were

[1:07:14] people my age who I was informed just

[1:07:17] recently that I was elderly. I don't

[1:07:19] understand that part but anyway um and

[1:07:23] uh a lot of young people and so that was

[1:07:26] really good to see another generation

[1:07:28] coming along um interested in the satlo

[1:07:33] and on two occasions one just after our

[1:07:37] committee of the whole meeting and one

[1:07:39] on Saturday

[1:07:41] I came across people kind of looking

[1:07:43] around town like this and I went up to

[1:07:46] them and said are you from out of town?

[1:07:48] Yes. And so, um, they both both groups

[1:07:51] of people, and councelor, uh, Duncan can

[1:07:54] attest to this, both groups of people

[1:07:56] were just blown away at how beautiful

[1:07:59] the city was looking. So, pass that on.

[1:08:03] Thank you,

[1:08:06] » Councelor Duncan. Thank you, Councelor

[1:08:08] Nton.

[1:08:09] >> Thank you. your worship. I attended uh

[1:08:11] with some other staff members uh the

[1:08:13] lawn bowling uh I guess it would be the

[1:08:16] rematch perhaps. Uh and also uh I guess

[1:08:19] to show us that really it's not the same

[1:08:22] as curling. They're not yelling sweep sweep when you throw the ball.

[1:08:26] It's pretty quiet. So I don't anticipate

[1:08:28] that we're going to have any problems

[1:08:29] with the liquor license if it's granted.

[1:08:32] Uh I also attended the Burma Star

[1:08:35] ceremony. Uh that is the ceremony that

[1:08:38] actually celebrates uh Charles Hoey. Uh

[1:08:40] he was uh uh killed uh in action uh

[1:08:44] while he was uh taking out a machine gun

[1:08:46] nest and that's the reason we have the

[1:08:49] Charles Hoey Park. So it was great to

[1:08:51] see we had some of the Sheamanus group

[1:08:54] down and some from uh Duncan still. So

[1:08:58] and again also there was a report from

[1:09:00] Dave saying that he's really pleased to

[1:09:03] get Senate uh fixed up.

[1:09:06] Thank you.

[1:09:08] Uh so I was at the lawn bowling also and

[1:09:11] I have to just uh commend councelor

[1:09:13] Bruce on his exceptional uh last and

[1:09:16] final throw at the lawn bowling and he

[1:09:20] beat us all. It was it was great and

[1:09:23] they've done a lot of work. It looked

[1:09:24] really good. I mean it looked good last

[1:09:26] year but they've definitely done a lot

[1:09:27] of extra work. So it was great. And it's

[1:09:29] nice for us to be able to do those types

[1:09:31] of things. Um, which we don't get to do

[1:09:34] terribly often together. So, I

[1:09:35] appreciate that. And I was also at the

[1:09:38] river cleanup. Um, I saw Council

[1:09:40] Newington there. And yeah, many people

[1:09:42] were there and they everyone said for

[1:09:45] the day after that that crazy lightning

[1:09:47] storm that we had where a lot of people

[1:09:49] did not get a lot of sleep, um, they

[1:09:51] were really pleased with the turnout

[1:09:54] uh, of of people being there. And I

[1:09:56] don't even know how many years it's been

[1:09:57] going on. 16 years now

[1:10:01] and so yeah and good to see a new

[1:10:03] generation coming up and taking the

[1:10:05] reigns and um speaking. They did an

[1:10:07] excellent job. Uh also went to the some

[1:10:11] of the 39 days of July as some of the

[1:10:15] final kind of nights that were there and

[1:10:17] I did get to see the song that was

[1:10:18] created for them. Uh I was at the Zumba

[1:10:21] class on the Saturday and they did they

[1:10:23] made a song for Long John and the 39

[1:10:25] days and it was it was very emotional.

[1:10:28] It was really lovely and uh yeah it was

[1:10:32] incredibly wonderful and also at the I

[1:10:36] think it was the art in the avenue as

[1:10:38] well that happened around that time.

[1:10:40] There seems to be just a lot of things

[1:10:42] happening uh all all together. And I've

[1:10:45] been to the market a number of times and

[1:10:46] it has been busy here on on the weekends

[1:10:48] and even during the week. Um I'm

[1:10:50] downtown a lot and there's been a lot of

[1:10:52] people and a lot of people Yeah. from

[1:10:53] other places and so many people

[1:10:56] commenting on uh on how much they love

[1:10:58] the city. Uh also it was amazing to have

[1:11:04] uh Mark Lakeman stop by. So for most of

[1:11:08] our council will remember Mark and staff

[1:11:10] that are here just before the pandemic.

[1:11:12] He came in and he did a a communitywide

[1:11:16] um like design shred, I guess we would

[1:11:18] call it. It's he he runs something

[1:11:20] called city repair. And who was all

[1:11:23] involved in that from here? Councelor

[1:11:25] Duncan, you would have been there. You

[1:11:27] were there, too. Councelor Caps, and you

[1:11:28] were there. And and so we we came

[1:11:31] together. There's about 60 of us and and

[1:11:34] uh people from all ages and

[1:11:35] demographics. And we created a design

[1:11:37] for the park downtown. And then and we

[1:11:40] also created a second design for

[1:11:41] Whistler Street area. And then the

[1:11:44] pandemic hit. And so um after years of

[1:11:48] staff repeatedly applying for funding,

[1:11:50] we got funding. The park is open. And it

[1:11:52] was his very first time uh in Duncan

[1:11:55] since then. And so he I found out very

[1:11:59] last minute that he was coming through.

[1:12:01] and uh and he he didn't he was un he was

[1:12:05] supposed to come before but he had a

[1:12:07] drill in his car and he couldn't get

[1:12:09] across the border. So he wasn't sure if

[1:12:12] he would get across this time but he did

[1:12:14] and I I met him sitting in the park.

[1:12:17] He'd been there for about two hours just

[1:12:18] watching people move in the space

[1:12:20] because all his whole work is about how

[1:12:22] people um how people interact with the

[1:12:25] space around them and he absolutely

[1:12:27] loves the the interaction and the way

[1:12:30] that that park ended up being designed,

[1:12:32] but it's a good reminder that that was a

[1:12:34] that was something that we built

[1:12:35] together that has now, you know, not

[1:12:37] every single thing that everyone wanted

[1:12:38] made it into the final design and of

[1:12:41] course funding and lack of funding and

[1:12:43] increasing costs, they narrowed that

[1:12:45] some of the things down, but there's

[1:12:47] opportunities to build on it. Uh, but he

[1:12:50] was so proud of proud of um of seeing

[1:12:52] that and just of the work that the

[1:12:54] community did and that we were able to

[1:12:56] get that up. And then he also uh went we

[1:12:59] went to see the village as well. And so

[1:13:02] Mark uh was also part of doing the I

[1:13:06] think it was 27 years ago I want to say

[1:13:08] I could be wrong on that number so no

[1:13:10] quotes there but a long time ago. Um he

[1:13:13] was part of the uh first village

[1:13:15] projects that happened in Portland. And

[1:13:18] so prior to the pandemic as well, I did

[1:13:20] get to go down and visit some of the

[1:13:21] sites. And he did a number of

[1:13:23] presentations at the regional district

[1:13:24] over the years, letting people know um

[1:13:27] far long before we had the the crisis

[1:13:29] that we have now, the housing um house

[1:13:32] housing crisis and the homelessness

[1:13:34] crisis to talk about the things that

[1:13:36] they were doing in those early days of

[1:13:38] um creating villages for all sorts of

[1:13:40] different um types of people in in need.

[1:13:42] And so again, he was just just

[1:13:46] absolutely loved the site. Um he got to

[1:13:49] talk to people who work there and people

[1:13:51] who live there. And so it was just

[1:13:53] really nice to see sometimes your

[1:13:54] community, the things that you've

[1:13:56] accomplished in community that we've all

[1:13:58] accomplished together through someone

[1:14:00] else's eyes. Um and someone that was

[1:14:02] such an inspiration to the the things

[1:14:04] that um have actually happened. And so I

[1:14:07] just wanted to share that with everyone

[1:14:08] because he had nothing but amazing

[1:14:10] things to say. and uh posted it on

[1:14:13] social media and yeah it was it was

[1:14:16] great to be able to spend that time with

[1:14:17] him and uh and yeah share those things w

[1:14:21] with someone. So on that note we will

[1:14:25] move to

[1:14:28] I close the agenda council Duncan

[1:14:31] question period. Any questions?

[1:14:36] I still need it though because I've got

[1:14:37] to I've got to read it out. You're gonna

[1:14:40] have to read it out because I don't Oh,

[1:14:42] no. Yeah, you got to read it out. Go

[1:14:43] ahead.

[1:14:45] >> Uh 13.1 motion to close that the meeting

[1:14:48] be closed to the public under the

[1:14:49] following sections of the community

[1:14:51] charter to discuss matters related to

[1:14:54] employee relations. Section 90 bracket

[1:14:57] one bracket C labor relations or other

[1:15:00] employee relations.

[1:15:03] >> Excellent. So we'll take uh yeah we'll

[1:15:05] also moved all those in favor. Motion

[1:15:08] carries and we will take uh 10 minutes

[1:15:10] and come back to our little seats and go

[1:15:12] into close. Thank you.

Regular Council - 24 Aug 2026

Transcript