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[3:54] » Mhm.
[6:48] » All right, welcome everyone. We will
call to order our regular meeting of
[6:52] council. And before we start, I'd like
to recognize and acknowledge that we
[6:56] work, live, and play in the city of Port
Alberni, which is on the unceded
[6:59] territories of the Seshaht and
Hupacasath First Nations.
[7:02] Councillors, we do have an agenda in
front of us. Are there any late items?
[7:07] Seeing none, any late items from our
corporate officer?
[7:10] » No late items, Madam Mayor.
>> Wonderful. Would somebody like to move
[7:12] approval of our agenda?
Moved by Councillor Mielke, seconded by
[7:16] Councillor Dame. Any comments?
Seeing none, on the motion all in favor.
[7:21] Carried, none opposed.
And we have adoption of minutes from
[7:26] minutes from the special meeting and
regular meeting of council held on May
[7:30] 11th, 2026 to be adopted.
>> Moved to adopt.
[7:33] » Moved to adopt by Councillor Solda,
seconded by Councillor Petola. Any
[7:37] comments on the minutes?
Seeing none, on the motion all in favor.
[7:43] Carried, none opposed. We have no
delegations and no unfinished business,
[7:47] no staff reports. On to bylaws, item
number one, the election and assent
[7:52] voting bylaw.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
[7:56] This report brings forward a new
election and assent voting bylaw, excuse
[8:00] [clears throat] me, for council's
consideration
[8:02] in advance of the 2026 general local
election held on October 17th, 2026.
[8:09] Uh so, elections BC identifies the
nomination period as beginning September
[8:12] 1st, and the province advises that an
election bylaw
[8:16] must be adopted
>> [clears throat]
[8:17] » 56 days before the first day of the
nomination period.
[8:21] The proposed bylaw would repeal and
replace the city's current 2022 election
[8:25] bylaw, offering [clears throat] in a
clearer and updated framework for
[8:28] election administration.
It continues with the use of automated
[8:32] voting system, confirms use of the
provincial list of voters, maintains
[8:36] advanced voting and mail ballot voting,
adds clear authority for special and
[8:40] additional voting opportunities, and
updates ballot nomination, post-vote,
[8:44] and official result procedures to better
align with the current Local Government
[8:48] Act.
Uh staff are recommending repeal and
[8:50] replacement rather than amendment uh as
the updates are fairly substantial and a
[8:54] single consolidated bylaw is easier for
staff, uh candidates, and the public to
[8:58] use. And with that, thank you. I'd be
happy to answer any questions.
[9:02] » Wonderful. Are there any questions from
council?
[9:06] Seeing none, Councillor Petola, would
you like to read this one?
[9:10] » Thank you, Madam Mayor. I move that the
City of Port Alberni
[9:14] election and assent voting bylaw number
5150, {comma} 2026, be now introduced
[9:19] and read a first time.
>> Moved by Councillor Petola, seconded by
[9:23] Councillor Solda.
Seeing no comments, on the motion, all
[9:26] in favor.
Carried, none opposed. Councillor
[9:30] Petola.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. I move second
[9:32] reading.
>> Moved by Councillor Petola, seconded by
[9:35] Councillor Mealey.
Seeing no comments on the motion, all in
[9:38] favor.
Carried, none opposed. And Councillor
[9:42] Petola.
>> Madam Mayor, I move third reading of the
[9:44] voting in a sent bylaw.
>> Moved by Councillor Petola, seconded by
[9:48] Councillor Mealey.
Seeing no comments on the motion, all in
[9:51] favor.
Carried, none opposed.
[9:55] No correspondence for action, so on to
proclamations. We have two items today.
[9:58] The first is a letter dated May 16th,
2026 from the National Dental Care Day
[10:03] Foundation requesting council proclaim
October 10th, 2026 as National Dental
[10:08] Care Day in Port Alberni. They're very
prompt and ahead of times on this, which
[10:13] is always nice. Councillor Solda.
>> Madam Mayor, I move that the council on
[10:17] behalf of the National Dental Care Day
Foundation proclaim October 10th, 2026 a
[10:22] National Dental Care Day in Port
Alberni.
[10:26] » Thank you. Moved by Councillor Solda,
seconded by Councillor Mealey.
[10:30] Any comments from council? Seeing none
on the motion, all in favor.
[10:35] Carried, none opposed. And the second is
an email dated May 21st, 2026 from the
[10:39] Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada
requesting council proclaim the month of
[10:43] September 2026 as Prostate Cancer Cancer
Awareness Month in Port Alberni.
[10:48] Councillor Haggard.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'd like to move
[10:51] that council on behalf of Prostate
Cancer Foundation Canada proclaim
[10:56] September 2026 as Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month in Port Alberni.
[11:01] » Moved by Councillor Haggard, seconded by
Councillor Dame. Any comments on this?
[11:07] Seeing none on the motion, all in favor.
Carried, none opposed.
[11:11] Moving on to correspondence for
information, I'll go to our corporate
[11:14] officer.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh we have
[11:18] correspondence from UBCM in response to
council's uh submissions of resolutions
[11:24] and from 2025. And these are related to
forestry industry and fiber decline and
[11:29] forestry industry and sustainable fiber.
We have a correspondence from Ministry
[11:34] of Housing and Municipal Affairs
regarding preparing for water scarcity
[11:38] and potential drought conditions in
2026.
[11:41] We have a copy of a letter to the
Ministry of Finance from the City of
[11:44] Abbotsford regarding provincial sales
tax expansion. The ombudsperson report
[11:50] from January 1st to March 31st.
ACRD board highlights of April and the
[11:56] AB Museum and Heritage Commission
minutes for April 1st, 2026. Thank you.
[12:01] » Thank you. Are there any items
counselors would like to speak to?
[12:06] Okay, would somebody like to move
receipt? Moved by Counselor Meili,
[12:09] seconded by Counselor Dame. On the
motion, all in favor.
[12:14] Carried, none opposed. We have no report
from in camera today, so on to council
[12:17] reports. Any items counselors would like
to speak to in their reports? Counselor
[12:21] Solda.
>> I don't have it in a report, Madam
[12:23] Mayor, but um Counselor Heger and I
attended the Ty Watson fundraising gala
[12:28] and I I don't know if you want to
So, some really great news. It was a
[12:33] fantastic event. It sold out.
There was
[12:37] people dressed. I mean, they were really
dressed up for the occasion and
[12:41] everything like that. But, the the best
news that came out of it, there was a
[12:45] lot of fundraising going on and and this
is their biggest fundraiser for for the
[12:51] year and Coulson's
group actually group of companies
[12:57] donated $100,000
to the Ty Watson and wow. And I I'm sure
[13:02] you want to speak on that a little bit.
I think it's just great because
[13:07] there's a lot of
updating on the building cuz it's an
[13:10] older building and and it costs a lot to
run that building and they have to come
[13:14] up with 80% of the funding and I just
want to say thank you and a lot of them
[13:18] the silent auction items and that were
also donated by the Coulson group of
[13:23] companies and again, Darlene Coulson
represented the company very well as she
[13:29] mentioned everything and
I just want to say thank you but also
[13:33] thank you to the smaller businesses that
have donated to
[13:38] Ty Watson auction and because the
smaller businesses also have issues in
[13:43] the you know they're not maybe not as
busy and and but they came out too and I
[13:48] think that's really important. It
doesn't matter how large it is. This was
[13:52] just a really unexpected gift. Thank you
Madam Mayor.
[13:56] » Yeah, thank you so much for sharing that
and want to extend on behalf of council
[13:59] our appreciation to the Coulson Group of
Companies for that incredible donation
[14:03] to Ty Watson House which you know is
obviously just a a staple in the
[14:07] community and I think touches most
members of our community at at some
[14:11] point through family. So
yeah, really excited to hear that
[14:16] and certainly want to echo as well your
your thanks to all of the small
[14:20] businesses that contributed and the
members of the community who came out to
[14:24] support that event as well.
It's always one of the best events to
[14:28] attend in our community. They do a
fantastic job organizing it.
[14:32] Did you do the auctioning this year? And
Councillor Solda is the master
[14:36] auctioneer.
So
[14:37] » [laughter]
>> grateful for her as well.
[14:40] But yeah, just a really wonderful
evening for the for Ty Watson House with
[14:44] those donations. Councillor Haygard.
>> Thank you and yes Councillor Solda is
[14:48] auctioneer extraordinaire for sure.
I just want to give a shout out to a
[14:52] member of our staff. A couple of weeks
ago at the BC Economic Development
[14:56] Conference our economic development
manager Pat Deacon was presented with
[15:00] the Chair's Award. The Chair's Award
recognizes a member of BCEDA who has
[15:05] made a significant contribution to the
promotion of economic development and to
[15:10] BCEDA.
Pat has made a significant contribution
[15:14] to economic development development in
British Columbia through his leadership,
[15:19] mentorship and commitment to
collaboration and reconciliation
[15:23] initiatives.
He has served BCEDA as both a board
[15:27] member and chair and is widely respected
throughout the professions of for
[15:31] supporting communities and fellow
practitioners and I can't think of
[15:35] anyone more deserving of this award.
Congratulations, Pat.
[15:39] » Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much,
Councillor Haggard, for bringing that
[15:43] up. I'm
so proud to have Pat working with us and
[15:46] representing our community well beyond
the boundaries of Port Alberni. He
[15:50] certainly deserves that award more than
anyone else I can think of. Councillor
[15:55] Dean.
I thought you had you just a half hand
[15:58] up.
Thank [laughter] you. Any other members
[16:01] of council? Councillor Pothola.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
[16:05] Um
Yes, I was lucky enough to be in
[16:09] attendance when Mr. Deacon won that
award and it was such a pleasure, a
[16:14] blessing to me directly because it's the
first time I've ever seen Pat at a loss
[16:18] for words.
>> [laughter]
[16:21] » Just goes to show he was truly surprised
and truly honored as he well should be.
[16:27] Uh Madam Mayor, I have
four observations from attending that
[16:31] conference.
Um
[16:32] » [clears throat]
>> I've already spoken about one, the
[16:35] temporary operating permit
policies of the Vancouver um
[16:41] business department for the Hastings
Cross, also known as the Downtown
[16:45] Eastside,
um where they're using a program to
[16:49] delay the implementation or requirement
of a full building code assessment, but
[16:55] are using temporary life and health
safety standards to enable businesses to
[16:59] open more quickly. I think it's a
um
[17:05] well-thought-out creative example of how
we can
[17:09] allow activity to occur in our community
without stalling it and costing both
[17:15] developers or any other interested
parties long uh
[17:19] money over long term.
Uh and I'm going to be very interested
[17:22] to see if we can work that into some of
the
[17:25] bylaw proposals or studies that are
currently being done by administrative
[17:30] for council. Uh it could equally apply
to residential
[17:34] areas.
Um
[17:36] I was able to meet with BC Hydro and uh
had some very um again creative
[17:42] discussions about the use of energy
generating facilities on Vancouver
[17:47] Island, which ones are being used, which
ones are not, and which ones uh may be
[17:52] coming into uh availability as different
industries shift their uh
[17:58] their
footprint on the island and leave behind
[18:02] materials that could serve the energy
generation needs of the island. Most of
[18:08] the island's power comes from
off-island. And uh that might be a bit
[18:13] of a um weak link
should that uh
[18:17] cable ever be severed.
Uh there would be great difficulty in
[18:21] many of the services that require energy
generation.
[18:26] So, it was an interesting discussion
that we'll probably take up further at
[18:28] UBCM. We've uh
uh made arrangements for that to happen.
[18:34] Thirdly is the amount of municipal
involvement in the conference uh and I
[18:38] pleased to say that every year it goes
up.
[18:41] Uh and I think this council should take
note of that in continuing to attend.
[18:46] Part of the discussions this year were
the importance of the convergence
[18:49] between economic development
from all areas, not just municipal, but
[18:54] uh
uh chambers of commerce and business
[18:57] associations with the convergence with
that with municipal planning and how
[19:02] important is that uh
those parties all work together right
[19:06] from the get-go,
uh that they're really partners on the
[19:09] same plans.
And finally, Penticton is a great place.
[19:14] Um
I I always have to give accolades to
[19:16] Penticton for doing a great job. Their
downtown revitalization is fantastic.
[19:21] Their use of bike lanes is fantastic.
Their industrial use is fantastic. And
[19:25] uh they have five breweries. Only none
of them are as good as ours, but
[19:29] » [laughter]
>> they still have more.
[19:31] And they have rattlesnakes, that's true.
So
[19:35] So uh all all good uh pieces of
information to carry forward as we
[19:40] continue our planning for for Port
Alberni. Thank you.
[19:44] » Thank you very much for that report. Any
other items counselors would like to
[19:47] speak to?
Seeing none, would somebody like to move
[19:51] receipt? Thank you. Moved by Counselor
Melee, seconded by Counselor Dame.
[19:56] Seeing no comments on the motion, all in
favor.
[20:00] Carried, none opposed. And on to new
business. Item number one, we have the
[20:03] Reconciliation Theatre Society and
recommendation made from the Committee
[20:06] of the Whole. Would anyone like to read
this motion?
[20:10] Counselor Melee.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. I move that
[20:12] council approve the request from the
Reconciliation Theatre for $5,000 from
[20:17] the reconciliation fund to support the
presentation of Women of the Fur Trade
[20:21] by Frances Concan at the Capitol Theatre
on Saturday, July 11th, 2026, pending
[20:26] approval from the Tseshaht and
Hupacasath First Nations.
[20:30] » Thank you. Is there a seconder? Seconded
by Counselor Solda. Comments.
[20:35] Okay, seeing none on the
Oh, thank you. Counselor Dame.
[20:39] » Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um I have to
admit that I was slightly hesitant about
[20:43] this one just just because um
I want to be careful anytime we dip into
[20:47] the reconciliation fund that it is
meaningful uh
[20:53] locally, I suppose.
Um
[20:56] and I just feel like um
I don't know, maybe maybe I'm just
[21:01] feeling like I'm not quite aware enough
of of how
[21:04] uh this necessarily applies directly to
local reconciliation.
[21:08] Um, so
I'm kind of going back and forth on it
[21:12] cuz it's easy to just say sure, let's do
it, but, you know, $5,000 is meaningful
[21:16] and I'm not entirely even clear on on
exactly what the money will be spent on.
[21:20] Um, so um
yeah, I don't know. I don't know if
[21:24] anybody is feeling the same as I am, but
that was uh
[21:27] just it's just some hesitance I felt
like I needed to express.
[21:30] » Thank you and I would echo that. Um,
that said, I I do think that it is
[21:36] potentially a worthwhile um endeavor to
allow members of the community to watch
[21:40] this for free rather than charging um
which is what this, you know, what is
[21:43] coming to the community regardless, but
opening it up to more members of the
[21:47] community. Um, that said, we really
don't know a lot about it. So, I'm
[21:51] really relying on that approval or not
from Sechelt and Hupačasath as being the
[21:57] guide of whether or not we should
um fund this activity. I think that
[22:02] Sechelt and Hupačasath will
know more about whether it is something
[22:06] that they would like supported in our
community or not. Um, and I would just
[22:11] and maybe, you know, I can communicate
this to Ken and Brandy when we go to
[22:13] them for it. Um, it is not council's
made a decision, we'd like your
[22:17] approval. It's, you know, we've made a
decision pending you being supportive of
[22:21] of this and if you're not or it's not
something that you feel is meaningful,
[22:25] um then we're happy to not fund it. Um,
so I will do my best to carry the
[22:30] message to Ken and Brandy if council
does move forward with it in that way
[22:34] and then they can give their input on if
they think it's worthwhile or not.
[22:38] Councillor Petola and then Councillor
Solda and then Councillor Hegedus.
[22:41] » Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, I I do have
some uh
[22:46] queries myself about this issue and um
it's
[22:51] it
uh it's an opinion that's really
[22:53] probably in agreement with everyone else
on council and that is
[22:56] uh
deferring to input from the Hupačasath
[23:00] and Sechelt First Nations.
Um
[23:04] I think the way this
motion is worded, um by approving it
[23:09] pending their approval,
uh
[23:11] I'm not as comfortable with that. I
would rather have um
[23:15] not even uh the First Nations approval,
but First Nations input on the matter.
[23:20] Um
they may approve it, but also be
[23:24] interested in that same amount of money
for other specific reconciliation local
[23:28] reconciliation purposes. Although
um it's entirely possible that this play
[23:33] is an excellent act of reconciliation.
Uh these are matters I'm not terribly
[23:39] um
educated in.
[23:42] Uh although I try to learn more.
So, I I would suggest actually that uh
[23:47] » [sighs]
>> although it's coming up soonish, we
[23:51] probably still have a month and a half
or so before it happens, and it'd be
[23:54] good to get input from uh both
uh Chief Watts and Chief Lauder on the
[24:00] issue. Um
Just for their views, uh
[24:04] including uh if there is a formal
um stamp of approval.
[24:09] Thank you.
>> Thank you. And I will just add that uh
[24:12] we are regularly on an ongoing basis
working with Seshaht and Huu-ay-aht on
[24:16] initiatives that they view as
reconciliation initiatives. We do have a
[24:20] request um that has come from them that
we that we talked about um briefly at
[24:24] our Committee of the Whole meeting. So,
I wouldn't necessarily want to put this
[24:27] forward as $5,000 up for grabs for
whatever we feel is uh worthwhile for
[24:31] reconciliation, but rather asking if
this is
[24:35] uh something that they support um our
reconciliation funds going to or not um
[24:40] with a lot of openness for if they feel
it is not the right direction for those
[24:44] funds.
Councillor Solda.
[24:46] » Um Madam Mayor, I agree with everybody,
and I'm glad it's going to go to
[24:51] Tseshaht and Huu-ay-aht. Uh when you
read the synopsis about the play and
[24:55] that and or just glance at the script.
It should be interesting because I think
[25:00] it will it's to do with colonization and
different things like aspects in it. So
[25:05] um
it'll be I I'm looking forward to
[25:07] hearing their response. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Councillor Haggard.
[25:11] » Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh I got the
impression at the last meeting that the
[25:15] money remaining in our reconciliation
fund was going to be put towards the
[25:19] reconciliation walk. So if they were
counting on that full amount of money,
[25:24] just I would like to ask that you ensure
that it's going to be $5,000 less cuz
[25:28] that might happen
they might feel differently. They might
[25:31] need that funding.
>> Yes, and I think that when we got the um
[25:36] when we got the answer last time, it was
noted that there would be sufficient
[25:40] funds for both but that that would
utilize the full fund for this year.
[25:44] » Councillor Meili.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just going back
[25:46] to my notes just on that question. It I
did ask that question how much was left
[25:50] in the fund and they
Mr. McGiver did say there was about
[25:53] 30,000 earmarked for or
for the reconciliation walk but that
[25:58] there was enough for this $5,000. So
yeah, and we had a I thought we had a
[26:02] decent
delegation that day as well and some
[26:05] questions. Some questions were answered
but again, I think um
[26:09] if you're going to come into a
territory, you need to approach those in
[26:12] the territory first before coming for
this. So I do appreciate that we're
[26:16] going to be talking with Chief Shawn
Hooper Cheechoo before any money is
[26:20] dealt out for this and
again, it could be input or approval.
[26:23] Either way, it's I think it's just
important to have them as part of the
[26:26] discussion.
>> Agree completely and if this passes, I
[26:31] will call Ken and Brandy today just to
get their input on it so that we have an
[26:35] answer sooner rather than later
and we can move forward from there.
[26:40] Okay.
Uh motion is moved and seconded. On the
[26:43] motion, all in favor.
Carried, none opposed.
[26:47] All right, and moving on to item number
two, we have policy review and
[26:50] recommended updates. Uh and this is a
another recommendation from the May
[26:54] 19th, 2026 Committee of the Whole
meeting. Councillor Mealey, would you
[26:57] like to read this one?
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'll move that
[27:01] Council rescind the following Council
policies that are outdated, duplicated
[27:05] elsewhere, operational in nature, or no
longer required. One, computers disposal
[27:10] of obsolete surplus. Two, Federation of
Canadian Municipalities Council. Three,
[27:15] internal controls and cash management
policy. Four, internal controls and cash
[27:19] management procedures. Five, tag days.
Six, solid waste city dumpster service
[27:24] payment arrears. And seven, water meter
billing due date.
[27:29] » Moved by Councillor Mealey, seconded by
Councillor Dame. Any further comments?
[27:33] Or any comments?
Seeing none, on the motion all in favor.
[27:37] Carried, none opposed. Thanks, everyone.
And on to question period. This is an
[27:42] opportunity for members of the public to
ask questions of Council on decisions or
[27:46] recommendations made during this Council
meeting. Would anybody like to ask
[27:50] questions today?
[27:55] Seeing none, would somebody like to move
adjournment?
[27:58] Moved by Councillor Mealey, seconded by
Councillor Dame.
[28:01] Any comments? Seeing none, on the motion
all in favor.
[28:04] Carried, none opposed.
>> And a new record.
[28:06] » A new record, yes. Thanks, everyone.