[0:02] This conference will now be recorded.

[0:04] » Councelor Lavy and Councelor Cannon with

[0:06] us virtually. Councelor Lingren,

[0:08] Councelor Wallace Frien, and myself are

[0:10] in the council chamber along with our

[0:12] guests and our staff.

[0:15] I'd like to begin by acknowledging our

[0:17] traditional territory. We acknowledge

[0:20] that we're gathering here on the

[0:21] traditional territory of the Shaquetmic

[0:23] people with whom we share these lands

[0:26] where we live and we work together.

[0:29] We have a proposed agenda in front of us

[0:31] for the special council meeting. I'll

[0:33] check with our CEO to see if there's any

[0:35] changes to the agenda.

[0:37] » None from staff, your worship.

[0:39] » Thank you. I'll accept a motion then to

[0:42] accept the agenda as presented.

[0:44] Councelor Lingren, Councelor Wallace

[0:45] Richmond. Thank you. Any discussion

[0:47] around that? All those in favor?

[0:55] That passes unanimously. Thank you.

[0:57] Councilors, any disclosure of interest

[1:00] on the item that we're looking at today?

[1:04] Councelor Wallace Fritzman, please go

[1:06] ahead.

[1:06] » Thanks, your worship. On the matter of

[1:08] um disclosure of interest, I wanted to

[1:10] take the time to point out that uh since

[1:13] I haven't done any work for sades since

[1:16] prior to the development of this plan.

[1:18] Um it is a new matter to me. Therefore,

[1:22] I am no longer in conflict and nor do I

[1:25] intend to work uh with sades um in the

[1:28] future. So, I'm uh happy to uh to move

[1:32] ahead and um and um go through the plan

[1:36] as it's presented to us today.

[1:38] » Thank you very much, Councelor Waller

[1:40] with the new matter. We will value your

[1:42] input. Um and just for the record,

[1:44] councelor Ganella is having some

[1:46] internet issues getting on this morning.

[1:48] However, he does have a declaration of

[1:52] interest on this item. So, uh he will

[1:54] not be attending with us.

[1:58] We have no confirmation of minutes this

[2:00] morning. So, we'll go right to our

[2:02] presentations. I see Miss Watson is uh

[2:04] is here. Um good morning to you. Oh,

[2:06] good morning to you both. Nice to see

[2:08] you both. Please come forward. Um

[2:10] counselors, uh we do have a motion for

[2:14] consideration. I'll perhaps just hang on

[2:16] to that motion until after our

[2:18] presentation.

[2:21] » Great to see you.

[2:24] » Thank you. All right. Hello. Thank you,

[2:28] Mayor Harrison and city council for

[2:31] having us attend today to present the

[2:33] MRDT 5-year strategic business plan,

[2:37] one-year tactical plan, and accompany

[2:40] budget. I'm Kate Watson, executive

[2:42] director at SADES. And with me today is

[2:44] Jenna Robbins, our tourism lead and MRDT

[2:47] project coordinator at Sades. Sades has

[2:50] been running the MRDT program through a

[2:52] thirdparty service agreement with the

[2:54] city of Salmon since 2017. And this is

[2:57] the second five-year business plan for

[3:00] the program that will be submitted to

[3:02] the province on behalf of the city of

[3:03] Seminar.

[3:05] This plan has been developed using

[3:07] engagement sessions, stakeholder

[3:09] outreach, conversations with destination

[3:12] British Columbia, Thompson Okonogan

[3:14] Tourism Association, Indigenous Tourism

[3:17] BC, and feedback from our MRDT

[3:19] committee. It was compiled using data

[3:22] from our visitor attraction strategy,

[3:24] value of tourism study, the DBC or

[3:27] destination British Columbia tourism

[3:28] strategy, and regional resources from

[3:31] TOA.

[3:42] Hello. Oh, there we go. Perfect. Just

[3:45] had to wake up.

[3:47] um states through the MRDT program on

[3:49] behalf of the city will submit the

[3:50] 5-year business plan for 2027 to 2032 to

[3:54] destination British Columbia and the

[3:56] Ministry of Finance to renew the

[3:58] municipal and regional district tax

[4:00] program and increase the rate from 2 to

[4:03] 3% starting from June 1st of 2027.

[4:08] um there was an an interest in

[4:10] increasing to the 3% to stay competitive

[4:13] at in within the market and so through

[4:16] that um through the plan we did that

[4:18] this year.

[4:20] So the plan centers on four principles.

[4:24] It will be accommodator leadership,

[4:26] destination stewardship, high ROI

[4:29] investments and alignment with regional

[4:32] provincial tourism strategies. Through

[4:35] these four key strategic pillars, the

[4:38] initiative aims to boost our yearround

[4:40] visitation and foster sustainable

[4:42] economic growth across Samur and the

[4:44] Shushwap region.

[4:50] So this is just explaining the

[4:52] engagement and consultation that went

[4:53] into the process. So the accommodator

[4:56] support we went out and did interviews

[4:59] and site visits and surveys to make sure

[5:01] that a we were um producing a product

[5:04] that our accommodators were happy with.

[5:07] Um the sentiment is very high on what we

[5:09] do through MRDT and we also needed over

[5:13] 51% of our accommodators to agree to

[5:15] move to 3% and we reached uh 77% of

[5:19] accommodators in agreement with that

[5:22] rate shift. We hold uh sorry we held a

[5:26] stakeholder openhouse engagement session

[5:28] at the innovation center. There were 250

[5:31] invitations sent out to our DMO

[5:33] partners, nonprofits, local businesses.

[5:36] Um and in that evening there was good

[5:38] chatter about the program in general. We

[5:41] also had regional and indigenous

[5:43] alignment within this um within this

[5:45] plan. We had one-on-one sessions with

[5:48] Destination British Columbia, Thompson

[5:49] Okonogan Tourism Association and

[5:51] Indigenous Tourism EC which all helped

[5:54] inform the plan.

[5:58] The vision for our MRDT program has not

[6:01] changed. We would like to be a premier

[6:04] allseason destination that offers

[6:06] memorable authentic experiences anchored

[6:09] by sustainable tourism growth,

[6:11] destination stewardship, and a deep

[6:13] respect for the traditional territories

[6:15] of the Squipmic people.

[6:23] The guiding principles of our plan. So

[6:26] this will be an an accommodator-led

[6:29] leadership. So directed by local

[6:30] operators with the DMO and SA's

[6:33] execution,

[6:35] destination stewardship and resiliency.

[6:37] So we need to balance the economic yield

[6:40] with the resident sentiment and the

[6:42] local views. That's really important.

[6:45] It needs to be high ROI focus. So

[6:48] targeted um targeted identified off-

[6:51] peak uh gaps, signature events and

[6:53] infrastructure gaps and brand synergy.

[6:56] So we really need to focus on aligning

[6:58] with destination British Columbia's

[7:00] rainforest to Rocky strategy, the

[7:02] iconics that they've produced and

[7:04] regional strategies initiated by Tota.

[7:08] Um and our the overarching goal of the

[7:11] MRD program will will remain guided by

[7:14] the focus of shoulder and offseason

[7:16] season development and working

[7:18] collaboratively with partner

[7:19] organizations. and our measure of

[7:21] success will remain an increase in room

[7:24] revenue and an increase in occupancy

[7:26] rates.

[7:30] So the key objectives here flatten

[7:33] seasonality. We've talked a lot about

[7:34] this about pulling the string and

[7:37] getting more occupancy on the shoulder

[7:39] seasons. So we'd like to expand

[7:40] multi-day fall, winter, and spring

[7:42] itineraries and event attraction would

[7:45] come into that as well. data-driven

[7:47] strategies. We need to invest in annual

[7:49] data and a value of tourism study to

[7:52] track impacts,

[7:54] experience and asset growth, capitalize

[7:57] on major recreational developments. An

[7:59] example of that could be the Shushwap

[8:00] North Okonogan Rail Trail and success

[8:03] metrics, increase shoulder season

[8:05] occupancy, higher room revenue, and

[8:07] extended length of stay with high

[8:09] resident approval.

[8:13] I'm going to move it over to Jenna for

[8:15] our tactics.

[8:18] Um, under marketing and positioning, we

[8:20] are still focused on BC, Alberta, and

[8:23] the Pacific Northwest. We have two

[8:26] travel segments that have been um uh

[8:30] dictated essentially by destination

[8:32] British Columbia to say that these are

[8:34] the people that are traveling to our

[8:35] region. So then we are capitalizing on

[8:38] um the data that they trickle down.

[8:41] Those are refined globe trotters and

[8:43] outdoor explorers. Uh both of those

[8:45] titles um really tell us exactly who

[8:48] those people are and that is Barry

[8:50] Salmon Arm. We are focused on subreional

[8:53] travel which means we're also focused on

[8:56] um local regional partnerships

[8:59] rebel stoing cam loops really expanding

[9:02] the TransCanada corridor and building

[9:04] out those partnerships. Uh experience

[9:06] and community management we want to

[9:08] improve local wayfinding. We know that

[9:11] an informed traveler is a happy traveler

[9:13] and we really want to ensure that we are

[9:16] giving everything at our travelers

[9:18] fingertips so they know where they're

[9:19] going. We um are excited to advance

[9:23] equipment language integration in our

[9:25] local cultural assets starting with our

[9:27] next um campaign that's launching right

[9:30] now for 26 and that will be included in

[9:33] an upcoming video. And then we are uh

[9:36] committed to building out our climate

[9:38] and emergency readiness plan um and

[9:40] making sure that we have assets ready to

[9:43] go for um if there's an emergency that

[9:46] comes through.

[9:50] We are heavily focused on events,

[9:52] conferences, and amenities. We are

[9:54] currently working with a consultant on

[9:56] an event hosting strategy that's

[9:58] expected to be completed at the end of

[9:59] November. Um there's funding towards

[10:03] anchor community events or signature

[10:05] events. We know that we've got roots and

[10:07] blues right now, but we're looking at

[10:08] building one of those out kind of in

[10:11] each season. Um and having some of those

[10:14] signature events really be a draw in

[10:16] fall, winter, spring, summer to expand

[10:19] travel. Um and then we'll also have

[10:22] sprinkled in with some of those

[10:23] signature events things like business

[10:25] conferences, sporting events as well. Um

[10:28] we are hoping to target business and

[10:30] midweek travel and um work with regional

[10:34] groups for off pe or off peak

[10:36] conferences. Um we are welcoming any

[10:39] conference that anybody knows about that

[10:40] might be a good fit for Salmon Arm. If

[10:43] you could help inform that um we would

[10:45] love that information.

[10:52] The MRGT program is funded by the uh the

[10:56] hotel tax collected. So half of next

[10:59] year will be at 2% and half of next year

[11:01] will be at 3%. We also have a

[11:04] contribution from the city of Seminar.

[11:06] And finally, we have a new merchandising

[11:08] strategy that we will lean into um

[11:11] implementing in 2027 as a source of

[11:14] revenue as well. The province guides the

[11:16] budget line items that you'll see with

[11:18] the four major categories. So, marketing

[11:20] and brand alignment, event and sport

[11:22] tourism, destination experience and

[11:24] management, and visitor services and

[11:26] administration.

[11:28] Breaking this down further into the line

[11:30] items. Um it's important to note that

[11:34] for the budget this year.

[11:37] So we this plan had to be done in

[11:39] September which means we've only um

[11:43] received funds from May up till May for

[11:47] the MRDT collection. So we are

[11:49] projecting from June all the way to

[11:52] December revenue plus we're um

[11:55] projecting expenses till December for

[11:58] the half year. And then we're using that

[12:01] to get our cash carry forward of the

[12:03] number you see at the top, the $46,721.

[12:08] Then we're using the same projections to

[12:12] go forward for 2027. We needed to

[12:14] project revenue at 2% till May or rather

[12:18] till June and then from June until

[12:20] December at 3%. So that's how this um

[12:24] these numbers have come about for

[12:25] revenue. So, we're projecting about

[12:28] $540,000

[12:30] coming in in MRDT and OAP. Um, $100,000

[12:35] from the city of Salmon and uh $4,000

[12:39] from our retail sales, just a modest

[12:42] amount to start us off. So, without our

[12:45] cash carry forward, we're looking at

[12:46] around $644,000.

[12:50] When we look at the expense side of

[12:52] things, again, categorized into those

[12:55] four line items,

[12:58] we plan to spend it all with our cash

[13:01] carry forward, leaving us with a balance

[13:03] of $0. So, the budget will come in at

[13:05] expenses of $690,000

[13:08] 720.

[13:10] So, that's our um that's our projections

[13:14] and just we try to do this in a very

[13:16] conservative manner. We don't know what

[13:18] kind of interruptions we could, you

[13:20] know, could happen. There could be road

[13:22] closures. There could be, you know,

[13:24] we've seen some things in the past that

[13:25] have really disrupted um our occupancy

[13:29] rates. So, we're trying to be as modest

[13:31] as we can.

[13:34] So, I'm trying to be better at being

[13:36] short up here on my words. [laughter]

[13:39] So, [gasps]

[13:40] there it is. We would love to answer any

[13:42] questions that you may have around the

[13:44] plan or the budget.

[13:47] Great. Thank you very much, Jenna and

[13:49] Kate. And uh really appreciate the

[13:51] information sent in advance as well as

[13:54] uh your concise synopsis here. So very

[13:56] helpful. Um counselors, I'll open it up

[13:59] to you if uh you have any questions or

[14:02] comments. Perhaps we'll get the motion

[14:03] for consideration on the floor first. So

[14:06] if there is a mover and a secondary,

[14:08] I'll take virtual movers and seconders

[14:10] and then we can um channel our questions

[14:12] that way. Councelor Cannon will move.

[14:20] Councelor Lavy will second. So the

[14:22] motion is for council to authorize the

[14:24] submission of 2027 to 2032 5-year

[14:28] strategic business plan and 2027's

[14:30] tactical plan to destination British

[14:32] Columbia and the Ministry of Finance in

[14:34] support of the city's salmon arms

[14:36] application to renew the MRDT program.

[14:39] the important part reflecting an

[14:41] increase from 2 to 3% for a 5-year

[14:43] period from June 1st, 2027 to May 31st,

[14:47] 2032. So, we now have that on the table.

[14:50] Um, I'll go to questions or comments.

[14:53] We'll start with councelor Cannon.

[14:56] » But thank you, your worship. Um, just a

[14:59] question. And I was just curious when we

[15:01] did the the first um plan and

[15:05] application to get uh MRDT

[15:10] uh on the table. Did I know that we have

[15:12] to have 51% threshold of accommodators

[15:16] in support and I think this one I don't

[15:18] have in front of me. It was 77

[15:21] » I think this time. What what was it last

[15:24] time when we did it the first time? I

[15:25] was just curious.

[15:27] » Miss Watson, do you remember? It was

[15:29] actually 100%.

[15:32] » Okay, that's what I that's what I

[15:33] thought. So, did we have in that 77%

[15:39] for for the increase, did we have feed

[15:43] negative kind of feedback from hotel

[15:46] like accommodators that uh didn't want

[15:48] to see it increase? Could you share that

[15:50] with us?

[15:51] » Yes, I can. Um, it's a great question as

[15:54] well. Um, there's a couple factors.

[15:57] Number one, there's turnover in

[16:00] management within the um within the

[16:03] accommodators. So, it is a it is up to

[16:06] the discretion of the person in charge

[16:08] whether they agree or not. We got

[16:11] unanimous

[16:12] support of the MRDT program and what

[16:15] we're doing. Not one person said that

[16:17] they thought we mismanaged funds or that

[16:20] they weren't getting a return on the

[16:22] program. what the overall

[16:26] um sentiment around the there was three

[16:29] properties um was that they actually

[16:32] didn't agree with tax in general. So it

[16:35] wasn't in it wasn't necessarily towards

[16:40] the program. It was more that they

[16:42] didn't agree with the tax in general.

[16:45] » Thank you Canon. I'll pass it back to

[16:48] you. So would you can you say like did

[16:51] those

[16:52] because it was a change in management

[16:55] the last time we did this they supported

[16:58] it but now these

[17:02] particular accommodators don't support

[17:04] taxes in general or are these new

[17:06] accommodators?

[17:08] » Um they're all accommodators that were

[17:10] on for the last 5-year plan. I would

[17:14] have to go back farther to confirm for

[17:16] the previous one. Um, but they have had

[17:19] new ownership or management.

[17:23] Okay, that's uh interesting to know

[17:26] because uh I would think

[17:29] that uh any you know this this having

[17:34] this totally increases

[17:37] the offshoulder uh tourism and and we've

[17:41] seen it and we've seen stats of

[17:42] different events and stuff how it has

[17:46] affected and brought people beds

[17:50] heads to beds is uh always the same. So,

[17:54] okay. Well, that's interesting.

[17:56] » Thank you. Appreciate that. And I will

[17:59] totally support uh bringing it to

[18:02] uh 3%. I guess my other question is how

[18:06] does the province look at it if you

[18:09] don't have 100% and you had 77? Is that

[18:14] something that we need to be concerned

[18:16] about or it's just that 51% threshold?

[18:19] » Yeah, that's correct. It's just the the

[18:21] 51% um is needed. Um so it's not

[18:25] uncommon if you if you pull it up,

[18:27] there's uh you know other municipalities

[18:30] within our close range that didn't

[18:32] achieve 100% and actually achieve less

[18:35] than what we did with the 77.

[18:37] » Okay, great. Yeah, good presentation.

[18:40] Thank you.

[18:41] » Thank you. Is there other counselors who

[18:43] have questions or comments? Councelor

[18:45] Lavy, please go ahead. Yeah, thanks

[18:48] Mayor Harrison and uh thanks uh Jenna

[18:50] and Kate for u the Strat plan, the

[18:54] tactical plan being presented and I

[18:56] fully support this and we'll vote in

[18:58] favor of it. Uh and as others have

[19:00] mentioned, it includes the uh shift to

[19:02] 3% MRDT. Um I must admit I'm a little

[19:07] puzzled by the and it's not within our p

[19:11] per purview here but the fact that uh

[19:14] with the taxes most jurisdictions are at

[19:17] 3% uh is visitors that pay it and they

[19:21] don't complain about it and it generates

[19:24] more revenue for the

[19:27] accommodators to to do things. So uh so

[19:31] be what it is. Good work to get to 77%.

[19:34] I appreciate that. I have two general

[19:36] questions. Uh the first one is last year

[19:39] when we were reviewing the stats and uh

[19:43] the component of growth associated with

[19:46] it. Um Kate, I believe you answered that

[19:49] uh a question of mine that said that one

[19:52] of the emerging

[19:53] um sectors was uh essentially the

[19:57] wellness sector. Uh do you still see

[20:00] that today in in the growth growth

[20:02] rates,

[20:03] » Miss Watson?

[20:05] » We do. Um it's been outlined and

[20:08] identified in the plan that Salmon Arm

[20:10] will continue to lean into wellness

[20:13] tourism. Um it was identified in

[20:15] conversation with Destination British

[20:17] Columbia that we are well positioned for

[20:20] that and that we should continue to

[20:22] focus on that as as a um as a strategy

[20:26] for visitor attraction.

[20:28] That's great. Thanks for that. And um I

[20:30] just and it's just a very small question

[20:33] actually that uh where does that sort of

[20:35] wellness sector

[20:38] fit into the uh visitor topologies uh

[20:43] that are in the report? Um is it

[20:45] separate or is it a a subcomponent of

[20:48] some of the traveler segments that have

[20:51] been identified?

[20:53] » Yeah, it's I can't do you remember what

[20:55] the the traveler segment is? The girls

[20:58] um they are in the refin refined globe

[21:00] trotters.

[21:02] » That's great.

[21:02] » So yes, it is identified. It is within

[21:06] um those those refined globe trotters um

[21:09] and outdoor explorers kind of touched a

[21:12] whole bunch of different um categories,

[21:14] but as Kate said, wellness tourism is um

[21:18] is at a at a high and only continuing to

[21:21] go up as people are looking to take a

[21:25] breath. um [laughter]

[21:27] with all that's happening. So um we

[21:29] definitely have a lot of that um on the

[21:32] go and we have a new campaign that's

[21:33] about to launch that actually leans into

[21:35] that. So you're going to start seeing um

[21:37] some of that come to you shortly.

[21:40] » That's great.

[21:42] » Deep fresh breaths are always uh

[21:45] beneficial. Um my my uh second question

[21:48] and I want to paraphrase it. I think

[21:49] it's uh completely within the purview of

[21:52] the accommodators who decide priorities

[21:55] and decide how how they fund it. So I uh

[21:59] I do think though that there's some

[22:00] collaboration with ideas from the city.

[22:03] Um so it it has to do with the financial

[22:06] thing and saying that um not only the

[22:10] about expenditures and not only that the

[22:13] anticipated

[22:15] revenues coming in and again next year

[22:18] 2% perhaps the year 3% but also uh using

[22:22] up the carry forward reserves

[22:26] and I'm intrigued by

[22:29] uh

[22:30] the scenario of why spend it all

[22:35] um and

[22:38] is there a consideration of keeping

[22:41] reserves in terms of prudency given the

[22:43] uncertain times that we have? I I was a

[22:46] little puzzled by that statement. I was

[22:47] wondering if you could flesh that out,

[22:49] » Miss Watson.

[22:51] » Absolutely. Um, so when we initially put

[22:54] our budget together, we were about

[22:56] $150,000

[22:58] over what we had for projected spending.

[23:03] Um,

[23:04] and so when we started to try and pull

[23:07] back and try to create space for

[23:10] different uh potential reserves, we

[23:13] actually moved them into action items in

[23:16] year one. um which just took up

[23:20] basically the entire budget. Um

[23:23] the the amount of dollars it takes to

[23:26] market is exponential

[23:29] and to try and create the strongest

[23:33] campaigns, the most robust campaigns,

[23:38] um it just costs quite a bit of money.

[23:40] So what we've done is we've decided to

[23:42] put all of that into our efforts um

[23:46] knowing that there will potentially be

[23:48] you know some that might not be able to

[23:50] be completed within the year um that

[23:53] could potentially be put into our car

[23:54] our cash carry forward. We are always

[23:57] quite conservative with our campaigns as

[24:00] well. we never go try to go to the full

[24:03] um limit. And so as much as those are

[24:06] set out as a a line item for the year,

[24:09] it's not something that we always aim to

[24:12] kind of hit the cap on every single line

[24:14] item.

[24:16] » Councelor Lavy.

[24:17] » Um yeah, no, thanks for that. I I I just

[24:20] perhaps was just in the in the in in the

[24:21] wording of it all. Um uh and this is not

[24:24] a criticism of the work that's been done

[24:26] and what's been projected here. Um I I

[24:29] think maybe it maybe it's as much as

[24:31] optics as as as reality. Um but I'm just

[24:35] so I think that tourism and tourism

[24:37] related generation is uh a key advantage

[24:42] for us. Um I I I just this is from the

[24:47] outside and I'm not going to be asking

[24:48] these questions next year, but my sense

[24:51] is that uh the

[24:58] and I I appreciate you're saying, okay,

[25:00] we're going to be conservative and

[25:01] cautious about that. Um but I would um

[25:05] like to see some degree of

[25:08] uh factoring in the uncertainty that we

[25:11] don't really know what's ahead of us

[25:12] here and that um

[25:16] I'll take at face value your commitment

[25:19] to looking at those budgets carefully

[25:21] and having to stretch them out perhaps

[25:23] over two or three years uh if the

[25:25] financial fiscal situation warrants

[25:28] that. Other than that, great report.

[25:29] Fully glad to see this and fully support

[25:32] it. Thank you.

[25:33] » Thank you, Councelor Labry. Councelor

[25:35] Lingren.

[25:36] » Uh, thanks worship. Thanks for the

[25:37] report. Uh, just a couple curiosity

[25:40] questions or one curiosity question, one

[25:42] process. Uh, just wondering about um,

[25:46] one of the places listed here is Salmon

[25:48] Arm Camping. Where is that? And is is

[25:52] there a reason that's the only camping

[25:54] facility um, included in this?

[25:58] » Miss Watson or

[25:59] » Yeah, sorry. uh Cam Samar Camping Resort

[26:01] has units that collect MRDT because they

[26:04] have them in the summer months. We are p

[26:07] are given a list from the province of

[26:10] the people that um are in that MRDT

[26:13] collection and then those are the ones

[26:15] that we have to do outreach with. So I

[26:18] was surprised by it as well. It's right

[26:19] next to RJ Haney on the left hand side

[26:22] there.

[26:22] » What used to be the KOA then

[26:25] » That's correct.

[26:26] » I'm not sure.

[26:27] » Okay. So I'm surprised there's only 12

[26:29] sites there. Okay. Uh second question is

[26:32] um

[26:34] uh process. What happens next? This gets

[26:37] referred to Ministry of Tourism and they

[26:40] have the final say or how does that

[26:41] work?

[26:43] » Miss Watson?

[26:44] » Yeah. So the plan gets submitted to the

[26:47] province and then they have until I

[26:49] believe the spring. We won't know until

[26:52] the spring. Um so they they get it in

[26:55] their queue and review it and then we'll

[26:57] report back to us. Um well it'll go yeah

[27:01] to the city um and say if they have any

[27:04] revisions that they would like or if

[27:06] it's a if the the sound the plan is

[27:09] sound and can be accepted and approved.

[27:12] » Thank you.

[27:14] » Thank you councelor Lingren. Any other

[27:15] questions or comments from counselors?

[27:19] » I'll just make my brief ones. um and we

[27:21] we ask you to come to us with a increase

[27:26] from 2 to 3% and you've done that and

[27:29] you have all done all of the work and

[27:31] the process and we appreciate that. Um

[27:35] 100% is very unusual on anything. So I'm

[27:38] pretty happy with 77%. Um and I think

[27:40] that's quite convincing. So

[27:42] accommodators do understand that the

[27:43] work you're doing is actually helping

[27:45] out. Um, I like the the continued focus

[27:50] on uh traction um on the shoulder

[27:54] seasons and uh off peak times. I think

[27:57] that's, you know, that just makes sense

[27:59] um for all of the accommodators. And I

[28:01] also like the idea of uh of working with

[28:04] um other cities along the highway in

[28:07] some type of package kind of deal.

[28:09] Sycamoose, you know, what's good for

[28:10] Sycamoose and Rebel Stoke is good for us

[28:12] and Camelopes as well. So, um, but I

[28:14] like that IDF thought. So, really

[28:17] appreciate your support or your report

[28:19] and I certainly will support the motion.

[28:22] I think councelor Cannon has a question

[28:25] before we call the question. So, council

[28:26] can Jeff please go ahead.

[28:28] » Just something that I thought after

[28:30] councelor Lingren's question. Um, do we

[28:34] collect MRDT on Sandy Point and Pierre's

[28:39] campground and the Elks Park has a

[28:43] campground up there in the summer

[28:45] months?

[28:46] » Thank you for the question. Um,

[28:49] » No,

[28:49] » Miss Watson.

[28:51] » That's a no.

[28:52] » Yeah. And I think the

[28:54] » The camp the campground camping like at

[28:57] Salmon Arm Campground it's it's I

[28:59] believe it is on like the yurt

[29:02] buildings. It's not on the actual camp

[29:05] site piece. You can't collect on a

[29:07] campsite,

[29:07] » But they have 14 sites I think at Samar

[29:10] Camping that are like a cabin that you

[29:13] would rent.

[29:14] » Um and then the indigenous piece of

[29:16] course we don't collect on those lands.

[29:18] » Yeah.

[29:19] » Okay.

[29:20] So, does it have in order for a

[29:23] campground, does it have to be like a

[29:25] cabin like a jerk or something like

[29:27] that, not an actual spot where people

[29:30] bring their own RV?

[29:33] » Yes.

[29:34] » Okay,

[29:35] » Thank you. I totally support it. I just

[29:38] that kind of brought on a question, so I

[29:40] thought I better ask it while I had you

[29:42] here.

[29:42] » Thank you.

[29:43] » Thank you, councelor Cannon. Um, don't

[29:45] want to miss anybody out. Does anyone

[29:46] have any other um thoughts they'd like

[29:48] to share? Councelor Wallace Richmond,

[29:50] please go ahead.

[29:51] » Thanks. Just um being new to the matter,

[29:54] uh what I want to share is that I

[29:56] appreciate the data driven piece and the

[29:59] success metrics uh piece and I will uh

[30:03] vote in favor. Um and I appreciate all

[30:07] of our visitors and as well as um the

[30:10] accommodators. I think we work hard to

[30:12] make people feel welcome. uh it takes a

[30:15] big team and so appreciate your part and

[30:18] I will vote in support.

[30:20] » [clears throat]

[30:21] » I'll just close with one other comment

[30:23] uh that Miss Robbins talked about the

[30:24] the conference piece and uh as as

[30:28] economic development knows in downtown

[30:30] Salmon Arm um the uh the Prestige Hotel

[30:35] does sponsor many conferences and

[30:37] there's still room for more and I am

[30:40] fortunate enough to be able to welcome

[30:41] people there on a regular basis and what

[30:44] I have to say is that you know

[30:46] conferences you know 100 people 75

[30:48] people 125

[30:50] the people love it here. They keep

[30:53] coming back. And so those I agree with

[30:55] you, those just keep paying dividends.

[30:58] So looking further and deeper into that,

[31:00] um I think is a very good idea.

[31:04] All right, counselors. Um everyone's

[31:07] aware of the motion. I will call the

[31:09] question. All those in favor?

[31:13] That passes unanimously. Thank you very

[31:15] much uh for coming and seeing us this

[31:17] morning.

[31:18] » Thank you very much. And we just wanted

[31:19] to mention two things. Number one, the

[31:21] conversation doesn't have to end. If you

[31:23] have other questions, please reach out.

[31:26] Um, and then the other thing is we're

[31:28] holding a stakeholder engagement evening

[31:30] day, September 23rd, Wednesday, from

[31:34] 7:30 to 11:30. It's a working breakfast

[31:37] to help inform the event hosting

[31:39] strategy um as it gets created. So, the

[31:42] consultant will be in town um over a few

[31:44] days there. We will send out an email

[31:46] about that as well, but we just wanted

[31:48] to let you know in person that that is

[31:50] happening and we would love to have you

[31:51] there if you'd like to attend.

[31:53] » Great. Thank you very much.

[31:55] » All right.

[31:56] » Thank you.

[31:56] » Thank you, counselors. Uh we have no

[31:59] other business on uh this special

[32:02] council meeting today. So, I will

[32:05] adjourn this meeting and thank you all

[32:07] for attending three meetings this

[32:09] morning um both to counselors and to our

[32:12] staff.

Special Council Meeting

Transcript