Local Politics
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Business:
1) Council received the accounts payable listing (cheque run) for the weeks ending May 23rd and May 30th for information
2) Council adopted one Joint Committee recommendation as follows:
a) Staff be directed to continue opening the Sam Ketcham Pool and Fitness Centre for three and a half hours on statutory holidays and report back to the Central Cariboo / City of Williams Lake Joint Committee on an annual basis.
Council voted to defeat the following recommendation from the Central Cariboo Joint Committee:
A letter be forwarded to the Swim Club acknowledging their request for reconsideration of their Grant in Aide application and that their request does not meet the Grant for Assistance criteria for qualification Councillors Rathor, Zacharias, Walters and Bonnell opposed.
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The public is invited to provide feedback to the City of Williams Lake as it considers whether to amend bylaws to allow the keeping of hens and bees on single family and duplex residential properties. Throughout the legislative and consultation process, hens and bees bylaws will be considered separate.
Urban hen and beekeeping are growing phenomena in cities across North America and many residents have expressed an interest in keeping hens and/or bees for personal use. These practices would be considered a positive step for a number of reasons, including the following:
1. Food security by providing eggs, meat, compost, honey and other bee products;
2. Opportunities to learn about where food comes from;
3. Reduces carbon offsets.
City starting another CAO in July
Williams Lake mayor and Council have announced that Darrell Garceau will be joining the organization as Chief Administrative Officer and will be starting on July 2, 2013.
Darrell has served in the capacity as a CAO for the past 19 years. Most recently he was working for the Town of Westlock, Alberta.
City of Williams Lake selected for performance audit by the Auditor General for Local Government
The City of Williams Lake has been selected as one of the first performance audits to be performed by Basia Ruta, British Columbia’s Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG) who took office in January of 2013. The first three planned performance audit topics relate to cost containment which includes performance in managing policing agreements and police budget oversight.
The City of Port Alberni, City of Surrey, City of Merritt, City of Victoria and the City of New Westminster will be subject to the same audit topics.
City to focus on boulevard parking bylaw
In order to ensure that vehicles are not illegally parked on boulevards, the City will focus on enforcement of the 2011 Boulevard Parking Traffic Control Bylaw, which prohibits boulevard parking in residential zones without an approved boulevard parking spot approved by the City.
Vehicles parked on City boulevards can impede safe snow removal, obstruct clear sight lines for motorists and cyclists, and can be a factor in unsightly properties. Residents are reminded that vehicles parked illegally on the boulevard could be subjected to fines and/or towed.
