District of Barriere’s CAO, Colleen Hannigan, presented the following report to mayor and council on Monday, Apr. 9.
Mountain Rd. Rockfall Event:
Overnight on Mar, 22 - 23 a large boulder and ass ociated smaller rocks rolled down the slope of Armour Mountain to the edge of Mountain Road. An Emergency Task Number was received by the TNRD Duty Officer from EMBC for our purposes and a Geotech, from Westrek Geotechnical Services, was dispatched on Mar. 24. His report has now been received. Recommendations included flagging off the area and posting signs for people to stay clear of the area. This has been done. Suggestions were also made to increase the length of the berm and swale that was created by the contractors when they moved the rock from the road edge on Mar. 24 to help prevent any further rockfall from reaching the road. Posting permanent rockfall area signage was also recommended for this stretch of Mountain Road. Further recommendations around rock scaling and field reviews of the rock further up the mountain are under discussion with EMBC and TNRD with respect to possible funding sources for as much of this work as possible.
Smart Cities Challenge:
A group of interested tech people met to discuss the ways high tech could be leveraged towards a solution of one of Barriere and Area’s main issues, getting people to stop and inject dollars into a small community that is located so close to a larger centre. We have many existing attractions, small and large, such as the Wildfire Monument, the Museum and the multitude of events at the NTFFRA/Agriplex as well as the idea to create Barriere as a destination through the further development of a natural history museum /interpretive centre. The following week a small focus group with an interest in working on wording for an appropriate Challenge Statement for the first stage of the competition sat down with the following result (still draft), which is limited in the application to a maximum of 50 words. The rest of the application questions are being worked on. This is the Challenge Statement created: “ Spellbinders and Yarns: our community will create a mesmerizing, sustainable, joint venture destination spurring economic and social impacts utilizing virtual/augmented reality, apps, and experiential learning, spreading environmental awareness through storytelling about local indigenous culture, natural history and artisan’s works, while it doubles as an emergency command/work training centre.” A resolution from Council is required to accompany the application due April 24. There is no monetary commitment required from the District for this Smart Cities Challenge grant application or the resultant projects should it be successful.
Solar Aquatics Water Reclamation Centre: Staff have been noticing more FOG (fats, oils and grease) than is desirable and have completed a survey of the existing grease interceptors in the local restaurants. It appears that some are missing a flow limiting component that slows down the water and because of this the grease is not being intercepted in the quantities it should be. Owners have been asked to rectify this issue and hopefully we will see a further decrease in FOG moving forward. The dewatering of solids at the Septage Receiving Station is working well allowing one staff person to handle this task once or twice a week.
Green Sky Labs Request for Extension on Offer to Purchase: Green Sky Labs feels they are close to getting required approvals to move forward on their Medical Marijuana production facility on Lots 4 and 11 in the Louis Creek Industrial Park. They are in the process of completing their final business planning and design and are asking for an additional six month extension to their existing offers. Currently they have provided the District with a non-refundable deposit of $25,000 on each of these properties.
Wellhead Protection Committee: Jessy Bhatti, a Specialist Environmental Health Officer with Interior Health, has offered to sit on the Wellhead Protection Committee. The next meeting is scheduled for April 19, 2018, at 3 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Composters: The TNRD now has composters available for sale at the Louis Creek Eco Depot during the hours they are open. Due to its close proximity to Barriere, the limited storage space at the District office, and the fact the composters we have sold in the past from the office are procured from TNRD ’s supply, it is felt that going forward, it makes more sense to let residents know of the availability of the composters at the Eco Depot and discontinue