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Communities in Bloom Barriere needs volunteers

Jan. 19 – District of Barriere council meeting highlights

Taking the next step with Communities in Bloom

Over the past three years Barriere has rallied together to achieve 4-Blooms out of a possible 5-Bloom rating in the provincial Communities in Bloom competition. Barriere has taken home both the Tidiness Trophy and the Heritage Trophy; incredible considering the size of the community.   In order to continue to the next level, the Committee says they need a couple of volunteer administrative-type worker bees to help organize the judges’ visit, and the community involvement events. If you are interested please contact Colleen Hannigan at (250) 672-9751 or channigan@barriere.ca by Jan. 30.

District to lobby Provincial and Federal

Government for changes

Council reports they have prepared two resolutions to be considered at the upcoming Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA) Convention which, if endorsed by Association, will be submitted for endorsement during the appropriate platform; one being the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and the other is the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).    The first resolution council wants the Federal Government to consider is asking for the discontinuance of the monthly charges local governments have to pay for rail crossing maintenance in their jurisdiction. In Barriere, there is one lighted railway crossing, for which the municipality is billed $300 monthly.  The other resolution council want the Province to reconsider is their stance on financing Road Rescue responders throughout B.C. Currently, this critical aid is not compensated by Emergency Management BC for responses to highway accidents, ICBC also does not currently contribute funding towards any highway vehicle accident response whatsoever.

Fees and Charges Bylaw Amendment to

incorporate Garbage Rate Increase

An amendment to the District’s Fees and Charges Bylaw has now received its first, second and third readings by council in response to the TNRD’s rate increase from $60 a tonne, to $80 a tonne for household waste.  This will be an increase of $1.50 per month for all utility billings.  The Bylaw will be considered for adoption at the next Regular Council Meeting on Feb. 2.

Wellhead Protection Committee

The District is looking for Committee participants who may have experience or specialized knowledge of Well Head Protection Plans to join representatives from various stakeholders such as Interior Health, Ministry of Environment and other local government jurisdictions of the area. If you would like to be considered to sit on such a committee, please contact Colleen Hannigan at (250) 672-9751 or channigan@barriere.ca by Feb. 13.

2014 Water Conservation Plan

The District of Barriere is continually working to improve the water system and public awareness to meet the changing needs of the community.  Council approved the 2014 Water Conservation Plan as presented that outlines the District’s water utility objectives, conservation efforts, planning and 2014 usage statistics. The report will be available for viewing on the District’s website and utilized to support future applications for funding water infrastructure in the community at:  www.barriere.ca

Funding for Lower North Thompson Tourism Society (LNTTS) Approved

The society’s Budget request of $12,250 was approved to support marketing initiatives by the LNTTS in the Lower North Thompson Valley. A new tourism website for the area is in its final stages of design.

Budget Meetings that are open to the public:

January 27 and February 10, 3 p.m., at the Ridge, 4936 Barriere Town Road.

Road Issues Round Table:

February 19, 6:30 p.m., at the Ridge.