District of Barriere CAO Colleen Hannigan covered a number of topics in her report to mayor and council at their June 17 regular meeting at The Ridge. Here are the highlights from that report:
Wells Update: Since bringing Deep Well #2 back online, staff have been tracking calls of brown water which decreased significantly in number due mainly to flushing through irrigation and fire department exercises. Thank you everyone. Now that the numbers are in for the new wells and the levels of manganese appear to have stabilized below the Canadian Health Guidelines (MAC) but above the aesthetic guidelines, staff will begin to mix the well sources into the system to achieve the best quality while preserving the old well DW2. This will permit the continued data collection required for long term licensing.
Recycle BC: Late on Friday, June 7, staff received a call from the TNRD’s Manager of Environmental Services regarding the necessity for TNRD to start charging the region’s curbside recycling collectors $80/tonne for the recycling they accept from us as of immediately (See attached letter). $80/tonne is the same price we currently pay for garbage going to the landfill. Knowing that we were conforming to the requirements under Recycle BC respecting the quality of our collected material and that we were on the Recycle BC wait list to join the program from an incentive basis, our recycling was being accepted at the Louis Creek Eco Depot. However Recycle BC informed TNRD that this was not in their contract yet and they had to stop. The new charge, which amounts to approximately $300/month, is only a portion of the cost for TNRD to deal with the municipal recycling separately which they are estimating will amount to approximately $60,000 annually across the region and come from the Solid Waste budget.
The District of Barriere signed a contract with RecycleBC on December 15, 2018 and has been waiting for a date for onboarding with the program. All required documentation has been submitted and we are hopeful there won’t be too much of a delay before this happens so that TNRD can once again accept our recycling into the Recycle BC stream and the $80/tonne amount for Barriere goes away. Until then it is recommended that the additional costs of this setback come from Gas Tax reserve account with possible payback to that account should the Recycle BC Incentive Program kick in. The program could potentially amount to $30,000 per year towards costs of providing curbside collection.
That Council direct staff to take the additional costs for Recycling from the TNRD from the Gas Tax reserve account with possible payback to that account should the Recycle BC Incentive Program kick in and repayment from these funds is permitted. Recommendation was approved
2019 Local Government Grants Program: There is a $10,000 grant available through the Infrastructure Planning Grant program from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to assist with long term planning and feasibility studies that improve public health and safety. Of the two annual intakes, the current one closes on July 10, 2019. A high priority in the 2019 Strategic Plan is to “Initiate a new 20-year water planning process” as we have reached the end of the last 20-yr plan with the achievement of the new wells and second reservoir. Application for this grant opportunity is recommended at this time with the suggestion to assign responsibility for the oversite of the plan’s development, if successful, to a somewhat expanded Wellhead Protection & Water Plan Committee.
That Council direct staff to make application to the 2019 Local Government Grants Program – Infrastructure Planning Grants, for up to a $10,000 grant towards the preparation of a new 20-year Water Plan for the District of Barriere.
Roads/Parks Update: All stop bars, parking spaces on Barriere Town Road and crosswalks have been painted. The contractor’s line painting has been delayed and will hopefully be completed this coming week, weather permitting. Dust control which was supposed to have taken place this past week has also had a contractor delay and will take place soon but again dependent on weather.
Staff have been addressing a number of irrigation sprinkler head repairs and adjustments in all our park and Ridge locations. Another successful Kurt Genier Memorial ball tournament took place the weekend of June 7/8/9 and the Kibble court just south of the Splash in the Past appears to be getting a good amount of use. Again, as soon as the surface crack sealing is complete we will be installing the pickleball courts at the outdoor rink.
It also appears that all the Barriere Town Road Council planters have been planted.
Barriere Blooms Contest: The 2019 Spring Planting Contest, with the categories shown below, is underway with five registrations already in.
• Contest Category: Best Business Prize: Barriere Blooms Award Certificate and Bragging Rights. Businesses plant flowers outside their business/store front.
• Best Resident Flowering Container Prize: $200 Cash and Bragging Rights. Residents plants flowers in unusual or decorative containers outside their residence. Barriere Blooms organizers will take a photo of your display for public voting at the Community BBQ held in August.
Residents must phone the District of Barriere when their display is ready for photographing. Photographs must be taken no later than August 6, 2019.
Canada Day Celebrations: As usual, this year’s Canada Day event will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the Fadear Park Bandshell. MP Cathy McLeod and MLA Peter Milobar will be in attendance, however Simpcw First Nation will be in Jasper National Park at the unveiling of a new Simpcw Territory sign. The ceremonies here in Barriere begin at 2 p.m. and will be followed by Canada Day music and cupcakes.
FinkMachine Workshop: Staff attended a free two-day workshop in Enderby hosted by FinkMachine who are the B.C. distributors of the Viessmann biomass boiler situated at our Solar Aquatics Water Reclamation Centre (SAWRC) in Barriere. In light of the potential shortage of wood chips coming our way it was a good opportunity to speak to professionals in the field regarding fuel options going forward. Further discussion on this topic is on the agenda for the Committee of the Whole Meeting.