The following is a breakdown as to what occurred during the June 15 District of Sparwood council meeting.

Request from Mr. Ron Saad

Mr. Ron Saad presented a request to council for the installation of memorials recognizing Colin Curties for his contribution to the community as mayor from 1987 to 1988 and Loretta Montemurro for her years of service and dedication as the district’s clerk administrator from 1961 to 1996. A report will come forward at a future meeting with suggestions of the best way to honour both Mr. Curties and Ms. Montemurro.

Sparwood Skateboard Park

The Sparwood Futures Society has completed the design and engineering of the Skateboard Park which is proposed to be built at the Leisure Centre. Council approved an allocation of $75,000 from the Energy Retrofit Savings Funds towards the construction of the skateboard park.

Sparwood Secondary French Exchange Program

A request from Sparwood Secondary French Exchange Program for suggestions of organized activities for exchange students to participate in was referred to staff. Sparwood Secondary will be hosting a group of French exchange students in January of 2016.

Community Energy Leadership Program

The District of Sparwood is applying for a grant in the amount of $40,350 through the Community Energy Leadership Program (CELP) administered by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. The objective of CELP is to provide local governments with funding to support greenhouse gas reductions and advance British Columbia’s clean energy sector. If successful in obtaining the grant the funds will be used to offset the cost of retrofitting the district fire halls, public works buildings, lift stations, and pump houses with automated temperature and light controls.

Development Variance Permit – Spardell Mobile Home Park

Council authorized notices to be sent out to surrounding property owners and tenants who may be affected by the proposed variances to

Subdivision Servicing Bylaw to remove additional street lighting requirements, remove the drainage system requirement, and reduce the minimum pavement width for local roads through the issuance of a Development Variance Permit that will be considered by Council at the regular meeting on July 20. The applicant, Spardell Mobile Home Park Ltd., is requesting the variances to allow for the construction of four mobile home spaces.

Canadian Pacific Railway Land Use Permit

The Mayor and Corporate Officer were authorized to executive an extension to the Land Use Permit between the District of Sparwood and Canadian Pacific Railway to October 31, 2016. The permit covers property south of Finning.

Street Name Signs

Council rescinded a previous motion from 2011 to change the street signs to standard 6” street name blades with blue background and white lettering and keep the existing wooden street signs. Visibility of the wooden signs will be addressed by increasing the reflectivity of the lettering so they are more visible at night.

Douglas Fir Road

Council awarded the contract for the Douglas Fir Road Rehabilitation project to Interoute Construction Ltd. (DBA BA Blacktop) for the price of $703,412.60. However, the drainage and optional items listed will be deleted through a change order process to reduce the overall cost of the project to bring it down to $481,028.35 which is closer to the original budget amount.

Sparwood Public Library

Council approved funding to the Sparwood Public Library Association for July 1 to June 30, 2016 in the amount of $183,766.

Open for Business Awards

British Columbia’s Small Business Roundtable is now accepting submissions for the 2015 Open for Business Awards. This award recognizes communities that are undertaking initiatives and partnerships to reduce the cost and complexity of doing business in B.C. As an incentive, the province is providing awards of $10,000 each to communities that best demonstrate they are operating within the spirit of the BC Small Business Accord principles. Council directed staff to look into whether the Elk Valley Community Initiatives Program and the Business Retention Program qualify for this award.

Revitalization Tax Exemption Program Bylaw

Revitalization Tax Exemption Program Bylaw 1170, 2015 was adopted by council. The purpose of this bylaw is to continue the current tax incentive program to developers in order to stimulate and reinforce development within the town centre and act to encourage diversification with the community’s economic base.

Bear sightings

Grizzly and black bears have been spotted in recent weeks in various locations throughout Sparwood. Let’s work together to keep these bears wild and the community safe. Keeping garbage stored indoors until collection day and securing wildlife attractants is the best way to keep people safe, prevent property damage, and avoid the unnecessary killing of bears that come into conflict with people.

– Keep garbage in a secured shed or garage until pick up day. Never leave fish or meat remains outside or in your compost. Instead, put them in your freezer or a cold place until garbage day.

– Cooking oil, grease, dairy products or fruit should never be left outside or put in your compost.

– Try using lime to cut odour from your compost.

2015 Tax Notices

The 2015 tax notices have been mailed out. If you are a new owner and have not received your tax notice please come into the District Office to obtain a duplicate copy. Notices have been mailed to the owners shown on the Assessment Roll. Depending upon the date of purchase, we may not have the new owner’s information and the tax notice will be mailed to the previous owner. Reminder to all tax payers that the deadline to pay your property taxes without penalty is July 6. If you cannot pay your taxes in full and are entitled to claim the Home Owner Grant, it must be claimed before the deadline to avoid penalty on the grant portion.

Canada Day

Sparwood Recreation Centre on Wednesday, July 1 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Face painting, Bouncy houses, Carnival games, Obstacle courses, Train rides, Charicture painting, Canada Day cupcakes at 1 p.m.

Age Friendly Community

We want to make sure that Sparwood is a community where older people can age actively, live in security, enjoy good health and participate fully in society. An Age-Friendly Community Plan will help ensure that Sparwood remains an attractive place to live with features that not only benefit seniors, but also support the health, safety, and enjoyment of residents of all ages. Our Age-friendly Plan will address these age-friendly focus areas developed by the World Health Organization:

– Outdoor spaces and buildings;Transportation and mobility; Housing; Respect and social inclusion; Civic participation and employment (including volunteering); Social participation (recreation and other leisure, social, cultural and spiritual activities); Communication and information; Community support and health services.

Join us at one of our workshops and provide insight into what would make Sparwood an age-friendly community. Thursday, June 25 – 1 – 2:30 p.m. Seniors Drop-In Centre Complete a survey for a chance to win! Take the survey on line at www.Bit.ly/Sparwood. Submit by July 15 for a chance to win $75 for Overwaitea.

Paper copies of the survey are available at the Seniors Drop-In Centre, Leisure Centre, and District Office, or email recoffice@sparwoodca.

Upcoming Meetings

– Annual General Meeting in Council Chambers on Monday, June 29 at 1 p.m., followed by the Committee of the Whole meeting.

– Regular Meeting in Council Chambers on Monday, July 20 at 7 p.m.

District of Sparwood

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