Kimberley City Council Report

By Nowell Berg

On April 23, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.

Councillors Kyle Dalum, Kent Goodwin, Jason McBain, Darryl Oakley and Sandra Roberts were present along with Mayor Don McCormick. Coun. Nigel Kitto was absent.

Financial Plan & 2019 Taxes Rates

Chief Financial Officer Jim Hendricks presented council with the five-year plan along with tax rates for all classes of properties as well as rates for the parcel tax and flat tax.

Hendricks’ report to council sets out the five-year plan objective as “operating an efficient and self-sufficient municipality while maintaining a well-serviced, safe and livable community.”

Property taxes will increase 2.22% in 2019 across all property classes.

Residential taxes account for almost 87.5% of revenue collected by the city. The business tax collects just over 11%.

Changes to the tax structure include adjustments to the Aquatic Centre funding which will come from the Parcel Tax. This was done “in order to improve transparency with regard to the real cost of this facility to the taxpayer.” In 2019, the parcel tax will “increase from $154.00 to $198.36 per parcel.”

As part of the shift in funding the Aquatic Centre, the variable tax rate will decrease by the same amount of the Parcel Tax increase.

Since 1990, the city has collected a Flat Tax on improved and unimproved properties.

Council voted “to leave the Flat Tax unchanged at $546 in 2019. The unimproved flat tax remains at $310.”

Other fees paid by residents include quarterly fees for the Water Utility, Sewer Utility and Solid Waste Collection. In 2019, the Sewer Utility fee is set to increase 8.0%, or $6.51 per quarter ($26.04 per year). Water Utility and Solid Waste Collection remain unchanged, $119.28 and $14.58 respectively.

Infrastructure renewal remains a priority for council and the city. In 2019, the budget calls for spending $6.5 million on 42 projects.

The 4th Avenue-Boundary to Trail water and sewer line replacement project is budgeted for almost $1.6 million, which includes repaying the road. The other large expenditure is $1.8 million for the planning and design of the Waste Water Treatment Facility, which is expected to begin construction in 2023.

Centre 64 receives almost $365,000 for roof and truss upgrades along with fire alarm upgrades.

If you want to learn more about city finances and the five-year plan, the information is archived on the city website.

Cross-walk petition

The city received a 200-signature petition called “Crosswalk on Spokane Street from the Parking Lot to Gym 67 Entrance.” It was submitted by Lori Skibsted, Manager at Gym 67.

Skibsted’s letter to the city said that, from her location at the gym, she’s “witnessed numerous near misses of people getting hit by vehicles.”

Her letter mentions not only her own brush with a motor vehicle, but many other reports from gym users who have had a close encounter while crossing the street. Skibsted’s letter suggests that a painted crosswalk, which is already there, is not visible in winter and the spring. Even when it is visible, vehicles traveling through the intersection “do not slow down to look to see if a pedestrian” is crossing.

Skibsted suggested flashing LED signs or a three-way stop be installed.

Chief Administrative Officer Scott Sommerville reported to council that Operations Manager Chris Mummery was at the intersection with ICBC on the morning of April 23. Sommerville said, “Aside from one sign that ICBC feels should be changed, they believe its a safe intersection.”

Several Councillors Dalum, Roberts and McBain, recounted incidents they were aware of at the “very busy” intersection.

The discussion then revolved around council and the city needing the input of traffic engineers regarding the intersection design.

Council referred the petition to staff for evaluation given the number of signatures on the petition.

Community Initiatives Funding

Council allocated $100,083.72, provided by the Columbia Basin Trust Community Initiatives and Affected Areas Program, to 36 different projects.

The largest grant was given to the Kimberley Arts Council, almost $13,000.

The next largest grants went to:

Kimberley Trails Society – $9,506;

Spark Youth Society – $9,077;

Kimberley Wellness Foundation (Healthy Kimberley) – $7,412;

Kimberley District Heritage Society – $7,299;

Mainstreams Environmental Society – $6,842.

In discussion regarding this funding, Couns. Oakley and McBain raised the issue of having more information regarding the dollar amounts for each grant application.

Pointing to the growing number of applications and dollars requested, Coun. Oakley asked about getting clarification from “a third party” on the budget numbers. He speculated the dollar amounts could be inflated because groups know they do not get what they ask for, so they ask for more. “I would like a way in the future to know how accurate they are.”

Suggesting the time to get that information was during “presentations” made to council, the Mayor added, “The vast majority of applications coming in, its a very specific amount of money for a very specific program. They do have that budget laid out in a way that even we can understand it.”

Coun. McBain said he had the same “concern” as some funding requests “were pretty substantial.” He followed up with, “I thought for the most part people did a pretty good job. I guess it comes down to a little bit of trust.”

In response, the Mayor added, “We really don’t have any guidelines on how much can be asked for, should there be a ceiling and other criteria we may want to apply to ensure the organizations that need it the most get the benefit of the money.”

Expect the city to look at establishing funding criteria for next year’s applications.

Kimberley city council meets twice monthly starting at 7 p.m., open to the public.

The next regularly scheduled council meeting is May 13.

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