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Kimberley experienced building spike in 2019
Kimberley City Council Report
By Nowell Berg
On January 13, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.
Councillors Kyle Dalum, Kent Goodwin, Nigel Kitto, Jason McBain, Darryl Oakley and Sandra Roberts were present along with Mayor Don McCormick.
2019 Building Permits
It was a collective “Wow!” from council when it was informed about building construction in 2019, the biggest year for building in Kimberley in a long time.
The total project value of all building permits last year came in at just over $32 million ($32,140,358). The city collected $294,633.40 in permit fees.
The city issued 241 building permits including 75 for renovations to existing single-family dwellings, and 31 permits for new home construction.
Counting multi-family construction, there were a total of 83 new residential units constructed in Kimberley last year, or in the process of completion in 2020.
Mayor McCormick said the addition of the new 83 units “will help.” He added, “We still have a shortage of [housing] inventory. I certainly hope our building community continues to do great work.” He also congratulated Troy Pollock, Manager Planning Services, and his two-person team for their outstanding work on handling the high volume of permits. “You guys have just done an awesome job this year.”
Commenting on the year past, Pollock said, “The numbers speak for themselves; it was a successful year. So far 2020 is looking to be pretty busy. I’m not sure we’re going to top last year, but were off to a good start already.”
Final SunMine Report
In early Dec (2019), city chief administrative officer (CAO) Scott Sommerville told e-KNOW that city council finalized the sale of SunMine to Teck Resources Limited “for $1,924,663.54.”
As such, he presented to council the final electricity generation numbers for 2019 Q4.
October          112.98 MWh
November       66.13 MWh
December       41.66 MWh
Fourth quarter electricity generation achieved “72.4% of projected [power generation]” which produced $27,453 in revenue for the city.
Sommerville also indicated he would present council with a final report on four and a half years of SunMine activity covering “all the trials, tribulations, successes and failures.”
Dogs and Angle Parking
The final Animal Control and Bylaw Enforcement report for December 2019 was presented to council.
The report indicates that dog issues where the most frequent infraction. Dog’s running at-large or being off-leash, dogs barking and vicious/aggressive dogs were the main concerns dealt with.
In terms of Bylaw enforcement, angle parking remains the big issue. The Bylaw Enforcement Officer (BEO) indicated that 69 first warning notices, along with 7 second warning notices and two warning tickets were issued for angle parking infractions.
In December, the BEO issued 11 warning tickets and four $50 fines for parking infractions. They also issued 10 written notices for uninsured, unlicensed, abandoned or derelict vehicles found on city streets.
The BEO noted that angle parking is only allowed on a street where “signs authorize it.” Most residents cooperate with the BEO regarding angle parking when they understand that it can impede emergency vehicles and snow plowing equipment.
Kimberley city council meets twice monthly starting at 7 p.m., open to the public.
The next scheduled council meeting: January 27 at City Hall.
Lead image: An example of construction in the City of Kimberley in 2019. e-KNOW file photo
e-KNOW
