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Marysville Arena to remain closed
Kimberley City Council Report
By Nowell Berg
On October 26, 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.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the press and public were not allowed in Council Chambers. The meeting streamed live on the city’s YouTube channel. Watch the archive here.
Minor Hockey Requests Opening of Marysville Arena
In an open letter to the Mayor and Council, Kimberley Minor Hockey Association (KMHA) President Trevor Woynarski made one request, “Please open the Marysville Arena.”
Woynarski’s letter, on behalf of KMHA, outlined the importance of minor hockey to over 130 youth, the financial contribution to the city “spending between $80,000 and $100,000,” and the Phase 3 (BC government COVID-19 response plan) permissibility of “cohort super weekends,” where four teams will gather in communities for a series of games.”
The KMHA letter also asked the city “to commit to operating the arena this year.”
Mayor McCormick released a statement on Tuesday, October 27, which in part said, “Kimberley city council voted unanimously on Monday night to keep the Marysville arena closed for the start of the ice season. Experience with the now open Civic Centre and a staff assessment of safety protocols as they apply to the Maryville Arena led to the council decision
The statements key reason stems from the city’s assessment that “all ice user requests have been accommodated in the Civic Centre.”
The Mayor said, “I appreciate that not everyone will agree with this decision. Believe me when I say that no one wants to see closed facilities, especially staff.”
Replying by email when reached for comment on the continued closure of the Marysville Arena, Mr. Woynarski said, “I have no comment.”
Bylaw Modernization
In an attempt to modernize bylaws on the city’s books, ongoing for the past few years, council received a request from chief financial officer Jim Hendricks.
Hendricks’ bylaw would replace the outdated Kimberley Reserve Fund (KFR), created in 1959, with a new fund that would be in compliance with current provincial legislation. He said, “The [new] bylaw will eliminate the old reserve fund and replace it with the Kimberley Land Development Reserve Fund (KLDRF).
“It doesn’t really change what we do, it brings it up to date,” said Hendricks. He added that net dollars in the current fund would move over to the new fund once adopted by council.
In answering council questions, Hendrick’s confirmed the new KLDRF would also be used for capital infrastructure projects, and any allocation of money would be “determined through the budget process.”
The Good Neighbour Bylaw was also presented to council. According to Corporate Officer (CO) Maryse Leroux, the new bylaw “consolidates several nuisance-type restrictions and requirements under one umbrella.”
“I know we have more Bylaws than we know what to do with, so this will be great,” said Coun. Roberts. She noted the Good Neighbour Bylaw reduces five bylaws down to one.
Leroux told council the new bylaw increases the city’s “compliance tools” to address repeat offenders. She also informed council there would be a review of the Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw which sets out the fines for bylaw infractions.
Agreeing with the “importance” of the bylaw, Coun. Goodwin suggested there be a period of time “for people to take a look at it, see if there are any big red flags and get back to us.”
The drive to modernize and up-date city bylaws continues.
If Funded, Pop-Up Toilet Heading for Platzl
Council approved city staff’s request to submit two projects to the BC government’s Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program (CERIP).
The first project will look at securing funds to purchase a portable washroom facility that would be located near the centre of the Platzl. The “pre-fabricated” facility would contain a toilet and wash basin, and be fully accessible. A specific location within the Platzl has not been determined, pending funding.
If funded, the other CERIP project would re-pave the Platzl parking lot.
Kimberley city council meets twice monthly starting at 7 p.m. At this time, the public is not allowed to attend in person.
The next scheduled council meeting: November 9. It will live stream on the City of Kimberley YouTube channel.
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