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Notes from City Hall
City Hall, Facility Closure, Meeting Cancellations
Kimberley City Hall and all public facilities remain closed to the public. In light of this, the April Brown Bag Lunch with Mayor McCormick has been cancelled. To contact City Hall call 250-427-5311 or email [email protected].
The Safe Seniors, Strong Communities Program matches seniors who need support with non-medical essentials, to volunteers in their community who are willing to help. Volunteers can support seniors in many ways including grocery shopping, prescription pick-up, meal preparation and delivery and phone and/or virtual friendly visits. This program is run through the United Way and is funded by the provincial government. Seniors seeking support or volunteers offering to help can call 2-1-1 or complete the form found at www.bc211.ca.
Utility Payment Deferral Bylaw
At a Special Meeting of Council held Monday, March 30, Kimberley City Council adopted the Utility Rates Penalty Deferral Bylaw that will see the penalty date for second quarter utility payments deferred by two months from June 10 to August 10, 2020. This bylaw adoption will provide some financial relief for property owners who may be affected by current events by giving them two extra months to pay their utility bill. Property owners who wish to pay by the original due date can do so. The current bylaw stipulates that a 10% penalty be applied to any unpaid balance after the payment due date. Residents that pay utilities by auto-pay who wish to temporarily suspend their monthly payments, can complete and submit a form to City Hall. The form can be found on the city website.
Other Financial Relief Measures for Businesses and Residents
The city continues to seek ways to support residents and businesses. In addition to the Utility Payment Deferral Bylaw, the city is implementing temporary termination of water, sewer, and solid waste fees for vacant commercial and residential property. Please contact City Hall at 250-427-5311 or email [email protected] for more information and to request an application form. The city continues to monitor both provincial and federal initiatives including the province allowing property tax deferral for residents that qualify, reducing school tax by 50% for businesses and light-industrial property and allowing businesses with a payroll exceeding $500,000 to defer Employer Health Tax payments until September 30.
Important Solid Waste Reminders
City staff are stressing the need to be extra careful with our garbage at this time. On collection day, please ensure all of your solid waste fits inside your cart and that the lid closes fully. Do not place additional bags by the side of your bin as they will not be collected. This will help to ensure the safety of city staff as they work to keep our solid waste services running smoothly.
In addition, there have been several bear sightings in the last few days as they wake up from hibernation. Bears are looking for a quick meal and if garbage is not stored and secured properly, they will find it. Please ensure the safety of our community by keeping garbage inside until collection day or take it to the transfer station. If you cannot keep it inside, please secure your cart with a strap or lock mechanism until it is set out for pickup. Let’s work together to keep our community safe.
Open Fire Prohibition
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, in collaboration with provincial public health partners, has issued open burning restrictions for all High Smoke Sensitivity Zones across the province including Kimberley and surrounding areas until Wednesday, April 15. These restrictions are directly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect pollutants have on viral respiratory infections. This does not include permitted campfires and fire pits.
Flushing Wipes and Other Items
Wipes and paper towels of any kind ARE NOT FLUSHABLE…even if they say so on the package. Many brands claim to be safe for flushing but they are not. Please don’t flush anything other than toilet tissue. This includes wipes of any kind, paper towels, diapers, sanitary napkins and tampons or anything else that isn’t toilet paper. Sewer back-ups in your home or in city lines can be hazardous to your and city staff health. We need to avoid back-ups at all times but especially now to ensure safety of residents and crews.
Links to Reliable Sources and Important Information
Please seek and share only information obtained from reliable sources. This list is a great place to start when seeking COVID-19 related information.
BC Centre for Disease Control – www.bccdc.ca
Province of BC – www.gov.bc.ca
If you have symptoms contact Healthlink BC – 8-1-1
For other COVID-19 related information call 1-888-COVID19 (1-888-268-4319)
World Health Organization – www.who.int
Support Each Other
This is a very difficult time for all of us but we are in this together! There are so many stories of neighbours helping neighbours. It’s important for us to continue that support while maintaining social distance. We are making positive impacts on this virus in our province but there is more to do. Stay home, wash your hands and take care of yourself and others. We look forward to seeing you soon!
City of Kimberley