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Sewer and road work contracts awarded
Kimberley City Council Report
By Nowell Berg
On August 17, City of Kimberley council held its regular bi-monthly meeting.
Councillors Kyle Dalum, Kent Goodwin, Nigel Kitto, Darryl Oakley and Sandra Roberts were present. Coun. Jason McBain and Mayor Don McCormick were absent. Coun. Roberts sat in as Acting Mayor.
The meeting streamed live on the city’s YouTube channel. You can watch the archive here.
Contracts Awarded
Council voted to approve two contracts for sewer main lining and road rehabilitation.
Mar-Tech Underground Services (Langley) received the sewer lining contract valued at $275,075 plus taxes. The project covers the sewer line from 103rd Avenue to Knighton Road (noted on Google map above). Based on staff assessment, this stretch of road was identified as needing maintenance.
Chris Mummery, Senior Manager Operations said, “It’s an area where we see a lot of root infiltration and problems with blockage and things of that nature.”
Mummery mentioned that five companies submitted tenders, but three were non-compliant because they did not provide all the information requested in the city’s tender document.
Coun. Oakley asked about non-compliance, “Are they not focusing on the tender documents?”
Mummery replied, “Essentially, yes.” He told council that “a couple of [the companies] were fairly new to the business and learning the ropes and what’s required.”
Sewer lining work begins in the fall and is scheduled for completion by mid-November.
The second contract for the annual road rehabilitation program was given to BA Blacktop (Cranbrook). The contract amount is $320,654.80 plus taxes.
City staff recommended the following road locations for road paving.
- 106th Avenue (100 Block between Knighton Road & 107th Avenue);
- Phillips Road & Bryant Boulevard (route to Selkirk School from Spokane Street);
- Montgomery Avenue (between Dalgren Street & Higgins Street);
- Banks Street (100 block in the Dewolfe Avenue area);
- Banks Street (200 block in the Dewolfe Avenue area);
- Chapman Street (300 block);
- 308th Avenue (between 303rd Street & 302nd Street);
- 306th Avenue (between 306th Street & 305th Street).
Coun. Kitto commented, “It’s a really, really hard thing to decide where the money should be spent. I think the choices to be made…it’s working and I wish we could double up the budget. They’re all very worthwhile projects.”
Paving gets underway soon and is expected to be completed by late September.
Annual Tax Sale
The provincial government has given municipalities the option to postpone a property tax sale in 2020 and move it to September 2021.
Chief financial officer Jim Hendricks presented council with the option to delay or move ahead.
Based on analysis, Hendricks said, “It doesn’t appear that the COVID situation has had much of an impact, at least on the number of properties included in the tax sale.”
He reported that 34 properties are on the 2020 tax sale list compared to 40 last year.
“Roughly half the properties on the list” are repeat offenders. “They’re on the list every year.” Hendricks recommended the tax sale move ahead as planned for 2020.
Coun. Goodwin asked, “How are we doing for tax payments and utility payments, given COVID?”
Hendricks replied, “We’re doing really well on the residential, barely any impact there.” He added that a big commercial company took advantage of the deadline extension. He further added, “Teck came through and paid their taxes by the July 2 due date.”
Council decided to move ahead with the scheduled September 2020 the tax sale.
Animal and Bylaw Report
In terms of the animal report, the Bylaw Enforcement Officer (BEO) indicated an increase in cat-at-large complaints. Over the past month, six complaints were received about cats roaming neighbourhoods. The BEO also posted four deer and fawn signs around town.
A resident received a $150 fine for allowing their dog to be off-leash. Four other dog owners were given verbal warnings to keep their pet leashed.
The BEO noted four complaints were received about dogs in the water park, which is not allowed, plus another four concerns over barking dogs. In two other incidents, residents reported aggressive dog attacks which are being investigated.
Parking infractions are on the rise. The BEO reported 16 infractions, particularly around the Mark Creek Flume. Three $50 fines were handed out, along with nine warning tickets and four verbal warnings.
The BEO received 10 noise complaints, of which two were deemed “groundless.” Six verbal warnings were issued.
The BEO is concerned about construction and cargo trailers parked unattached on city streets without a permit. They can be obstacles to emergency vehicles. Nine written notices were issued to contractors in violation of the Street Occupancy Bylaw. Through education, the BEO is working to resolve the issue.
Kimberley city council meets twice monthly starting at 7 p.m.
The next scheduled council meeting: September 14. The meeting can be live streamed on the City of Kimberley YouTube channel.
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