COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS Tuesday, October 4, 201

Delegations

Karen Brunoro, Interior Health - Deni House Update

Karen Brunoro, 100 Mile House Residential Nurse Manager, gave council an update on the renovation of Deni House. Opening is expected Nov. 28, and Deni House is expected to be at capacity on December 15.

Regular Agenda

Application to the RCMP Contract Management Committee - Chief Administrative Officer

Council supported an application to Union of British Columbia Municipalities for the CAO to be appointed to the BC/Local Government RCMP Contract Management Committee. The City of Williams Lake shares a common interest with other similar sized communities in having an accountable, cost effective municipal policing agreement and having a seat on the Committee would provide an opportunity to influence the success of the new RCMP contract.

Contact: Brian Carruthers at 250-392-1763

Permissive Tax Exemptions

Council gave first three readings to bylaws to approve 2012 permissive tax exemptions, including those for land surrounding a building for public worship and for land surrounding buildings of private schools. Staff recommends that the permissive tax exemptions (that do not involve public worship or school properties) apply only for a one-year period, thus becoming effective for 2012 only. Based on 2011 assessed values and taxation rates, the estimated total amount of taxes that would be imposed on the proposed properties if they were not tax exempt is approximately $176,069, an increase of $5,128 over the actual 2011 tax exemptions.

Contact: Pat Higgins at 250-392-1762

BC Transit - 2010/2011 Annual Performance Summary

Council received the 2010-2011 Annual Performance Summary for the Williams Lake Transit Service for information. Following years of consistent growth in ridership, in 2010/11 Williams Lake saw an overall decrease in ridership and revenues as well as a decrease in costs from the previous year. In spite of the decreases in ridership and revenues, the Williams Lake transit system, operating costs per ride and hour are within the average range of the comparable Tier 3 (Paratransit) in BC. It is expected that with the addition of two new low-floor buses with improved access and seating, transit ridership will increase in the future. Staff will be meeting with the BC Transit Regional Transit Manager to review the performance report in more detail and to identify strategies to improve performance and reduce costs.

Contact: Brian Carruthers at 250-392-1763

Revitalization Tax Exemption Application - Gecko Tree - 54 Mackenzie Avenue Council approved the Revitalization Tax Exemption application from Crystalee Baba for interior and exterior upgrades at 54 Mackenzie Avenue North; and authorized entering into a Revitalization Tax Exemption Agreement with Crystalee Baba. The Revitalization Tax Exemption program is available to individuals or companies who own property in the City’s Revitalization Tax Exemption Area who have carried out physical improvements to their property valued at $20,000 or more. The exemption would be equal to the amount of municipal property tax payable on the incremental increase (not total property taxes) in assessed value attributable to the improvement for a period of three years, and successful applicants may apply for a further three-year exemption.

Contact: Pat Higgins at 250-392-1762

Development Variance Permit #08-2011 - Signal Point Road

Council accepted the application for the Development Variance Permit from Brian & Rita Sowden, Risto & Susan Kurkiniemi and Rudolf & Cathie Durfeld requesting to reduce the exterior lot line setback from 3.0 m (9.84 ft) to 2.67 m (8.76 ft) for the existing cabin only in order to facilitate the registration of a lake access pursuant to section 75 of the Land Title Act as a condition of a proposed subdivision of the subject property. Council agreed to issue Development Variance Permit #08-2011 upon the adoption of Williams Lake Zoning Amendment No. 2099, 2009; and directed staff to issue notice of the application to property owners and tenants within 100 metres of the subject property advising of the time and date when the matter will be considered by Council. Council also forwarded the application to the Advisory Planning Commission for review and recommendation.

Contact: Geoff Goodall at 250-392-1766

Application to Homelessness Partnering Strategy

Council endorsed an application to the Government of Canada through the Homelessness Partnering Initiative for an amount up to $75,000. Staff are in the process of preparing an application to the Homelessness Partnering Initiative for the Knowledge Development Fund on Rural and Remote Homelessness. The proposed project will research the movement of homeless and homeless at risk from rural to urban communities and the information gathered for this project will assist in developing our Affordable Housing Strategy.

Contact: Anne Burrill at 250-392-8480

Financial Impact of Pool Closure

Council received a report from Director of Community Services Geoff Paynton regarding the financial impact of the closure of Sam Ketcham Pool this summer. When all impacts of the recent six week pool shutdown at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex (CMRC) to repair water leaks are accounted for, the negative impact to the CMRC budget will be approximately $98,500. The pool closed on June 30th and extensive work began to locate and repair the leak.

Work was completed and the pool re-opened on August 15th, six weeks later. During this time the fitness centre was kept open however the rest of the pool, and pool area, had to remain closed. This significantly impacted the drop-in customers who frequent the CMRC due to the variety of services they are usually able to partake in. Three complete swimming lesson sets were lost due to this closure and the fourth set was significantly depleted due to the inability to predict an exact opening date and the short time that was available to register for the lessons once the opening was known.

Contact: Geoff Paynton at 250-392-1786

Sam Ketcham Pool & Recreation Facilities Priorities

Council approved recommendations from Director of Community Services Geoff Paynton maintain the Sam Ketcham Pool as is, and to direct staff to begin planning work on a new option to replace the pool. This item has yet to be considered by the Cariboo Regional District Board of Directors.

Contact: Geoff Paynton at 250-392-1786

Central Cariboo Arts & Culture 2012 Business and Financial Plans

Council endorsed the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture 2012 Business and Financial plans, and agreed to the addition of a business goal to include the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society's input into planning Canada Day Celebrations and Performances in the Park. The plans as presented recommend that the 2011 tax requisition for arts and culture remain the same as the 2010 requisition. This item has yet to be considered by the Cariboo Regional District Board of Directors.

Contact: Geoff Paynton at 250-392-1786

Housing Need and Demand Study Funding

Council agreed to enter into a contribution agreement with Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation for the sum of $10,000 for the purposes of completing a Housing Need and Demand Study. The City applied the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation for a Seed Grant to assist with a Regional Housing Need and Demand study that will inform the planning process for the redevelopment of Cariboo Lodge. The funds have been approved and this agreement is the formal contract for use of the funds.

Contact: Anne Burrill at 250-392-8480

Union of BC Municipalities Convention Report

Council received a report from the Chief Administrative Officer on the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention attended by Council in late September. Highlights include:

Meetings with Premier Christy Clark:

Mayor and Council had a private meeting with the Premier where the Mayor advised the Premier of the major issues facing the City and discussed the need for the sharing of resource development revenues with local governments that serve those developments. Additionally, the Mayor met with the Premier on 3 other occasions with the Cariboo Regional District and the three Beetle Action Committees to discuss Barkerville and to update the Premier on progress with BAC funding and continued collaboration between the BACs.

Meeting with Solicitor General and Acting Attorney General Shirley Bond:

Council discussed the recent successes in crime reduction and made a specific request for more flexible deployment of First Nations Policing resources within the City and the need for a Crime analyst for the Williams Lake RCMP detachment. Council also requested the Minister to consider a more equitable funding formula for Police-based Victim Services, reflecting crime and judicial case loads.

Meeting with Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Ida Chong:

Council expressed their desire to see the Towns for Tomorrow funding program and more specifically the need for funding to address the Station House Gallery. Council also expressed the need for the sharing of resource development revenues with local governments that serve those developments.

RCMP ‘E’ Division:

Council met with Rob Morrison and Wayne Rideout of the RCMP to discuss the need for a Crime analyst for the Williams Lake RCMP detachment and more flexible deployment of First Nations Policing resources within the City.

Interior Health Authority:

Councillors Bourdon, Zacharias and Walters and CAO Carruthers joined a delegation from the CRD in a meeting with Dr. Embry and Dr. Halpenny of the IHA to discuss the need for funding to complete costing

estimates for the Cariboo Memorial Hospital Master Plan and to ensure implementation was prioritized in the IHA capital program.

UBCM Resolutions:

Council attended the Resolutions sessions which included consideration of two resolutions put forward by the City of Williams Lake. The Resolution to harmonize the Federal and Provincial Environmental Assessment processes was not endorsed due to a recent legal decision that doesn’t allow the Federal Government to divest its obligations under the EA Act. The Victim Services Funding resolution was passed. The resolution to eliminate MSP premiums for seniors was also passed.

Contact: Brian Carruthers at 250-392-1763

Proclamations

Foster Family Month – October 2011

Fire Prevention Week – October 9-15, 2011

Small Business Week – October 16-22, 2011

Next council meeting: October 18, 2011 at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers.

Educating parents on cyber safety

By Angie Mindus

Cariboo Advisor

The District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) is hosting a cyberspace safety presentation later this month to help protect children from the risks involved in using social networking and the Internet by educating their parents.

DPAC Parent Education Coordinator Shelley Wiggins, who is organizing the event, says social networking and the Internet in general is often voiced as a topic of concern by local parents.

“We are trying to giving the parents some tools they can use so they are better-equip to deal with the risks associated with these new and ever-changing technologies.”

Technologies speaker Steve Dotto will be giving an informative presentation called Cyber Safe which will outline the risks of social networking and Web 2.0 for youth and the tools parents need to come to terms with both the dangers and their role in protecting their children.

“Without fail the response of our audience is shock, concern and determination to take on the responsibility of our generation, namely protecting our youth in cyberspace,” Dotto says of his presentation.

If this event is well attended, Wiggins says DPAC is hoping to bring in more speakers on a number of topics suggested by parents. Parents wishing to request a future topic may write on the DPAC’s website at sd27dpac@hotmail.com or to www.sd27dpac.com. 

Tickets for Cyber Safe with Steve are $3 in advance available at Cariboo Memorial Complex, or $5 at the door. The presentation begins at 7 p.m. on October 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Gibraltar Room. 

Parents are urged to leave their children at home due to the adult content of the program.

Curling: Chess on Ice

Courtney Taylor

Cariboo Advisor

Some people may look at curling and see a sport that can come across as somewhat boring, but when you take a closer look what you find might surprise you.

The Williams Lake Curling Club held an open house last Saturday encouraging lakecity residents to come out and try the sport for themselves to see what it’s all about.

Laura Ball has been curling for the past 15 years and was recently brought on as a coordinator, a position she says she is excited about.

“I love to curl and any opportunity to expand the club is great,” said Ball.

For Ball, the sport has become a family affair with her two daughters Jessica and Michelle curling for the past six or so years at the club with her.

The girls say they love the challenge of the sport, and though it may look easy not everybody can pick it up.

“I like that (curling) is laid back, but that there is a challenge to it,” says Michelle.

Their mom compares the game to chess and says it’s a sport for kids who like a challenge.

“It’s a strategic game of trying to (oust) your opposition,” said Ball.

For newcomers to the sport it can be a little intimidating with all the experienced players seeming to talk in another language between getting into the ‘hack,’ calling for a ‘chip,’ and all the yelling of ‘hard’ or ‘hurry.’ But the Ball girls reassure everyone that once they get the hang of it, curling is a lot more fun than it looks on television.

For long time curler John Shepard, it’s all about the comradery of the game that he loves the most.

“It doesn’t look like a whole lot of fun, but when you get on the ice it is a lot of fun with the social aspect added in,” says Shepard.

Shepard has been curling for 40 years, sponsoring ice for the last six years plus she currently curls with three different leagues.

She said the open house was about showing off the sport to newcomers, and Bert Cons had the pleasure of doing just that. He showed 13-year-old Devon Hill the basics.

“We got some curlers out today, and if we can keep them interested like they are today, then they’ll do pretty good,” says Cons.

Cons says curling is a great winter sport for all ages.

Ball says in Williams Lake more kids play hockey, but she’s hoping she can convert some to at least come try curling.

“I love curling and I think everyone should at least try it,” says Ball. “You wont know if you like until you get out and try.”

Making a difference one life at a time through Hospice

Courtney Taylor

Cariboo Advisor

Some people search their whole life for their calling; to find something in life that they were meant to do.

It certainly didn’t take Wendy Stasica her whole life the find her calling, but she’ll admit she needed a little push in the right direction.

Ten years ago Stasica was working in the mailroom at the Tribune, and now she is the Volunteer Services Coordinator at the Central Cariboo Hospice.

“I use to think it was kind of an accident how I ended up here,” said Stasica.

She recalls thinking back to when she was young, visiting her mom in the hospital when she was just 14 years old. She says she recalls trying to help an elderly lady in the bed across from her mom who was moaning and groaning.

“I knew she wanted something, and I did the best I could to try and figure it out,” said Stascia. “She held my hand and slowly drifted off to sleep, like she felt better just knowing someone was there.”

Flash forward to the fall of 2001, and Stasica is working in the mailroom at the Tribune, and has the opportunity to go down to Abbotsford to visit a co-worker who was diagnosed with cancer and was dying.

Before Stasica saw Diane in the hospital, another friend warned her of how she looked, and about the smell in the room.

“I walked in the room and the smell was indeed awful and she didn’t look the same, she looked like she was dying, but within a couple of minutes that all went away and it didn’t matter.”

Stasica recalls getting very angry at the nurse because she noticed there was no one coming into the room to check on her friend.

She was told that the nurses were having a hard time going in the room because Diane was quite young. Stasica said she told them she didn’t care about the staff and told them they should be at least going in and pretending to do something.

“There are still things you can do to comfort the person even if you can’t save them,” said Stasica.

So she stayed with her friend for three days and sung songs and lullabies and things like that. She says she didn’t really know what she was doing - she just had an overwhelming need to comfort her.

After Diane passed away, Stasica was thanked by her mom for helping Diane feel better, something Stasica didn’t know she had done, but she also thanked the family for allowing her to help Diane because she now knew what she wanted to do for a career.

As soon as she was back home she quit her job and went straight to the Deni House and asked if she could visit with anyone who needed visiting.

“I told them to give me the worst, give me the ones nobody wants,” said Stasica. “Give me the ones who have nobody, those are the ones that maybe I can help.”

It wasn’t long before Stasica had to go back to her job, she could only last so long without pay, but she was volunteering during the day.

After a couple of months the woman she had been paired up with passed away and Stasica went to the funeral and contacted the family and told them how much she had liked their mom.

“I found I fit in the environment,” said Stasica. “I was of service and that’s what I wanted to feel.”

One of the women at Deni House told Stasica that she should do hospice work, and when Stasica asked what hospice was she was told that they only deal with people who are dying.

“I thought ‘that’s where I should be,” said Stasica.

“I went straight to the hospice office and asked for an application to be a volunteer.”

A week before her training was done, Stasica’s dad passed away unexpectedly and she was not allowed to sit with any clients.

“And that broke my heart,” said Stasica. “At the time, they felt that I needed time to deal with my lose before I could help others.”

Stasica said she has since changed that thought.

As it was, she ended up helping Kate McDonough, the executive director, with assessments and arranging the volunteers.

“And I’ve been in this position ever since.’

Stasica did the job as a volunteer for three years while working nights at the mailroom at the Tribune.

“There were some days I was changing my clothes while on the phone in the office,” said Stasica.

Stasica said seven years ago, funding was found to make her position into a paying one, and she is paid six hours a day, but says she stays for as long as she is needed.

“She is a part-time staff, but works all hours and is totally dedicated to our clients,” said McDonough. 

“She has definitely made a huge difference in many people’s lives.”

Stasica says the job is a little more than she bargained for in the beginning, but that it’s turned out.

“It does feel good to be of service, and what more can you ask for than to have made a difference in someone’s life,” said Stasica.

As volunteer services coordinator, Stasica meets with all the clients, writes the assessment, and arranges all the volunteers, but she says she wishes she could spend more time with the clients.

“When I retire, I am going to be a hospice volunteer.”

Local gym hosts first ever Hottie Body - October 12 edition

Courtney Taylor

Cariboo Advisor

Those bikinis and trunks may now be tucked away in a drawer, but if you’ve got the hottest body around, we have a place you can wear them.

Fit City Athletica is hosting the first annual ‘Hottie Body’ contest in Williams Lake coming up in November.

After brainstorming with a girlfriend, Fit City owner Teena Olson came up with the idea for the contest in hopes of bringing the community together to have some fun.

“We also want people to know that we have something other than just the gym, we have clothes as well,’ said Shelley Green, Fit City Employee.

And Fit City doesn’t just carry regular clothes; they carry specialized boutique clothing.

“It’s items you can’t get at Zellers, Walmart or other big box stores,” said Olson.

The deadline to enter the ‘Hottie Body’ contest is October 20^th, and there is a non-refundable $20 entry fee, which includes 10 free tans.

The girls at Fit City would like to stress that the contest is open to both women and men ages 19 and over since the event is going to be held at Oliver Street Bar and Grill.

“The first prize is a 1 year free gym membership and $250 cash, which I think is a pretty nice incentive,” said Olson.

Along with the title of Fit City’s Hottie Body, the free gym membership and the cash is a one-month bronze-tanning package according to Olson.

The runner up will receive a free three-month gym membership and one-month bronze-tanning package.

For all the non-contestants in the crowd there will be tons of great prizes such as a pair of Miss Me jeans, a Guess purse and clothing from Lady Dutch just to name a few.

During intermission, Olson will show off her boutique clothing she has available in store with a fashion show.

So if you think your body is the hottest thing around then prove it at Oliver Street Bar and Grill Saturday November 12.

Students network at third annual job fair - October 12 Edition

Courtney Taylor

Cariboo Advisor

Local students were given the chance to network with key industry leaders in the community last week at the third annual Williams Lake Job Fair.

Along with students from the local high schools, the job fair was open to anyone who wished to come down to the Gibraltar room to meet potential employers, drop off resumes, or research career goals.

Rhonda Labelle, Executive Director for the Cariboo Chilcotin Aboriginal Training Employment Center whom is the main sponsor of the job fair says events like this bring the community at large together.

“We want to promote local jobs in our community,” said Labelle. “The youth are the future of the labour force, we need to give them the information they need to make decisions.”

Labelle said on the first day they had more than 600 people come through the fair, many of them high school students, and there was lots of entertainment and prizes given out.

This was the third event like this one that CCATEC had put on and Labelle says they welcome participation from any local employer for future events.

“Having local business support is critical,” said Labelle

Passions, deadlines and dreams - Editorial October 12

Passion. It’s one thing I want for my life. I want to feel passionately about the one I love, to work passionately for something and to find my one true passion in life.

Being back in Williams Lake for the last few months it amazes me how many passionate people I meet, whether it is Mayor Cook who is passionate about this town, Dr. Ray Sanders who is passionate about TRU, or Denise Thompson who is passionate about her community out in Wildwood. 

I want to live my life full of passion and I want to live each day like there will be no more. With Steve Jobs passing away earlier this month, Facebook has been flooded with quotes from him. Many of the status updates referred to living each day, as it was your last and I like that mentality. I never want to get to a point in my life and look back and think why did I do that, why didn’t I do this and so on. I want to have no regrets. So far I am close to finding my passion in life, but I definitely don’t feel as if I have found it just yet. 

I think I need more life experience, maybe a spur of the moment trip to New York, maybe that dream of being a fashion designer isn’t dead, maybe I’ll write for a newspaper the rest of my life. I really don’t know, but I do know that I am 24 and I am not ready to settle on one thing just yet.

I love Williams Lake and it will forever be my home. I get goose bumps listening to Mayor Cook talk about the future, and the same when Dr Sanders speaks about where TRU will be in the next 10 years. I want to see Williams Lake grow, I even want to help, I am just not sure how I fit in just yet. And I really can’t wait to say ‘I am from that fantastic town that has grown beyond the point anyone could have imagined years ago.”

One thing I do know is that I love writing and working for this paper. The people I work with are passionate, the people I meet are passionate, and I do truly love this town.

Not to say that there aren’t a few more adventures still in store for me before I settle down. I’d still love to backpack Europe, work overseas, perhaps intern at a magazine in Toronto or New York and I still have plans for more school. 

Besides believing in living each day to its fullest, I also believe no experience is a waste of time and you can learn important skills all the time that can be useful in the future.

I had the pleasure of meeting with two ladies this past week who are truly passionate about what they are doing and I love interacting with people who are full of passion.

I am passionate right now about doing the very best I can in reporting and writing stories for this paper and every week I learn a little bit more. I can say without a doubt that the lesson last week was about proof reading and you better believe that I will never let another story go to press without a last look over.

Life is full of lessons and it is what you learn and how you move forward that is important. I am not done learning here at the Advisor and I plan on learning a whole heck of a lot more before my next learning experience starts.

Wildwood residents rally to save themselves - October 12 Edition

Courtney Taylor

Cariboo Advisor

The determination of a mother should never be underestimated, or in this story, a mother who is also a Wildwood resident.

“One way or another, even if I have to dig the dirt myself, that rink is going in this year,” said Denise Thompson, showcasing the community’s commitment to building an ice rink in the rural community for this coming winter.

Thompson has been a Wildwood resident on and off for the past 18 years and her two children went to the local elementary school to Grade 7. Thompson is now the Treasurer of the Wildwood Community Association and she is determined to get things done and revitalize the community in the process.

Residents were alerted to fragile state of small, rural communities last spring when the School Board considered closing the local elementary school. The school was partially saved; it lost Grades 4-7 due to declining enrollment and now functions as a K to Grade 3 school.

Spurred on by the Wildwood School being scaled back, Thompson and Wildwood residents have begun to fight back. 

“Children and families, that’s what keeps a community together,” said Thompson, who lives behind the Wildwood School and can’t imagine what the community would be like without the school.

And what better way to bring and hold the community together than with a good old-fashioned hockey rink.

The rink has been in the works for the past six or seven years, and it has been with Thompson’s drive and determination that it is finally coming to life.

CRD Area ‘D’ director, Deb Bishoff echoes Thompson’s feeling on having kids in the community. 

“Kids make a community,” she says. “If the school closes, the community will survive but it won’t be the same.’

“It’s phenomenal, what (Thompson) has done in less than a year, what the community has been working on for years,” said Bishoff.

The rink is being built on the Wildwood School field this year, and the project for next year is a disc golf course to be put beside the fire hall according to Thompson.

“We want to bring affordable, fun, and safe family activities to the community,” said Thompson.

According to Thompson, the school is the centre of the community and if it ever closes it would be devastating to the community.

She knows first-hand the difficulty of working in town, and having kids in school out in Wildwood, so she understands why a lot of kids are bussed into town.

“Next I think we need to encourage an after school program and daycare at the school,” said Thompson.

Bishoff agrees with Thompson saying that having daycare is one of the reasons the 150 Mile Elementary school is doing so well. 

Bishoff said Thompson and the rest of the people working with her have all worked hard to bring this rink to the community.