By Steve Hubrecht
The Columbia Valley played host to an important Association of Kootenay and Boundary Local Governments (AKBLG) meeting this past weekend.
The annual convention of municipal and regional officials drew nearly 200 participants to the Village of Radium Hot Springs from April 19 to 21.
“It was amazing. The feedback was great,” said Radium Mayor Mike Gray.
The meeting was a chance to show off Radium, and most of the visitors were impressed, explained Gray. “I was so proud of how our village staff and how our community prepared for it. It went really well.”
Attendees were taken on several tours, getting a glimpse of the Canfor sawmill in Radium, taking a look at Radium’s water system (which taps six glaciers at the upper reaches of Forster Creek and uses sand filtration beds), and visiting several local conservation projects that have been funded by the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund.
The sawmill tour was interesting for many participants because “we are a forestry area. The whole AKBLG area is a forestry area. But not every community in the AKBLG has a mill. This gave them a chance to see up close how the forestry industry works,” explained Gray.
The Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund sites were similarly intriguing, he added. The fund is supported by Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) taxes, and gives money to hyper local conservation efforts. Each potential donee is reviewed by a technical committee. Although the dollar amounts and the scale of projects is small “we’ve seen a huge impact,” said Gray. “When the program started in the Columbia Valley it was unique. Since then it’s been replicated in many areas outside the Columbia Valley. They use our program as a model.”
During the meeting, former Radium mayor Clara Reinhardt was given a lifetime membership in the AKBLG. “It is in recognition for her years of service to the organization and we were very proud to see her at the event, helping to emcee, as well as receive her induction,” said Gray.
The business part of the meeting saw the AKBLG representatives vote on resolutions of regional and provincial significance. Resolutions approved by a majority of delegates at the meeting will later be brought up at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention.
One of the regional resolutions, put forward by the Village of New Denver, was to ask the province to include the Kootenay and Boundary areas in the speculation and vacancy tax. This tax is levied by the provincial government on absentee homeowners and seasonal property owners, and is intended to help turn homes that are vacant for long stretches of the year into long-term housing. It currently only applies in the Lower Mainland, parts of Vancouver Island near Victoria and Nanaimo, and in Kelowna.
“There was a lot of discussion on the resolution,” AKBLG executive director Linda Tynan told the Pioneer. In the end the resolution was voted down. “It wasn’t a particularly close vote, but it also wasn’t a blowout,” said Tynan, estimating that the vote was roughly two-thirds opposed and one-third in favour.
Many speakers touched on numerous topics during the AKBLG meeting in Radium Hot Springs last weekend. PHOTO SUBMITTED
The other regional resolution asked the provincial government to consider providing ground transportation between the Kootenay and Boundary area and Kelowna for medical patients referred to Kelowna for treatment. Up until about seven or eight years ago, it was relatively common for East Kootenay patients to be referred to doctors in Calgary if they needed specialized medical help. For reasons that are still not clear, that situation changed dramatically, with patients now referred to Kelowna instead. This change has not been popular in the East Kootenay, as it leaves people driving many hours and hundreds of kilometres in each direction, over high mountain passes, for medical appointments. That resolution was passed handily, said Tynan.
Among the provincial resolutions was one asking the provincial government to allocate more funding to monitor and prevent the spread of zebra and quagga mussels. This passed with nearly 100 per cent of delegates in favour.
Another resolution sought to change regional district legislation to give municipalities nearby a proposed rezoning a more heavily weighted vote than those municipalities farther away (but still within the same regional district). This resolution did not pass. The vote on it “was somewhat close, but not nail bitingly so,” said Tynan.
