By Andrea Arnold
McBride Council met for a special meeting on March 4th. Mayor Runtz called the meeting to order and they moved directly into an in-camera meeting.
In Camera
The in-camera portion was to address a matter pertaining to Section 90 (2)(b) of the Community Charter that states the consideration of information received and held in confidence relating to negotiations between the municipality and a provincial government or the federal government or both, or between a provincial government or the federal government or both and a third party.
C2C meeting expenses
Council approved a one night accommodation cost for Mayor, Council and CAO for March 5 for the purpose of attending the community to community event being held in Clearwater on March 6.
Basketball support
Council approved a $250 grant-in-aid to the McBride Mustangs Basketball team to help support travel expenses for their trip to provincials March 5-9.
Bylaw No. 826, 2024 Public Notice
Council voted in favour of adopting the Village of McBride Bylaw No. 826, 2024 – public notice, removing the need to post all bylaw changes in local papers prior to approval.
Application approval
Council directed staff to prepare an application to UBCM’s Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Adaptation Program for a water feasibility study project and instructed that staff bring project cost estimates before Council in March for a resolution of support prior to submission.
Council also authorized spending up to $10,000 from the Growing Communities Fund to help cover expenses related to the application process.
Contract agreement
Council authorized the Village of McBride to enter into a contract with Rynic Consulting to deliver the 2024 Municipal and Regional District Tax one-year Tactical Plan by December 31, 2024.
Office closure
Council approved the Village office closure on Thursday, March 28, 2024 for the purposes of vetting, organizing and disposing of Village documentation. CAO Jeanette McDougall reported that the physical space available for storage within the office is being taxed beyond capacity. Due to regular job responsibilities Village staff do not have the time to deal with the documents, and feel that this is the most efficient way to remedy the issue.
Resolution submissions
Administration requested that Council consider submitting resolution(s) to the North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA) that will be considered during NCLGA 2024 Convention & Annual General Meeting being held May 13-16, 2024. CAO McDougall asked that Council members email their resolution submission to her so they can be sent in by the March 8th deadline.
Councillor Joe Kolida asked that a resolution be submitted regarding the expense that members from smaller communities further away from the convention site incur to attend. He feels that the large municipalities have an advantage when it comes to booking hotels at reasonable prices near the venue as they have more staff to attend to the trip arrangements in a more timely manner.
Councillor Glen Frear said he would like to see the return of the BC Festival of Arts — an annual event that ceased to occur in May of 2001.
He would also like to submit a resolution shining a light on the interagency emergency communication program, and getting more communities on board with it. Although he was unsure as to the details, he would like to see more information brought forward to complete an official resolution.
Committee of the Whole – 2024 Budget Meeting
CAO McDougall requested this item get rescheduled from March 19th to the March 26th meeting. She said that the staff member overseeing the budget preparation is working with the auditors next week and cannot work on the budget at the same time. Council made and passed the motion granting the request.
In-Camera
Council moved to return to an in-camera meeting at 7:22pm for consideration of matters of the Community Charter related to Section 90 (1) (c) labour relations or other employee relations; (k) negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stage and that, in the view of the council, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in public.
