Valemount Council: pension plans, water metering, blood plasma

By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG

Valemount Council discussed employees’ pension plans, water metering and plasma donation in northern B.C. during its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 10th.

Mayor Owen Torgerson called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. After adopting the minutes of the May 27th regular meeting as well as the May 27th public hearing, Council received two delegations.

Wildfire Plan

Wildfire Coordinator Amy Edgar outlined the Community Wildfire Resiliency plan the firm is creating for the Village. The plan outlines wildfire risks in Valemount, such as overgrown forest edges near homes and poor access for first responders, and lists action items to mitigate those risks. Edgar said the most important goal was to increase public education initiatives to raise awareness of wildfire risks, and added that the Village’s FireSmart coordinator and emergency support services coordinator have already been organizing such initiatives.

Having a Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan also qualifies the Village for emergency preparedness grants which can cover the cost of wildfire risk reduction projects, Edgar said.

The plan will be completed by this November, according to Edgar’s presentation.

Tourism Valemount

Executive Director of Tourism Valemount Marcie Down provided an update on the organization’s operations and its plans for the summer. While Tourism Valemount took a hit from last summer’s highway closures, as it is funded by a provincial tax on short-term accommodations and many local hotels had few bookings during the closure, staff have managed to do more with less, Down said.

Tourism Valemount took over management of the visitor information centre in January, and held the fourth annual chinook salmon release event on June 8th. Additionally, the organization recently launched the Tourism Valemount app, which can be used to promote local events and even share information during emergencies, Down said.

“I always work on what I call a first response tourism plan,” she said. “We have to be ready to move people safely, quickly and effectively.”

This summer, the organization is going to develop an interpretive centre within the visitor information centre using grant funding, Down added. Tourism Valemount will be present at the Berg Lake Trail reopening party on June 28th and at the Alpenglow trail race July 4th and 5th.

Down also announced that vALEfest, a beer-tasting festival, will be returning this September. Tickets will be on sale soon and residents should be on the lookout for more details from Tourism Valemount, she said.

Municipal Pension Plan

Council voted to repeal the Village’s municipal pension policy. Under the policy, the only employees who were considered permanent were the Chief Administrative Officer, Corporate Officer and Financial Officer. All other employees were defined as temporary, meaning they had to work for a full year to be put on a pension plan, as opposed to permanent employees who were put on the plan as soon as their probation period ended.

Staff recommended repealing this policy and putting all employees on the pension plan following their probation period, to better help with staff retention.

Cemetery bylaw amendment

Council gave third reading to the Cemetery Bylaw, which has been updated to remove the section listing fees for cemetery use. Staff removed the section because all of the Village’s fees and charges are being consolidated into one Fees and Charges Bylaw.

Fees and Charges bylaw amendment

Council gave third reading to the Fees and Charges Bylaw, which now includes fees for using the cemetery and the columbarium – a place to store cremated remains – which is being built this fall. The fee for purchasing a niche in the columbarium is $1000 for residents, and the fee for opening and closing the columbarium to store the remains is $150. Staff benchmarked with other communities to decide on these fees, according to the staff report.

Water metering

Council received a letter from Valemount resident John Grogan, who wrote to share concerns about a universal water metering system. In May, the Village was approved for a grant which will fund meters to track water use in every home and business in Valemount. Grogan expressed concerns that the Village had not engaged with the public before deciding to implement a water metering system, and said the data collected by the meters could be leaked if the Village had a cybersecurity breach. He also said residents may be billed unfairly if their meter is inaccurate.

Grogan asked for the Village to pause rollout of the universal water metering system until public consultations are completed, asked for disclosure of how water use data will be protected and if there will be a way for concerned residents to opt out of metering.

Torgerson said Grogan raised good points in his letter.

“Rest assured, we won’t be doing this quietly,” Torgerson said. “I will respond to that letter identifying potential next steps.”

Simpcw Working Group

The Valemount and Simpcw First Nation working group had a meeting on March 7th. The group will meet four times per year, as required in the Valemount-Simpcw First Nation Memorandum of Understanding.

The meeting minutes were included in Council’s reading list. Torgerson thanked councillors Pete Pearson and Hugo Mulyk, as well as Yanciw, for attending the meeting.

“It’s a great couple of meetings we’ve had so far, and I think it’s going to be a very valuable collaboration moving forward,” Pearson said.

Plasma donation centre

During council’s May 8th meeting, Pearson made a resolution to write a letter to Canadian Blood Services in support of building a plasma donation centre in Prince George. Pearson’s resolution followed outreach from Our Blood Counts, a group of volunteers who are advocating for a plasma donation centre in northern B.C.

Canadian Blood Services vice presidents Elizabeth Stucker and Ron Vezina wrote to Pearson to say the organization has no plans to establish a plasma donation centre in Prince George. They said northern B.C. residents who would like to contribute can sign up for the national stem cell registry, register to donate tissues and organs, or make a financial donation to Canadian Blood Services.

“Although Canadian Blood Services does not operate blood or plasma donation centres in every community across Canada, we ensure that vital products are available to patients whenever and wherever they need them, including McBride and District Hospital and the University Hospital of Northern BC,” Stucker and Vezina wrote.

Pearson said he was disappointed to hear the organization is not considering a centre for northern B.C.

“The next representative of Canadian Blood Services that calls me asking for a donation will get an earful,” he joked. “I’m hoping we can keep up the good fight and encourage people to keep writing letters and making phone calls.”

Public Comments

Resident Junior Osadchuk spoke about the cemetery and fees and charges bylaws council discussed earlier. He asked if a brief explanation of each bylaw could be added to the meeting agenda.

Torgerson said staff reports are available in the online version of council meeting agendas, but not in the paper copies kept in council chambers. Online council meeting agendas are available at valemount.ca, and are typically published the Friday before a meeting.

Osadchuk thanked Torgerson for his help.

In-Camera

Torgerson adjourned the open meeting of council at 7:52 p.m. Council entered a closed meeting for consideration of three items under Section 90 (1)(a)(c) and (g) of the Community Charter to discuss matters related to:

(a) personal information about an identifiable individual who holds or is being considered for a position as an officer, employee or agent of the municipality or another position appointed by the municipality;

(g) litigation or potential litigation affecting the municipality.