Valemount Council: Jasper evacuee funding, air quality study, accessibility plan

Valemount Council: Jasper evacuee funding, air quality study, accessibility plan

By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG

Valemount Council discussed funding from the Alberta government, a study on dust storms and adopted a new accessibility plan during its regular meeting on September 9th.

Mayor Owen Torgerson called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. After adopting the evening’s agenda and approving minutes from the August 12th regular meeting, Council moved on to discuss administrative reports.

Evacuee compensation

Businesses who submitted claims to the Alberta government for hosting Jasper evacuees last year will have their claims fully compensated, according to a staff report presented to Council. The funds were dispersed at the end of August, the report says. The compensation comes after months of concerted lobbying efforts with the help of consulting firm Strategies North.

“I’d like to send our gratitude to Premier Smith, the Government of Alberta and the Municipality of Jasper for covering and compensating businesses that took on additional costs to host evacuees,” Torgerson said.

So far, Alberta is the only government which has sent funding to Valemount after the village lost an estimated $1.5M dollars due to knock-on economic effects from the Jasper wildfire. Torgerson, Simpcw First Nation Chief George Lampreau, and Strategies North consultants attended nearly two dozen meetings with officials from B.C., Alberta and the federal government over the course of seven months.

“In the reading file, you’ll see a letter from the federal Minister of Environment… advising us, if we haven’t done so already, to reach out to the Province of British Columbia. I wish I had thought about that [eight] months ago when we were trying to strategize all this,” Torgerson said wryly.

UBCM meetings

The Union of BC Municipalities holds an annual meeting each year where local government officials have the opportunity to meet with provincial officials. During a July 10th special meeting, councillors approved requesting meetings with the Minister of Finance, Minister of Public Safety, Minister of Health, Northern Health Authority, and BC Hydro.

As of September 9th, only one of the requested meetings has been approved. Council had asked to meet with the Minister of Finance to discuss funding a weir in Kinbasket Lake, and the Minister redirected the request to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, who declined. Likewise, the request to meet with the Minister of Health about building an assisted living facility, who redirected the request to the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, who declined. 

However, the request to meet with the Minister of Public Safety to discuss staffing for highway patrols has been approved. Additionally, the Village’s requests to discuss recruitment with Northern Health and to discuss dust storms with BC Hydro have been approved, said CAO Anne Yanciw.

Garbage truck repairs

Council approved amending the budget so staff could spend $24,000 to repair the Village’s back-up garbage truck, which requires major repairs and has been towed to Kamloops Ford Lincoln. According to Director of Finance Lori McNee, problems were recently found with the backup truck’s engine.

According to the staff report, these repairs were not anticipated while creating the 2025 budget. Staff will transfer funds initially earmarked to repair the 6th Avenue house the Village rents to Valemount and Northern Health staff, because the repairs will not be going forward this year, the report says. McNee told the Goat the 6th Ave repairs will not be completed because of staff capacity issues, so the Village has not had time to put together a request for proposals for contractors to complete the repairs.

Tax exemptions

During the August 12th Council meeting, Council passed a resolution to increase non-profit tax exemptions from one year terms to five years. However, staff realized last year’s tax exemption bylaw says the exemptions will be in place from 2025-2029.

Because both the 2024 and 2025 bylaws recommend the same exemption for each non-profit – a 25 per cent exemption on property taxes – the 2025 bylaw is redundant. Council followed staff’s recommendation to rescind their August 12th, 2025 resolution.

Building plan grant

Council approved an application to the Union of BC Municipalities’ Community-Building Fund under the capacity building stream, which funds projects such as infrastructure planning and asset management. Staff proposed applying for a roughly $185K grant to cover the cost of making new master plans for municipally-owned buildings, including the Sportsplex, Community Hall and Public Works Buildings.

According to the staff report, the plans would be drafted with the help of consultants from Urban Systems, a consulting firm the Village often hires for projects such as the new dog park. Consultants and staff would conduct public engagement and identify what the plan needs to address, then produce a draft for Council to review.

Air quality study

In December 2024, Council approved a resolution to hire a consultant who could review resident-submitted photos and videos of dust storms near the Kinbasket Reservoir, as well as collect air quality samples during future dust events. However, according to the September 9th staff report, the project was more complex than expected and staff decided to consult with Simpcw First Nations to help find a qualified contractor who could handle air quality issues.

“After lengthy discussions, it was determined that SLR Consulting was best suited to provide the data required for this specific project,” the report reads.

Council approved naming SLR Consulting as the sole source of the study, meaning if funding is received, the project will go to SLR for about $76K plus taxes. Council also approved staff to seek funding for the study.

Councillor Donnie MacLean, who sits on the Village’s Clean Air Task Force and the Local Government Committee for the Columbia River Treaty negotiations, said both groups will be happy to hear about the initiative.

Accessibility plan

Council approved the accessibility committee’s proposed accessibility plan. The plan includes recommendations such as updating the snow removal bylaw to include regulations for how wide of a walkway should be cleared, and highlights accessibility concerns such as the steep wheelchair ramp outside of the Community Hall.

Councillor Pete Pearson said he was pleased with the plan, but hopes to see more engaged residents when the Village drafts plans in the future.

“It’s a step in the right direction, but much like our other civic engagement, 12 respondents making the input for the entire village is frustrating,” he said. “I don’t know how we change that, but it’s always disappointing to see that participation level.”

“It makes the work of a committee that much more challenging, to see such a lack of feedback on something so important for the quality of life for many,” agreed Torgerson, who sits on the accessibility committee. “The committee really had to dig deep to even create a plan to ensure that all voices were heard when feedback was so minimal.”

For more on the accessibility plan, read our article about it in the September 4th issue or online at www.therockymountaingoat.com.

Enforcement bylaw amendment

Council gave third reading to an amended version of the Bylaw Notice Enforcement and Dispute Adjudication Bylaw, which sets out fees and charges for bylaw violations. The amendments update fees for traffic violation, which staff proposed after benchmarking with Golden, Hope, Nelson, Revelstoke and Smithers.

The fees include a $100 fine for parking violations, $200 for impeding traffic, $150 for littering, and $100 for violating snow removal policies, among others.

Fees and charges amendment

Council approved an amended version of the fees and charges bylaw. The updates include removing Visitor Information Centre fees, as the centre is now operated by Tourism Valemount, increasing the event tent rental fee to account for assembling and disassembling the tent, and a stipulation that the Village only allow use of the photocopier for internal documents so it does not compete with local businesses.

Water treatment support

The Village of Lions Bay, a 1400-person municipality between Vancouver and Squamish, sent a letter to members of the Union of BC Municipalities requesting support for a resolution which will be discussed at this year’s UBCM convention. The resolution advocates for the Province to fund emergency portable water treatment plants, which could be used to help small municipalities facing wildfire-related water contamination.

MacLean said she’d like to support funding portable treatment plants, and Torgerson said she could support the Village of Lions Bay’s resolution at the convention.

UBCM resolutions process

An August 28th newsletter from UBCM included a note about an extraordinary resolution that members will consider at the beginning of the convention. The resolution would change UBCM bylaws to allow the resolutions committee to remove proposed resolutions from consideration before the convention. Resolutions which repeat existing policies, are outside the scope of local governments, are not correctly formatted or clear enough, or focus on one region and not the whole province would be excluded.

Pearson said he will support the extraordinary resolution.

“I’m 100 per cent in favour. Getting back to resolutions dealing with the business that we do, not the business that goes on on other lands around us,” he said. “I’m hoping it’s carried forward so we can actually get through a resolutions session.”

The amended bylaw would remove 120 of this year’s 270 resolutions, Pearson added.

Public Comment

Resident Junior Osadchuk asked about the municipal building master plan that will be created if the UBCM grant application is approved.

“Is that in early stages? I haven’t heard about anything,” he said.

Torgerson said it’s in very early stages.

“Our engineers on record are formulating a plan to create the plan,” Torgerson said. “And then sending that out to planners to do something with it.”

Yanciw added that before any of that happens, the Village will need to apply for the grant.

Osadchuk also asked about the Kinbasket Lake air quality study.

“Was that already written in stone, that contract? Or are you applying for grants?” he said.

Torgerson said staff are applying for grants right now, and the topic will be discussed with BC Hydro during the UBCM convention.

Osadchuk also asked about an upcoming Valemount Industrial Park meeting. Pearson told him the annual general meeting was scheduled for September 10th at the Legion.

In-camera

Torgerson adjourned the open meeting of Council at 7:25 p.m. Council proceeded to an in-camera meeting to discuss one item under Section 90 (1) (k) of the Community Charter:

(k) negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages 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.