Jumbo Glacier Resort may have been named a municipality on Tuesday, Nov. 20, but don’t expect hospitals, roads and homes to spring up overnight.
There’s a long road ahead into Jumbo, literally and figuratively, and a copy of the Letters Patent signed by Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Bill Bennett obtained by the Townsman speaks to the work ahead for the new three-member appointed council.
First off, the Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort Municipality will include 6,131 hectares within the municipality boundaries and will be classified as a village when it is incorporated.
The appointed council – Greg Deck as mayor, and Nancy Hugunin and Steve Ostrander – as councillors will be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the governance of Jumbo. A number of advisory bodies will be set up by the council in the coming months and must be in place before June 18, 2013. None of the three panels can be dissolved until the first election or until 15 years after the incorporation of the municipality.
The first is a resort advisory body that the three-member council will consult with on issues related to the proposed financial plan bylaws. However, the panel will not be consulted on issues related to the first financial plan to be prepared by the municipality by December 31, 2013.
The resort advisory panel will be consulted on all bylaws under Section 8 (6) of the Community Charter which reads “A council may, by bylaw, regulate in relation to business.”
The second panel will be an environmental advisory body that will be consulted on all proposed bylaws in relation to Part 26 of the Local Government Act which concerns planning and land use.
The final advisory body will be made up of First Nations members. The Letters Patent says the council must invite members of the Shuswap Indian Band and the Ktunaxa Nation and may invite other First Nations to nominate a member to be a part of the panel. The First Nations body will consult on all issues related to section 8 (3 through 8) which include management of public places, municipal services, trees, protection of natural environment, animals and firearms, among others. Any bylaw related to the seizure of animals and penalties to obtain seized animals will be passed by the First Nations advisory body as well as any planning and land use bylaws.
The first public council meeting to be held by the three-member appointed council will take place February 19, 2013 and during that meeting the council must adopt a procedure bylaw. The interim municipal corporate officer will set the time and place for that inaugural meeting. The Letters Patent authorizes the council to hold their first meeting outside of the municipal boundaries.
Also at that first meeting, the interim municipal corporate officer must have a proposed financial plan ready to present to council and will enter into planning for the first financial plan on that date until December 31, 2013. The new plan will be complete in that time frame and there will be no public consultation prior to it being sent before council, as written in part 4 section 11 (4) of the Letters Patent.
The Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort Municipality will not be allowed under the Letters Patent to incur any liability or adopt a loan authorization bylaw that communities are usually entitled to under the Community Charter.
During 2013, the municipality will have the option to opt out of services usually offered in communities.
Once council has had its first meeting in the new year, there’s a new bunch of work to do. By February 28, 2015 the municipality must adopt an official community plan.
