The January 2018 Bylaw Enforcement and Animal Control reports were discussed at a recent Council meeting, on Monday, Feb. 13, 2018.
The reports show that no tickets were issued for animal control offences, however 17 tickets were issued at a cost of $50 each, for MTI’s (Municipal Ticket Information).
City Corporate Officer, Maryse Leroux explained that MTI’s are given out for parking in front of fire hydrants and in tow-away zones, etc.
“I think what’s important in this is that in Kimberley there are no parking restrictions per-say, the only areas where there are parking restrictions are for safety purposes,” said Leroux. “Some of these MTI’s were for people parking in front of fire hydrants or parking in tow away zones, where it would impede [on] emergency vehicles.”
There were 14 angle parking warnings given out in January, as well as four verbal warnings for impeding traffic.
“Vehicles have been parked in a manner which impedes traffic as they are parked in the travelled portion of the roadway,” said Kim Tuff, Bylaw/Animal Control Enforcement Officer. “Bylaw is educating drivers to be more mindful of how they park in winter conditions.”
Leroux says that the city has the ability to issue tickets for angle parking, however the city wants to ensure people are aware they aren’t supposed to angle park before they start issuing tickets.
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There were also four warnings given out for abandoned vehicles, and four for failure to shovel sidewalks. Ten warning notices and seven verbal notices were given for depositing snow onto the street.
“Members of the public have been moving their windrows back onto the traveled portion of the roadways,” explained Tuff in the report to council. “Bylaw has been trying to educate people on the reasons this is prohibited.”
According to the city’s website, under the Streets and Traffic Bylaw 1877, placing snow on a roadway is not permitted.
“This regulation helps to ensure that potentially dangerous situations for motorists are avoided,” says the site.
In terms of animal control, there were six warnings issued and six complaints for feeding deer. In the report from Tuff, she explains that instances of deer feeding have increased in January, and Conservation Officers were called in for problem areas.
Councillor Darryl Oakley, who sits on the Kimberley Deer Committee, says that although education on feeding deer is important, if feeding persists, it should be worthy of receiving a ticket.
“I think it’s important for the Bylaw Officer to work closely with the conservation officers because I know when they came in this time, I heard from FLNRO (Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources) that their education actually worked,” said Oakley. “They arrived in uniform and explained that when you feed pellets to the deer in the dead of winter, and there’s no water, they [deer] get dehydrated and they suffer. They went through that process with this individual and that actually made a big impact. I really appreciate the Bylaw Officer working with the Conservation Officers, I think that’s a great, natural fit. However, if that starts to fail I really think it’s important, in the future, to consider tickets. Some people are convinced, believe it or not, that feeding the deer is a good thing; it’s not a good thing.”
