With Town of Creston staff and Creston Town Council focusing heavily on the 2017-2018 budget and completion of the Official Community Plan, regular council meetings have been uncharacteristically short recently.
It took just 20 over minutes to complete the agenda for the January 24 meeting before a short adjournment was followed by much lengthier committee of the whole budget meeting.
The meeting opened with a presentation about the Central Kootenay Food Police Council by coordinator Abra Brynne. Brynne described the newly formed council as an attempt to create “a strong link to a coordinated and strategic approach to police and food systems in the Central Kootenay.”
Issues like hunger, economic development and agriculture will be a focus and the council complements work already in progress by Fields Forward, she said. A representative from the Creston Valley agriculture sector is still being sought.
In other Town Council news:
•Fire chief Mike Moore got the go-ahead to apply for a UBCM grant to continue a second year with a FireSmart Ambassador in conjunction with Community Forests.
Last year, he said, the ambassador made 163 visits to homes at risk of interface fires, providing information to the residents about how to mitigate risks. Public outreach sessions, including a booth at the Farmers’ Market, were also presented.
Part of the 2017 plan includes the creation of a FireSmart Board to coordinate FireSmart activities within the community, Moore said.
•Council discussed a letter from a resident that requested local trail users have bells or other warning devices installed on bicycles and mobility scooters to warn pedestrians of their approach. Public education campaigns will be considered but no bylaw requirements will be adopted, Council decided, because it would not be feasible to monitor or enforce infractions.
