Charging the north

A more electric-car friendly future is on its way with the North Coast Regional District leading the charge.

Mayor Lee Brain, a member of Electric Vehicle Highway 16-97 advisory council, requested council make a resolution to participate in Charge North.

The plan is to have charging stations on major routes from Kamloops to Haida Gwaii. The 2,780 km network will involve 43 local governments and Brain wants Prince Rupert to be one of them.

Much of the funding will come from the province’s CleanBC fund.

By participating in Charge North, Prince Rupert will need to purchase two Level 2 charging stations, costing $2,500 per station. A Level 2 station is a two to four hour charge. Level 3 stations cost over $5,000 but only have a 30-minute charge.

The North Coast Regional District, which is taking leadership to apply for funds, will be purchasing two charging stations, one in Prince Rupert and one on Haida Gwaii. Brain said we could potentially see a charging station installed as soon as next year, if all goes well.

Public on 2019 budget

Only two member of the public came to the March 11 City of Prince Rupert council meeting to speak about the budget.

Terry Sawka suggested the city look into adding 2 cents a litre gas tax to pay for road improvements. Vancouver raised the gas tax by 1.5 cents a litre in 2018 to pay for transportation infrastructure projects.

Chief financial officer, Corinne Bomben, said she’d look into it but that it’s unlikely the city has the authority to add the tax since they’re under the Community Charter for BC Laws, which doesn’t include Vancouver.

Resident, Nathan Randall, spoke on the suggested two per cent tax decrease. He wondered if council though of a tax freeze instead, and use the money, for example, to finance several community projects.

READ MORE: City proposes 2 per cent tax cut

Support for Victims and Survivors Crime Week

City counsel supported a proclamation to support an initiative that will highlight services and initiatives for victims and survivors of crime.

RCMP victim services manager, Joyce Charlton, said that from May 28-31 there will be several projects in Prince Rupert starting with a media launch by the Violence in Relationships Education Committee.

More information on the event will be released closer to the date.

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