Cumberland council gave third reading Monday to a property tax rate bylaw that calls for a 4.53-per-cent increase, of which 3.9 per cent would come from growth and .63 per cent from 2011 ratepayers.The expected impact is a 1.7-per-cent increase to the average household. However, amounts collected for other taxing authorities decrease it to about 1.2 per cent before homeowner grant and utility fees. The latter increased eight per cent in 2012.The net result is estimated at a 3.1-per-cent increase from last year pending school and police tax rate changes. • • •Staff will report back about traffic calming measures in the village with specific information about Kendal Avenue. Nicolas Pisterzi, who lives at 2708 Kendal, is concerned about speeding vehicles on his street.”My problem lies in the fact that one day a vehicle may strike and kill a pedestrian, child or pet,” he states in a letter to the Village.Coun. Gwyn Sproule noted Pisterzi’s concerns are long held and that an “accident is waiting to happen.” Pisterzi suggests a stop sign or speed bump would prevent vehicles from picking up speed at the top of the hill, but senior planner Judith Walker said studies indicate stop signs are an ineffective means of slowing speeders.• • •Organizers of Car Free Sunday hope to double public involvement and to better engage the school district as the second annual event approaches June 17 in Cumberland and Courtenay, Andrew Gower of Imagine Comox Valley told council.It appears Comox will again not hold the event as it coincides with the Comox Cup and the Shellfish Festival. The proposal calls for traffic closures in Cumberland on Dunsmuir from First to Fourth and at Second from Dunsmuir to Derwent from noon to 5 p.m.• • •Council does not support the Chamber of Commerce’s request to declare June as Bike Month in Cumberland. Sproule does not see the need to designate one month as such, and is not sure of the end result. • • •An intersection upgrade is scheduled to begin this month to realign Third Avenue to meet Cumberland Road. The work is part of a Roads Master Plan requested by the Village due to further subdivision of Coal Valley Estates.• • •A village hall meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday in council chambers to discuss a strategic priorities draft.reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com

Comox Valley Record