Briefly from Parksville city council’s meeting Monday night:
• Parksville Community Conference Centre (PCCC) executive director Margaret Spruit presented council with the PCCC’s 2017 budget and five-year financial plan.
The budget suggests the PCCC will have $430,393 of income in 2017, of which $246,723 will come from the city coffers. In 2014, the city’s portion was $218,382.
Councillors had a number of questions for Spruit about the budget, including a few items the executive director described as “typos.”
Council eventually voted to table discussion on the PCCC budget to a future date.
• Gerry van der Wolf appeared before council, asking for the city to consider developing a policy to cost share fencing with residents whose property borders on land owned by the city.
Van der Wolf lives on Park View Place and paid for almost $20,000 of fencing that abuts city property. While he said he was hopeful the city could pay for half of his costs, he also said he was bringing the issue forward for other city residents. Van der Wolf said he is a retired municipal administrator who worked as the chief administrative officer in communities in the Yukon, Ontario and B.C.
“I’m suggesting there be a policy in place for some kind of cost sharing,” said van der Wolf, adding that the fences he replaced “were threatening to fail. It’s a disadvantage to property owners who abut public property.”
• Mayor Marc Lefebvre and all members of council welcomed Kim Burden to the table. Burden won the recent council byelection and the results were officially received by council on Monday night after Burden took the oath of office.
• Council gave approval to recommendations from communications manager Debbie Tardiff related to Parksville’s plans for celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday next year. Council had previously approved $7,500 for the 2016 budget for the celebration and a further $32,500 is being considered in the 2017 budget. Tardiff received approval Monday to start work on forming a community-led working group to organize ideas and efforts for the celebrations.
• Council had another round of 2017 budget deliberations on Wednesday night. Its next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at city hall.
