The Village of Radium Hot Springs met Wednesday, March 8th for their regular council meeting and in attendance were councillors Mike Gray, Todd Logan, and Ron Verboom. The three councillors heard a presentation from Parks Canada and the village’s financial auditors, and they also discussed the invasive mussel station and Bylaw 429.
Parks Canada came to present council with their fire and vegetation management plan, sparking an interest with the council in regards to their plans. Parks Canada discussed two prescribed fires near Radium, the first being Sinclair Creek just across from the hot pools, and the second being Redstreak Mountain.
The Sinclair Creek fire will take place in early spring sometime after Easter weekend. The fire will not impact the hot pool. Parks Canada hopes to enhance bighorn sheep habitat, restore rare ecosystems and reduce further fire risk.
Gray asked how long the Sinclair burn will take to complete. Parks Canada representative Jed Cochrane said one day guard burning, one day clean up, and they will only ignite for two days.
“Smoke should only be visible for two to three days, hopefully, the smoke won’t come down,” said Cochrane.
As for the Redstreak Mountain burn, Parks Canada is planning that controlled burn for fall, sometime after the car show.
“We certainly appreciate your efforts with the bighorn habitat, and for the protection of the Village of Radium,” said Verboom.
Financial audit
Council also received an update on the community’s financial audit from Don Simpson of BDO Canada. He stated the community has had a million dollar cash increase in the last year. Overall, Simpson’s report was positive — the village’s net financial asset shows the community is in a position where they can take on new infrastructure projects.
“Your town has enough money in the bank to continue,” said Simpson. “Seven million dollars for infrastructure without taxing citizens.”
Inspection station
Gray brought forward the suggestion that, this summer, the boat inspection station for invasive species should operate during peak hours. Gray suggested that rather than the program running Monday to Friday, it should run over the weekend.
“Move it to a time that’s more tourist-driven,” he said .
The station inspects water crafts coming into the region for zebra mussels and quagga mussels — any water craft found with the mussels can be quarantined up to 31 days. Council made a motion to write a query letter to the Invasive Species Defence Program to inquire about the hours for this year’s boating season.
Borrowing approved
The council of three made a motion to allow the village to allow temporary borrowing for the community hall project. With Bylaw 429, the village has adopted a loan authorization bylaw to borrow a sum of $3,200,000.
