Highlights from the District of Barriere Council Meeting held on Monday, Jan. 21, with Acting Mayor Scott Kershaw chairing the meeting.
It was reported that the District has now sold and received the money for Lots 5, 6 and 7 on the north side of Agate Bay Road in the Louis Creek Industrial Park. The next step will be to initiate the final design and start construction of the water system that will service the subdivision. It is intended that the old Tolko reservoir at the top of the hill by the Louis Creek Eco Depot will be patched and used as storage and head pressure for the system. Water will come from the well that was drilled in 2014 to replace the old Tolko well.
The District received a request in the spring of 2018 for a District boundary extension from developer Chris Delaney, which would bring District Lot 57, a 160 acre portion of Armour Mountain, into the District of Barriere from the Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD). An Alternative Approval Process (AAP) is underway to gage elector support around this proposed extension. Eligible electors can obtain Elector Response Forms from the website (www.barriere.ca) or the District of Barriere office at the Ridge if they are opposed to Council proceeding with this extension without first putting it to a formal referendum vote. More information on the process and a map showing exactly where this property is can also be found on the website.
Local resident, Tanya Gagnon made a presentation to Council regarding the BC Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Entrepreneur Regional Pilot Program which is meant to attract foreign entrepreneurs to rural areas to start a business and subsequently create new jobs. More information on the program can be found at www.Welcomebc.ca. As the program involves some level of commitment by participating communities, District staff were asked to bring back more details to a future meeting around what the implications may be, before Council proceeds any further with this initiative.
Now that the fence project has been completed at Riverwalk, it was recommended that the surrounding property be improved to better match the neighborhood. There is approximately $5,000 available through a re-greening grant from BC Hydro and Tree Canada that could assist with the purchase of larger trees. The District’s matching contribution would comprise planting, watering and long term maintenance. Donations could be accepted for additional plantings of flowering vines for along the fence itself with a variety of coloured bushes at the entrance and spaced out under the hydro lines. There is a spacing of about 40′ where taller trees would be planted randomly between the hydro lines and the filter beds. Additional grass or clover would be added to the bed areas as required. The matching funds for this re-greening project could come from Gas Tax Funds.
Due to the heightened interest in Pickleball shown by members of the community, Council has directed staff to include the minimal costs of creating two permanent Pickleball courts and one or two additional painted courts for portable nets at the multi-use courts/rink on Airfield Road in the upcoming budget deliberations. The expense of crack sealing the surface is also being included in the proposed budget figures. The painted court areas would be shared with skateboarders until the Skateboard Park under construction across the road is ready for use.
