Ucluelet is in need of two community ambassadors who are willing to help tourists avoid breaking local laws.
The district is advertising two Seasonal Bylaw Services Ambassador positions. Both positions will run until Oct. 15. The job pays $22.80 an hour for 20 hours a week and the application deadline is Aug. 24.
The successful applicants will patrol town explaining and enforcing Ucluelet’s bylaws as well as responding to complaints.
Ucluelet Mayor Dianne St. Jacques told the Westerly News bylaw ambassadors help visitors understand what they can and can’t do and the seasonal program aims to be more educational than punitive.
“For us, it’s not a stick, it’s a carrot kind of a program where we’re encouraging people to do things right a lot of it is parking by tourists and camping by tourists and trying to stay on top of it,” she said.
“It’s about welcoming the visitors and helping them get where they need to go in a lot of instances…In other instances, it’s folks that are choosing to camp in the bush when they’re working here for the summer so that takes a lot of work as well.”
The program ran during the summer last year but was extended into October this year because of the increased activity during Ucluelet’s shoulder season, according to St. Jacques who suggested it might be extended further.
“It’s a good program. It’s definitely busier in the summer but there’s a lot of work for a bylaw program so I think we need to look at extending the position,” she said.
“Lots of folks, when they come in, don’t really know which direction to go, especially with their motor home that they just rented at the Vancouver Airport, and they need some help and direction in understanding what Canadian rules and regulations are.”
Ucluelet’s district office has not employed a full-time bylaw officer since 2012 but St. Jacques said there have been conversations around bringing that position back.
“There has been some thought about it,” she said. “But, of course, it always comes back to budget and what we have available and taxation and that kind of thing. So, there’s a lot to be considered but we’re trying to find some ways of making that possible.”
She added Ucluelet has many bylaws to enforce outside illegal camping and parking, including illegal vacation rentals and business license infractions.
“There’s a lot of concern and chatter around Airbnb and business licenses and things like that so there’s certainly a lot for the bylaw ambassadors to be busy with,” she said.
“Businesses licenses is a pretty big conversation these days.”
She encourages anyone interested in helping keep their town safe and running smoothly to get in touch with the district office before Aug. 24’s application deadline.
“It’s an opportunity to work with the RCMP and the district and the chamber of commerce on lots of different things and to be out there as a face of the community to visitors and community members; being able to answer questions and come forward with solutions for some of the challenges that we face,” she said.
