City council approved giving public notice of its intention to enter a five-year lease for the Merritt Curling Club for a dollar a year plus taxes at its regular meeting on Feb. 10.
Only Coun. Linda Brown opposed the renewal because the club has enough money to pick up its own tab for garbage collection, sewer and water services, she said.
The financial statement from the club’s 2014 operating year notes a net income of $7,126.61.
Water, sewer and garbage services for the curling club run the city between $1,600 and $1,800 a year, the report to council from leisure services manager Larry Plotnikoff states.
“Time and time again we have dollar leases and we pick up the costs on behalf of organizations,” Brown said. “But whenever our budgets are tight, we go to the public and our taxes go up.”
Financial services manager Ken Ostraat said the club’s net income is put toward its reserve fund for maintenance of the facility’s roof and curling equipment, such as rocks.
He said the lease is in line with the city’s other leases and agreements of support with other recreational organizations in the city.
The club covers its heat, power, telephone and security costs, as well as taxes.
The local curling rink was built by the curling club and community in 1972 on city land.
The city doesn’t incur any direct costs relating to the operation of the curling rink besides water, sewer and garbage services.
The report to council states if the city were to deny renewing a lease to the 100-year-old club, the club would likely fold.
The report also notes there is unlikely to be any other user group with the capacity to run and maintain the facility adequately.
Council approved making its notice of intention to enter the lease agreement public and will officially vote on entering the lease at an upcoming meeting.
City streets up for adoption
Coun. Ginny Prowal was tasked with keeping city councillors accountable to their promise to pick up litter along a stretch of Nicola Avenue at least three times this year at the Feb. 10 council meeting.
Council voted unanimously to participate in the city’s Adopt-a-Road program and look after Nicola Avenue between Voght and Douglas streets as it has in the past.
“This is a very good way for council to be out and supportive of the community,” deputy clerk Carole Fraser said.
Councillors Kurt Christopherson and Dave Baker said in their previous years on council, these cleanups have been infrequent at best.
Prowal said she will require each councillor come to at least two of the three cleanup dates.
Individuals and organizations can adopt a stretch of road through the city-administered program, and by doing so commit to picking up the litter at least three times in the year.
High-visibility vests and garbage bags are provided by the city, and bag pickup is handled by the city’s public works department.
Contact the Civic Centre at 315-1050 for more information on adopting a road.
Movement asks Merritt to go blue
Merritt could join a host of other B.C. cities as a steward of environmental rights for safe air, water and food.
“The Blue Dot Movement is a growing national grassroots organization based on the idea that everybody in Canada deserves the right to enjoy fresh air, clean water and safe food,” local spokesperson Bob Reid told council at its regular meeting on Feb. 10.
“We want to show that our town is ready to be a leader on environmental rights.”
The Blue Dot Movement has over 67 supporters in Merritt, Reid said.
The movement is advocating for a single national standard for safe drinking water and commitment from local governments to establish objectives and timelines on achieving its environment-related targets.
Reid asked council to consider adopting a drafted declaration outlining the city’s responsibility in protecting environmental rights of its citizens.
The drafted declaration provided in the council agenda package included a clause that it would be brought forward to the Southern Interior Local Government Association and Union of British Columbia Municipalities meetings.
As councillors are currently working on resolutions pertaining to the environment to bring to those meetings, they opted to take the draft declaration forward as an information item as they continue to work on their resolutions around biosolids.
Old draft zoning bylaw repealed
Council did a bit of housekeeping on the process of adopting a new zoning bylaw at its meeting on Feb. 10.
Zoning bylaw 2134 was the original draft of the zoning bylaw, which saw several amendments.
Eventually it passed its first two readings and was sent to public hearing, where it came back to even more suggested changes related to asphalt plants.
Last month, council passed the first two readings of draft zoning bylaw 2187, which essentially amalgamated all the amendments and policy wording changes, and was procedurally cleaner.
Zoning bylaw 2187 is now slated for a public hearing on Feb. 24 in council chambers at city hall at 7 p.m.
Depending on what comes up at the hearing, council can either pass third reading to enact the new zoning bylaw or amend it based on feedback, which will take it back to square one.
Council unanimously approved repealing the first two readings of bylaw 2134 so that the city only has one draft zoning bylaw going forward.
“It had become unwieldy and cumbersome, and it was determined it would be easier just to start fresh,” city chief administrative officer Allan Chabot said.
