Paul Kuster, a Keremeos resident and former forestry manager who offered his services to the Village of Keremeos as a director for the startup and initial couple of years of the Lower Similkameen Community Forests Project, was presented with a village jacket in a brief ceremony at the regular meeting of council on Monday, June 20.
Council received two letters from village property owners seeking extensions to the upcoming deadline for having the sewer connections made to their properties.
One property owner requested a time extension in order to give the resident time to make the connection on his / her own. Council denied the request.
The other request for a time extension related to problems probating the estate which owned the property in question. Council agreed to table this request in order to make an inquiry into the possiblity of having the estate release the funds necessary to pay for the sewer connection.
A brief discussion over the Farmworkers Campground took place, as council was updated on the current status of the initiative.
The flooding Similkameen has delayed this year’s opening of the site, located just east of the cement plant in Keremeos. Campers are currently occupying space on the old Great Northern right of way. There are porta potties in place; a return to the designated camping area could be two to four weeks away.
The Farmworkers Campground Committee is hoping for a better operation this year, with more organization and regular police foot patrols.
It was noted that several residents in Keremeos were not comfortable walking their pets in the area of the campground, apprehensive about the possibility of an attack by a camper’s dog, a situation which Mayor Despot declared was “unacceptable.”
Council agreed to provide a donation to the Keremeos SAR (Search and Rescue) group of $233 in order to offset the rental costs associated with the use of park facilities for an upcoming fund raising event.
Council received a staff report update on bylaw enforcement issues, noting that staff time utilized in handling complaints had increased over the past few years. Council asked staff to look at the reasonability of increasing the size of fines for bylaw infractions.
Truck traffic on Tenth Avenue was an item on the agenda that brought at least a dozen residents of the village into the gallery on Monday evening.
Ongoing complaints about truck traffic and dust problems stemming from Dutchie’s Transfer operation at the end of Tenth Avenue were at issue, with village staff recommending that council “direct staff to bring forward preliminary information regarding route alternatives and potential costs for such alternatives within the next few months, with the intention of including funds in the 2012 budget to construct an alternate route either in 2012 or via a phased approach.”
Councillor Ed Minshull said that he did not favour a costly $100,000 solution to the problem - which would be to upgrade Veterans Avenue to provide an alternative route for truck access to Dutchie’s operation.
“I don’t have a solution,” Minshull admitted.
Councillor Bauer commented that a phased in upgrade would take years.
“With other priorities for road repairs in the village, a five year plan would be the only way,” he said.
Mayor Walter Despot said that he would like to see a resolution to the matter, professing the need for give and take on both sides. He asked members of the gallery if a delegation of the neighbourhood and Dutchie’s would be willing to sit down and negotiate a compromise, a suggestion that received a favourable response.
A few members in the gallery professed to being more upset about the dust coming from the operation than truck traffic.
“It’s dust on someone’s private property,” noted the mayor. ‘That’s an issue beyond our control.”
The village notified 75 nearby property owners in a query regarding their thoughts on a request from the Branding Iron Bar and Grill to extend their hours and receive a patron participation endorsement for their primary food license. The Branding Iron plans to relocate their business to the former Crowbar and Grill site on Seventh Avenue and Sixth Street.
The village received only 12 replies in all. A discussion over the validity of a decision on the matter based on such a scant return ensued, with several council members feeling that adjacent landowners had been given sufficient time to respond, should they have wished. The returns were split with eight in favour to four against the request, but council defeated the motion nonetheless.