Members of Keremeos Village Council were introduced to the new detachment commander at the Monday, August 15 regular council meeting.
Corporal Mike Gallagher introduced himself to village council and staff, providing a brief summary of his police career and describing his priority as detachment commander as drugs.
“I will be keeping an eye on the drug problem,” he told council, “and in speaking with members of the community, understand that there are complaints about traffic issues in the village.” Gallagher noted that he was happy to be here, serving with a young and energetic crew in the Keremeos detachment.
Mayor Walter Despot expressed hope that the detachment would consider increased presence in the village parks via foot patrols, acknowledging that stop signs in the village seemed to be invisible to some people. He expressed hope that the police would pay extra attention to these issues within the village.
Regular council business was light. Council received the 2010 annual report for the village in addition to the budget variance report, which provided council with an update on the status of the village’s budgeted revenues and expenditures for the first six months of the year.
Council also received the results of the village’s 2011 citizen survey. Survey results were mostly positive, indicating that staff and council’s work is being well received by the village taxpayers in general.
A lease agreement that included an amendment to include responsibility for the reader board sign was made with Similkameen Country Development Association.
A motion to approve an amendment to an existing agreement to allow the Keremeos Irrigation District to either utilize village public works staff of contracted services to assist with repairs on the village’s water infrastructure on Highway 3 was also carried. The KID requested the measure in order to provide adequate response to a water related emergency in the downtown section of Keremeos.
A bylaw to govern cross connections in Keremeos’ water supply was given first and second readings.
Question period witnessed a query concerning sewer connections at the Oasis Motel.
Other topics of concern evolved around the issue of personal hygiene of transients staying at the Farmworkers Campground. Members of the gallery queried council as to why more couldn’t be done to provide transient campers with bathing facilities.