Highlights from the District of Taylor council meeting on March 18, 2019:
• Council approved a series of comments regarding the disposition of an oil and gas parcel in Baldonnel up for auction in May. The district will be requesting consultation on emergency response and water planning as the parcel falls within the district's watershed and fire protection zone.
• Council approved an increase in credit card limits for the Lone Wolf Golf Club general manager and restaurant manager to $25,000 each. The increased limits will meet operational needs, and eliminate the use of personal credit cards for district business, staff say.
• Council authorized Mayor Rob Fraser to attend the BC Mayor's Caucus in Prince George from March 31 to April. Emergency preparedness and caribou recovery are expected to be hot topics on the agenda.
• Council will write a letter of support for Doig River First Nation, which is applying for federal funding for a land-use study on the K'ih tsaa?dze Tribal Park.
• Council will write a letter of support for the Peace Passage Skating Club, which is seeking up to $10,000 from BC Hydro's GO Fund grant program to provide support for low-income skaters who otherwise can't afford to participate in the sport.
• Council waived rental fees for the Peace Country River Rats to host the annual poker rally in July at Peace Island Park and the new pavilion.
• Council will write a letter of support for the Peace Country River Rats, which is seeking funding from the Northern Development Initiative Trust to help build a playground at its new pavilion in Peace Island Park.
• Council approved a weekday rental rate for the Peace Island Park Pavilion at half the cost of the weekend rental rate for the 2019 season. The rates will be included in the 2020 Consolidated Fees & Charges Amendment Bylaw.
• Council gave the first three readings to Financial Plan Bylaw No. 832, 2019, which sets the budget for 2019 and outlines expected revenues and expenses through to 2023.
Pre-meeting feast
Fort St. John city council delivered a Burger King dinner to Taylor chambers before the start of Monday's meeting, holding up their end of a losing bet from the High On Ice Winter Festival.
The bet began when Taylor Coun. Brett Taillefer challenged Fort St. John Coun. Trevor Bolin that the winner of the festival’s Mayor’s Ice Carving Challenge would buy the other dinner. The bet quickly expanded to include both councils. Taylor won the ice carving challenge last month with a sculpture of a campfire.
“The carving challenge is something we look forward to every year,” Mayor Rob Fraser said.
“I’ve been mayor for five years now, I’ve attended five of these and I think my name is on there (the trophy) three times."
The district will challenge Fort St. John in the carving contest next year, Fraser said. “That will be part of the fun, determining what the bet will be back and forth,” he said.
Email Managing Editor Matt Preprost at editor@ahnfsj.ca.
