On February 27 the Village of Canal Flats council met for a regular council meeting.  

They received two letters, the first was from the Ombudsperson for the Province of B.C. welcoming council to their new roles and informing them about additional resources. The second was from the Regional District of East Kootenay informing them of upcoming consultation for the regional district’s five-year financial plan.  

Council also received reports from village staff including the chief administrative officer, fire chief and the public works department.  

Staff updates included:  

• Staff are reviewing older building permits and working with permit holders to renew or close the permit  
• Fire chief Zacc Farrell reported work is underway on a multi-year strategic plan for emergency services  
• Farrell also reported on the implementation of a lock box program that will allow the fire department easier access to commercial buildings in the event of emergency  
• Public works reported on the recent rain and broken plow equipment being challenging, but repairs are now complete and ice was scraped from the roads  
• The arena hosted four out-of-town hockey tournaments as well as ice time for local students  
• Work is underway on the first steps for dike improvement, including tree and brush removal 

Council unanimously approved a report that proposed each member of council be assigned one or more provincial ministries or external stakeholders to develop relationships with. Assignments were made with an eye to previous experience and areas of interest and will allow relationship building between council and key partners for the village.  

A request was made for council’s authorization to apply for a grant from Columbia Basin Trust to install solar panels at the daycare and civic centre, upgrade the HVAC system, insulation and windows at the civic centre, the installation of an electric vehicle charging station and more. Council unanimously approved the request.  

Full agendas for all meetings can be viewed here.