The North Cariboo Joint Advisory Committee (NCJAC), made up of Quesnel council and CRD directors in the north Cariboo, met Tuesday (Feb. 11).
Trails
The meeting started with a presentation from Ian Van Leusden, the contracted trails coordinator shared plans for marketing and improving various trails. He said after some upgrades to the bike park behind the Arts and Recreation Centre, there is a good level of usage and the annual Lhtako Dene Mountain Bike Festival has drawn participants from across the province.
"It's pretty common to see, after school, a dozen to two dozen teenagers hitting the jump lines, playing in the actual jump track and balance park," he said. "The community is also asking for a mulch pit or a trick jump so athletes can continue to progress in a safe manner."
Van Leusden said they are working on expanding and connecting trails, including building a connector from Wonderland to Dragon Mountain, allowing for people to easily travel between the two trail networks. He said the connector will not cross any roads and will not require going through any private property.
They are looking into a bird viewing platform and extending trails around Kostas Cove at 10 Mile Lake. Van Leusden is also working with Lhtako Dene Nation on developing their cultural trails network which will be at the heart of the Lhtako community and incorporates values and cultural relationships to the natural environment for the first nation. At the Claymine Trails in Bouchie Lake, they are planning to update the kiosks.
Area B director Barbara Bachmeier expressed concern for the Claymine Trails kiosk proposal mentioning that blue herons live in the area.
"I'm just wondering if there's some way to not broadcast that they're in a certain area," she said. "You don't want people showing up and disturbing those birds. I just thought maybe we could restrict people going into that particular area and also not mention it as much."
Van Leusden pointed out the kiosk doesn't say specifically where the blue herons are and very explicitly asks people not to disrupt the birds. The proposed kiosk does state that the herons are active from March to August and has some information about what people walking the trails can expect to see or hear from heron nests.
He added the kiosk will be sent out to staff before it's printed for final alterations.
Coun. Martin Runge asked if they were tracking usage on the trails to figure out when they're most used, if there are areas that are under used and give the committee and staff more tools to plan. Van Leusden said they have used infrared cameras, but they have drawbacks.
"If there is a branch or a leaf that's going in front of the infrared camera, it's counting that leaf every time. If there's a group of 10 people walking past the camera once, it's only going to count once," he explained. "They're only as reliable as they are and then we've also had a few stolen."
Concert
The committee then heard a report from director of community services Jeff Norburn about the concert that was briefly mentioned by the events coordinator Ksenya Dorwart at a meeting in November.
After the Reklaws concert in 2023 at the West Fraser Centre failed to break even, the committee made it a goal to have another one at a better a time to prove that it is viable for private groups to hold concerts at the venue. One aspect that may have lead to the last concert failing to break even was that it was held on a long weekend, something they would not do again.
The concert proposed would be for Indigenous hip hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids. The duo have been nominated for Junos, Indigenous Music Awards and more. The cost of of the concert is expected to be $72,800. There would need to be 1,000 ticket sales at $60 each to break even. The biggest cost for the concert is the artist fees at $40,000.
But that number assumes there will only be $12,800 in sponsorships and donations, which Dorwart said could be higher.
The committee was hesitant to move forward.
"I'm not prepared to vote in favour of this proposal under the current financial statistics," Mayor Ron Paull said. He expressed concern over the shifting economic situation with possible tariffs from the U.S. and said he personally has no interest in the group. "I'm a senior and after watching the Super Bowl halftime show, I thought 'no that's really not for me' and I don't think it's for a lot of people. I do understand there's a younger audience out there that may be attracted to this. I know that I certainly wouldn't be in the audience."
Runge asked Dorwart if there are any commitments to help fund it and she explained that no commitments have been put on paper yet but she has had interest from groups to support the concert. They have commitments from the Downtown Association, Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, BC Indigenous Tourism Association and Nazko First Nation to support in different ways including support letters for grant applications, marketing and more.
Area A director Mary Sjostrom also wasn't convinced of the concert.
"When we proceeded with going with a concert, my thought was we were going to try one to make sure it was feasible to host in this community and then we were going to look really hard at having other organizations," she said. "I know everybody likes concerts and I apologize because I know that that's something that a lot of people like to do. But for me the financial risk that we have currently and with all our demands that we have, I'm a little reluctant."
It was also noted that any revenue from liquor sales does not go back to the taxpayer due to an agreement made with another group.
Area C director John Massier said he does have some concerns but he is hoping Quesnel has the opportunity to host the group because they are from northern B.C. But he said he's hoping to see other sponsors support it so it isn't as big of a risk for taxpayers.
Coun. Tony Goulet said while there is a risk and he acknowledged the last concert didn't break even, this one has potential to be much larger and turn a profit.
Runge asked if it would be possible to negotiate a lower booking fee, Dorwart said she can try to negotiate that.
Coun. Laurey-Anne Roodenburg agreed if a negotiated lower price can be done that would be ideal, but acknowledged it can be expensive to get artists to Quesnel.
"This is an opportunity to bring something really different to Quesnel. The mayor said he would not be there, that's OK. We have a demographic that hip hop is not their thing. I'd be kind of curious what it's like so I probably would go just because I want to be able to support a venture like this," Roodenburg said. She agreed with a motion Bachmeier proposed to delay the vote until the next meeting and weigh the pros and cons once they have more information.
The committee agreed to defer it to the next meeting after Dorwart said she only needed a few weeks to secure additional funding. She is confident in the concert and her ability to make it a success.
"The Reklaws brought in 900 and some ticket sales and I think I can do way better than that," Dorwart said.
Strategic planning
The committee voted to have its strategic planning meeting as soon as possible and have a broad scope going over history, present and future plans for a variety of projects and areas the committee runs.
Bachmeier said she has a difficult schedule for March and scheduling for the meeting should ensure all regional directors can be there.
The next NCJAC meeting is set for March 11.
