Quesnel city council met for its regular meeting Tuesday, Feb. 4. They discussed reports from committees, lease agreements in city-owned properties and more. Coun. Debra McKelvie was absent from the meeting.
Financial committee report
The meeting began with Coun. Mitch Vik reading a report from the financial sustainability and audit committee (FSAC). The committee looked at the first draft of the operating budget for 2025 and it showed an 8.6 per cent increase would be needed. The committee and city staff are looking for ways to lower that number. Notable increases are to costs for the airport and transit.
"For airports we're looking at a 14.9 per cent increase over last year, so that's another $70K. And transit is a 22 per cent increase which is $117K over last year," Vik said.
The city's director of corporate and financial services, Kair Bolton, explained to council there were some COVID-era grants helping to support costs to both transit and the airport, those have run out as costs to things like fuel are increasing which is responsible for the large increases.
Another thing increasing costs for the operating budget is the new collective agreement for unionized staff at the city.
"We have a new collective agreement with our unions which is a five per cent increase in wages in June 2024 to be followed by subsequent increases in subsequent years in the collective agreement, so that's some pressure," Vik said.
The FSAC committee is looking at ways to alleviate some of those costs without purely increasing property taxes. Vik specifically noted the cost of downtown washrooms' security and janitorial and rental revenue from lease agreements on city-owned property.
Council also voted unanimously to increase the funding for Quesnel Search and Rescue by $3,200 to match the contribution from the CRD, the previous rate increase was in 2020.
Public Safety and Policing committee report
Mayor Ron Paull gave a report from the public safety and policing committee. He said the committee heard from both Fire Chief Ron Richert and RCMP staff sergeant Richard Weseen.
Richert gave an update on the work of the Canadian Ranger Patrol Group and what their role and services are in the Quesnel area.
Weseen indicated a need for an HR support or office manager for the RCMP detachment to support city employees. That role will be discussed at FSAC to be worked into future budgets.
Accessibility committee report
Coun. Martin Runge gave a report on the work of the, relatively new, accessibility committee. Last May the committee opened a survey on accessibility issues in the city to help inform the city's accessibility plan.
The committee identified key priorities:
- More accessibility in public washrooms
- Accessibility and inclusion awareness
- Snow removal and access to laneways and transit
- Transit and HandyDART priority seating, wheelchair access and walker access
- Enhancing accessibility to businesses with external grant funding
Council moved that the committee will commit time and some staff resources annually to promoting National AccessAbility Week and annually use surveys to identify priorities in the community.
Leases and rentals
Council agreed to lease city-owned properties to different groups in the city.
First is an office in the City Hall building for the Three Rivers Community Forest to operate out of. The lease is a one-year term because the organization is new and not sure of their needs and requirements of a long-term office.
The rate for the lease is $22/sq.ft per year and includes utilities and operational costs for a total of $5,208 for the year. It is higher than some other leases in the building because it includes utilities.
Second is for the upper floor of the field house in West Fraser Timber Park. The Baker Creek Enhancement Society operated out of the building for years but moved to the lawn bowling building in the park.
The Quesnel Tumbling Rivers Rock Club is the primary group that will be taking over the upper floor of the building, the Pet Safe Coalition will be cooperating with them and will also use the building on occasion.
No rent will be charged, but they will be responsible for maintenance and utilities. The fee is set at $1,650 per year based on historical costs.
Coun. Runge expressed concern if the utilities for the building dramatically increase as there is no separate hydro meter for the upper floor of the building which is shared with washrooms and the concession.
After a brief discussion, council included language to change the fee for hydro being charged if there is a substantial swing.
Facade improvement grants
Council received an update on the facade improvement projects completed in 2024 and information on the 2025 program.
In 2024, $20K was allocated to five businesses in Quesnel. One project was not completed due to contractor issues.
This meant that the city provided $18,032.82 to four businesses under the Northern Development Initiative Trust program. The city will once again be able to allocate $20K for the 2025 program.
The four projects that were completed were:
- City Furniture & Appliances with a replacement to their siding on the front and an updated logo and signage.
- Covenant of Life Ministries upgraded the church's exterior with a fresh coat of paint
- Lomelo Holdings added a mural to one side of the building, created by local artists
- Tireland with a mural wrapping around the building and panels of historical photos from the museum
Over the last decade of the program a vast majority of buildings that have benefited from the program have been in the downtown area.
- 30 downtown
- Five on Two Mile Flat
- Four in south Quesnel
- Two in west Quesnel
- one in a residential-commercial transition area
Projects from the 2023 waiting list will be able to apply for the 2025 funding first, the deadline for businesses and organizations to apply is set for May 31.
Council said they hope to work with BIAs and the chamber of commerce to promote the program to more places outside of downtown.
False alarm bylaw
After hearing from RCMP about an increase in false alarms from security systems, council is bringing in a bylaw to deter that. This is similar in nature to a false alarm bylaw for fire alarms.
For the first time a false alarm goes off, there will be no charge. The second time will be a charge of $100 and third and all alarms after will be $300 per false alarm.
The bylaw says false alarms can create hazardous situations and take officers away from being able to respond to real emergencies.
Natural resource forum and the interconnector
Coun. Scott Elliott sharing his experiences at the Natural Resources Forum in Prince George. He said he advocated for the need of a north-south interconnector and spoke with provincial government officials, Nazko First Nation leaders and other northern resource officials and political leaders.
"There was a lot of conversations about the tariffs, it was a resource forum so everyone was very, very concerned about what's going on," Elliott said. He emphasized the importance of the interconnector to several different groups and industries including the Port of Prince Rupert and the mining sector. Elliott discussed with provincial government officials what work would need to be done to help push for the interconnector to become funded by the province.
On the topic of the interconnector, council also approved up to $25K to go towards hiring a consultant to do an assessment of the benefits to the province if the interconnector were to be built.
The city intends to look at data around things including the value of goods that travel through Quesnel, emissions and economic efficiency.
Mayor Ron Paull listed benefits of the interconnector including improving air quality downtown, reducing noise, increasing safety by removing potential for dangerous goods to travel through the downtown core and bringing Front Street under city management.
Coun. Laurey-Anne Roodenburg said she hopes whoever is hired as a consultant for the projects has a northern lens and has a deep understanding of the importance of transportation to the north.
Coun. Mitch Vik added onto the benefits of the interconnector.
"In light of our neighbours to the south and their changing attitudes towards tariffs and so on, there's going to be a tremendous shift, pivot in inter-provincial cooperation," he said. "The better our infrastructure is to connect the north with other provincial jurisdictions, the better situated everyone is in this province."
Council's next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 18.
