Regional District voices concerns on a variety of fronts, Taylor moving ahead with 9-1-1 upgrades, compost facility abuse continues
Another week has come and gone in the North Peace, bringing quite a bit of rain, and a lot of business from around the region.
The top story from their recent meeting discussed the concern of the Peace River Regional Hospital District board that the long-awaited expansion of Peace Villa in Fort St. John won’t be enough to meet the needs of the region.
With the third house at Peace Villa now in the works, Area C Director Brad Sperling says this is not the time for local governments to rest on their laurels but rather examine the population projections and put together plans for future needs.
“Although we appreciate Peace Villa going ahead, we know Fort St. John and area will need more than that,” Sperling told the Peace River Regional Hospital District (PRRHD) board meeting directors on July 17. “We know that because we work closely with SONS.”
When Peace Villa, which is attached to the Fort St. John Hospital, was built, Save Our Northern Seniors (SONS) warned that omitting the third “pod” from the facility was going to be an issue.
Read more: Hospital board concerned Peace Villa expansion won’t be enough
Regional District directors deemed the project to twin Highway 97 and Highway 2 from Fort St. John to Alberta worthy of pursuing, even though the NDP government in Victoria has declined to pursue the project, started in 2011 by then-Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom.
When the County of Grande Prairie asked the Peace River Regional District for a letter supporting its application to the Alberta government to twin Highway 43 to the British Columbia border, the PRRD was happy to provide the support.
As a result of that conversation with their Alberta neighbours, the board felt that the possibility of twinning Highways 97 and 2 from Fort St. John to the Alberta border was worth revisiting. But when the PRRD board wrote to Minister of Transportation and Transit (MOTT), Mike Farnworth asking that the Province revisit the potential project, the answer was, as Dawson Creek Director and Mayor Darcy Dober described it “a polite no.”
In their June 12 letter to Minister Farnworth, the board asked for the project to be revisited to facilitate cross border trade, movement of goods, enhanced safety for the travelling public and safer emergency response.
“On the Alberta side, they’re focussing on this and pushing it forward because there was one major accident, and one is more than any should be,” said Dober at the July 17 PRRD board of directors meeting.
As Dober noted during the May 22 PRRD meeting when the board decided both to support the County of Grande Prairie’s request and write to Farnworth, the concept of twinning the highways from Fort St. John through to the Alberta border is not new.
Read More: Province pens “polite no” to request to revisit twinning highways to AB
From their years of experience with oil and gas industry projects, the regional district directors know that communication with residents is key to getting projects accomplished, advice wind farm proponents need to heed, if they’re to be successful in the Peace.
For the second time in as many months, the Peace River Regional District board told Innergex Renewable Energy that the company needs to communicate better with the public about all their proposed projects.
Innergex was back at the PRRD board meeting on July 17 to discuss another potential wind farm project for the region. The company last gave a presentation to the board in May, when the directors passed on their constituents’ concerns about the company’s landmen approaching landowners in the Farmington and Bessborough areas, wanting to set up leases for a future project. At the time, directors informed Innergex that communication with the public is vital, especially with projects of the size the company is proposing.
Read more: Wind project proponent must communicate with public better: PRRD
District of Taylor councillors are “disheartened” by the chronic abuse of the community’s compost facility. Dumping of garbage such as appliances and other refuse has been a problem since the facility opened, and the District has employed a variety of initiatives to rectify the problem, short of shutting it down.
Now, closure might be on the table.
“If it’s abused too much, for too long, we’ll shut it down,” said Acting Mayor Betty Ponto.
That’s what its come to for Taylor’s public compost facility.
“It’s so disheartening.”
Abuse of Taylor’s compost facility has been an ongoing problem since it was established. Initiatives in 2009 to educate the public on the proper use of the facility, including workshops, information posted in the Taylor Times and signage at the facility proved to be in vain, when the golf course manager brought up the issue in 2015.
Now, ten years later, the chronic abuse of the compost facility has prompted district staff to consider new ways of dealing with the problem.
Upgrades to Taylor’s 9-1-1 system are going ahead, which will not only improve communications between vehicles and communities, but also includes upgrades that can streamline 9-1-1 use for the public.
Read more: Taylor Tidbits: Compost facility abuse 9-1-1 upgrades
This week in Smart Money, local financial planner Brad Brain discusses the prevalence of “financial pornography” with business news channels being among the biggest culprits.
I was looking for some information, and I ended up watching a few video clips from one of these business news channels. This is unusual for me.
When I say unusual, I’m not referring to researching stuff – I usually spend about 2 hours a day reading – I’m referring to giving any attention whatsoever to the business news channel. Which is interesting when you think of it. I spend about 2 hours a day on research, and I never watch the business news.
Why would that be? Simple, really. For the most part, the business news channels are nothing more than financial pornography.
I know that these types of programs have their loyal followings, but the simple truth is that a bunch of self-proclaimed gurus sitting around giving 30-second sound bites on which direction the market is going in the next five minutes is nothing more than a tawdry, often lurid, way of getting your attention. It’s not wisdom; it’s the professional wrestling of the business world.
The term financial pornography has been around for a while, but it’s still rather loosely defined. Paraphrasing my dictionary’s definition of the word pornography, one could say it means the sensational depiction of behaviour designed primarily to cause excitement.
Read more: SMART MONEY: Financial Pornography
News that got missed last week:
The City of Fort St. John recognized two employees for their years of service with the City.
Celebrating 10 years with the City, Jamie Nicoll started as an Auxiliary Labourer in the Parks department in 2014 for the summer, followed by other winter and summer positions, before becoming a full-time labourer in 2016, eventually progressing to her current position at Operator in Training at the Water Treatment Plant.
Jennifer Skinner began her career with the city 20 years ago, as an Accounting Clerk I, advancing to Accounting Clerk II, and spending several years as a Receivables Clerk before attaining her current position as Payables Clerk in 2018.
Coming up this week:
Fort St. John city council will hold their regular meeting, tomorrow Monday July 28 at 3 p.m. in council chambers, the public is welcome to attend. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
The Peace River Regional District will hold its Solid Waste Committee meeting on Thursday, July 31 at 10 a.m. in Dawson Creek. PRRD meetings are livestreamed on their Facebook page.
This coming weekend is the BC Day Long Weekend, with two notable events in the region – the Fort St. John Airshow at the North Peace Airport and the World’s Invitational Gold Panning Championships at Peace Island Park in Taylor.
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