Council voted 4-1 in favour (Mayor Ed Wood opposed) to authorizing up to $550,000 in Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) money be used to design an upgraded protective dike around Harrison Lake.
The village would retain a team from Northwest Hydraulic Consultants – which also includes consultants from Space2place Design and Thurber Engineering – to create the detailed design that would encompass a protective dike around the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and the surrounding area as well as the WWTP Access Road.
Wood had qualms about allocating public funding toward one company.
“There would have to be some extremely specific, good reason,” he added. Wood suggested referring the matter back to staff to investigate whether or not additional bids were required for the project.
The Canada Community-Building Fund – formerly the Gas Tax Fund – is a federally-funded source of money provided for each province and territory twice a year for municipalities to use on priority infrastructure projects. CCBF funding distributes more than $2 billion per year across the country, resulting in about 4,000 projects annually.
Harrison Hot Springs received roughly $5.9 million in CCBF funding this year.
In other council business:
– Council voted 4-1 in favour (Wood opposed) of asking staff to set up a council-to-council meeting with the District of Kent concerning the future Lets’emot Regional Aquatic Centre.
Wood acknowledged the LRAC was an important subject. However, he was concerned that since interim CAO Kelly Ridley was leaving at the end of the month that the village may not have adequate staff for the timing of the meeting. Coun. Allan Jackson suggested they continue on with the meeting tentatively planned for June 23 with the option of a meeting later in the fall when the new CAO is in place.
– Wood announced the village has retained a new chief financial officer, who will be onboarding in August.
– Harrison resident John Allen appeared as a delegation before council to pitch a temporary off-leash dog park in the overflow parking area near the village hall. He suggested the village use snow fencing it has on hand to enclose an area on the vacant lot. The off-leash dog park would be in place on a trial basis; Allen proposed that if all works out that more permanent fencing be considered.
The next regular Harrison Hot Springs Village Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 19, at 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall (290 Esplanade Avenue). Venue may be subject to change; check in at www.agassizharrisonobserver.com for any updates.
Online attendance is also available via Zoom; those interested can register through harrisonhotsprings.ca. Video recordings of the meetings will be archived on the village’s YouTube page.