The Village of Kaslo will offer to sell a small parcel of municipal land to the property owner of 515 Sixth St. valued at $718.
In the 1970s, the owner was granted permission from the Village to use the 105-square-foot lot adjacent to their property. Since then, they’ve built a concrete pad on the land as part of their garage.
The property owner recently submitted a subdivision application to consolidate several lots. Six are owned by the applicant, and one is the small lot in question.
Chief administrative officer Robert Baker said at the Oct. 22 meeting that, with the application submitted, it makes good sense for the property owner to purchase the lot they’ve been using, tax-free, for almost 50 years. The lot is also surrounded by private property, with no legal access or value to anyone other than the owner of 515 Sixth St.
The applicant will be given the choice to buy the land for $718. If they choose not to, Baker suggested to council that the subdivision application be denied.
As per an appraiser’s recommendation, the Village used BC Assessment information to determine a land value of $718 to $924. It settled on the lower price, since the lot is not much use to anyone else.
WildSafeBC update
Erin Lawrence, Kaslo’s WildSafeBC co-ordinator, came before council with an update on activities this year.
This was Lawrence’s first season in Kaslo. Most of her work was within the village, with a few outlying calls in Mirror Lake and Shutty Bench.
Lawrence hosted information booths to connect with the public, but engaged with the most people through door-to-door canvasing. She received lots of questions about grizzly and black bears, cougars, and especially rats.
She ran two rat workshops, and hopes to focus more on them next year.
Lawrence noticed residents putting out garbage bins too early. She tagged three bins to notify owners. She said most residents store bins safely, with a few exceptions. She is researching the possibility of bear-safe bins for the Village.
Lawrence helped residents with fruit gleaning, to reduce bear attractants. If individuals had more fruit than they needed, she also found ways to share the abundance.
Lawrence offered a kids’ colouring contest about animal habitats and behaviours. She didn’t connect with schools, but principals and teachers have expressed interest for next year.
Looking ahead, Lawrence would like to offer online rat workshops. She will continue bin tagging and gleaning activities, and hopes to connect with volunteers from the Kaslo Food Hub to help with fruit gleaning. Lawrence plans to offer bear spray workshops in the spring and fall, and more wildlife safety and awareness workshops. She’ll wrap up the year with cougar and bear behaviour sessions.
Holiday hampers
Kaslo Community Services (KCS) will receive $4,000 from the Village’s Community Development Program (CDP) for this year’s holiday hampers.
Since 2010, KCS has provided holiday hampers to families and individuals in need in Kaslo and Area D. Last year, it gave out 105 hampers, with a total of $13,200 cash, plus food and gift donations from local businesses and individuals. The Village provided $3,500 from the CDP.
KCS estimates its budget for 2024 is $14,000. Area D Director Aimee Watson committed to matching the $4,000 from the Village, and KCS will apply for a $2,000 grant from Columbia Power. JV Humphries students will help fundraise the final $4,000.
The RDCK administers the Community Development Program, which is funded through grants in lieu of taxes from entities such as BC Hydro.
Wildfire readiness
The Village will apply for up to $18,300 from Columbia Basin Trust’s Small Community Wildfire Readiness Supports program.
The funds will offset the cost of attending the 2025 Wildfire Resiliency Summit, and support conducting a detailed study of Kaslo’s available water sources.
The summit brings together wildfire practitioners from all over B.C. to offer presentations and workshops on how to make homes, communities, and landscapes more resilient to wildfires.
Creating a report on the Village’s water infrastructure capacity will aid interface wildfire response and guide asset management decisions.
Kaslo Search and Rescue
Kaslo Search and Rescue (SAR) will receive in-kind services from the Village to support its motor vehicle accident training.
The Village will offer a front-end loader and staff operator for SAR training sessions three-to-five times per year.
Council also adopted a policy for offering in-kind services like this. The policy outlines certain conditions: only Village staff may operate Village-owned equipment; work will be performed during regular work hours at the discretion of the Public Works foreman; and, if any work is performed after hours, it will be voluntary and unpaid (no overtime).
Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism
The Village will offer a letter of support to Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism (NKLT), so that it may continue collecting a two per cent Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) for another five years.
NKLT is the destination marketing organization (DMO) for the Nelson, Kaslo, and RDCK Electoral Areas A, D, E, and F. DMOs collect MRDT to fund marketing projects, to increase visitation and local tourism revenue.
The MRDT is a tax on accommodations, submitted to the Province by accommodators and redistributed to DMOs. NKLT would like to continue on as the area’s DMO and collect the two per cent MRDT. It must apply every five years.
