The Regional District of Central Kootenay will establish a new collaborative working group to advocate for residents’ regional transportation needs.
The group will partner with regional industry, local governments, and community organizations to develop solutions focused on transportation networks, and active and low-carbon transportation planning.
“Given the sparsely populated landscape of the region, it is important to support RDCK residents’ connectivity and access to services not available close to home,” reads a May 22 staff report from Alex Leffelaar, climate action assistant, and Paris Marshall Smith, sustainability planner.
The working group is the culmination of about two years of public engagement sessions hosted by the RDCK to understand residents’ transportation priorities. Residents indicated that they want to see more transit routes, increased transit frequency, safer road infrastructure to encourage biking and walking, more transit access for rural communities, and more active transportation routes.
Up to $15,000 from the RDCK’s Local Climate Government Action Plan fund will go towards two years of the initiative. The working group will also leverage additional resources from outside the RDCK.
Area K and Nakusp dog control
The Area K and Village of Nakusp’s dog control contract has finally been awarded to Jackie Kilburn for a one-year term. The contract is $1,960 per calendar month, or $23,520 annually.
The board has delayed awarding the contract since March, as the contractor’s proposed rate exceeded the budgeted amount of $23,000. Kilburn, who has done dog control in the area in the past, was the only applicant to respond to the request for proposal.
In consultation with Area K Director Teresa Weatherhead and the Village of Nakusp, staff and the contractor came to an agreement on a reduced service level to better align with the budget.
As per the new agreement, the contractor will no longer perform patrol or respond to lost and barking dog complaints.
She will continue to respond to complaints about dogs at large, dog attacks, and aggressive dog complaints. She will also continue record keeping, providing impounding services, removing deceased animals from roadways, and ticketing. She will respond to calls between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday to Friday excluding statutory holidays. Emergency calls outside of regular hours for dangerous or aggressive dogs are $100 per call out.
In the next year, staff will re-evaluate how dog control services are delivered and provide new options for 2025. The change could come in the form of a standardized service implemented across the RDCK, with the RDCK bylaw enforcement team taking on the job instead of independent contractors.
Improving local food distribution
A new project by Central Kootenay Food Policy (CKFP) is working to improve local food distribution.
The RDCK will contribute $20,000 plus GST to CKFP’s Grow and Connect Interior project, which aims to create a platform where local food industry stakeholders can collaborate to improve how they distribute their products.
Kamloops and the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary are also participating in the Grow and Connect Interior initiative.
The RDCK’s $20,000 contribution will come from the Local Government Climate Action Program funds.
Water system acquisition
The RDCK’s moratorium on acquiring water and wastewater systems has been lifted. Applications from community groups that want their systems converted to an RDCK service are now being accepted.
The moratorium has been in place since 2011. In 2011 and 2012, the RDCK acquired nine new systems for a total of 19. This placed significant demand on staff and prompted the moratorium.
The board approved the new 2024 Water and Wastewater System Acquisition Plan, which guides the rather lengthy application and selection process. New applications will be reviewed for potential community and user benefits, impact on regional district staff, costs to users, and consideration of manageable growth.
Greenhouse Gas reduction study
Staff will submit an application to FortisBC for an additional $65,000 to support the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Pathway Feasibility Study.
The goal of the study is to identify energy conservation measures for RDCK facilities. The RDCK’s consultant for the study, Building Energy Solutions Ltd., has completed detailed energy audits of the RDCK’s largest facilities. Next steps will include conducting energy models and analysis for the audited buildings. The study is set to end in October so that it can inform next year’s budget.
The RDCK has already received a $200,000 grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund for the project. Additional funding from FortisBC would allow for a more comprehensive exploration of diversified energy sources – such as renewable natural gas – and would expand the study’s scope, said Shari Imada, senior energy specialist, in a July 3 staff report.
Community Wildfire Resiliency Plans
Community Wildfire Resiliency Plans (CWRPs) for Areas H and K will be getting a revamp after the board awarded a contract to B.A. Blackwell and Associates Ltd.
Plans for Areas A, B, C, G, and J will also be updated. Area D’s CWRP was completed earlier this year.
CWRPs help local governments identify and understand the risks of wildfire to their communities, and how to reduce those risks.
Blackwell, in partnership with John Cathro of Cathro Consulting Ltd., has worked on past CWRPs.
Having a CWRP is a requirement for communities to be eligible for provincial Community Resiliency Investment funding.
Invasive species
The RDCK is extending its agreement with Central Kootenay Invasive Species Society (CKISS), to continue implementing a regional invasive species strategy.
The one-year agreement will end July 2025 with a total cost not to exceed $15,000 plus GST. The funds will come from the Local Government Climate Action Program funds.
The RDCK first started working with CKISS in the spring of 2023. Year one saw the establishment of the Regional Government Invasive Species Working Group, which aims to bring a consistent approach to preventing and managing invasive species. CKISS also developed region-wide education materials and outreach resources; provided expertise and consultation for developing an RDCK invasive species program; and responded to invasive species reports on private or RDCK-managed land.
Year two will continue many of the same tasks, with the addition of a new Poison Hemlock Eradication Action Plan. Poison hemlock is deadly poisonous to both humans and livestock, with no known treatment. It has been found in the Creston Valley and Yaqan Nukiy lands, close to trails, CP Rail lands, agricultural fields, the Creston Valley Wildlife Management area, and Erickson Elementary School.
