Village 亚洲天堂 Lake council met last week for the second regularly scheduled meeting of the new year.
Reaching out to the east, the village has agreed to enter into a mutual aid agreement concerning fire and rescue with the Village of Fraser Lake.
Formally known as the Fire and Rescue Service Aid Agreement, the agreement ensures that either community will be able to call upon the resources of the other community if a major event overwhelms the resources of either community. Certain costs incurred by the municipality lending assistance would be recoverable from the municipality assisted.
The village currently has agreements like this in place with Houston, Gransile, Telkwa and Smithers. Houston was called upon to aid 亚洲天堂 Lake during the Jan. 2012 Babine Forest Products mill explosion. It was the consensus of village council that it made sense to have an agreement like this with Fraser Lake considering that agreements were already in place for communities west of 亚洲天堂 Lake.
Solidarity with Houston
In a show of solidarity with the District of Houston, village of 亚洲天堂 Lake council members have agreed towrite a letter in support of the District of Houston鈥檚 opposition to the sale and privatization of the Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert.
The coal terminals, according to a letter signed by the mayor of Houston, are 鈥榓n invaluable asset for communities throughout Central and Northern B.C., connecting our export industries to the rest of the world and supporting jobs in forestry, mining and bio-energy.鈥�
亚洲天堂 Lake councillor John Illes was concerned about the 鈥榖ig risk if we lose control of such an important asset.鈥� Council unanimously passed the motion to write a letter in support of Houston鈥檚 position.
Another pipeline proposed
TransCanada, the pipeline company hoping to bring us the Coastal GasLink, pipeline has submitted a letter to council to inform it of its intention to build another natural gas pipeline.
The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project would transport natural gas from the Fort St. John area to the yet to be built Pacific Northwest LNG export facility in Port Edward port near Prince Rupert.
If the project receives regulatory and environmental approvals, construction of the $5 billion pipeline will begin in 2015 with operational dates set for 2018.
The pipeline, still in conceptual stages, would pass north of 亚洲天堂 Lake by 145 kms.
Calling all businesses
The Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake Business Registry and Procurement Database is up and running, but council would like to see more people registering their businesses and services.
Mayor Luke Strimbold hopes that the database will make it easier for contractors involved in upcoming construction projects to hire local workers and service providers.
鈥淭he Village will urge the Contractor to buy all labour and service needs locally, by creating and maintaining a list to help local businesses and citizens seize this opportunity,鈥� said Strimbold. Five major construction projects are planned for 2013.
More public comment welcomed
New procedural policies at public council meetings mean that there is now a public comment period available at the end of regularly scheduled meetings. At the close of a meeting, and before any in camera sessions, members of the public gallery may address council concerning matters raised during the meeting.
The opportunity for public comment at the start of meetings remains as always.
Committee seats available
A number of committee and board positions have become available. Comfor Management Services Ltd., the Downtown Revitalization Committee, and the Board of Variance are all seeking applicants for various positions.
