Greenwood council has been asked by The Greenwood Improvement Society (TGIS) to donate land to the society for construction of a senior’s housing facility. Ciel Sander spoke on behalf of TGIS.
The previous council had given TGIS a letter indicating the city’s willingness to donate land. In fact, that letter was instrumental in TGIS receiving a grant from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to conduct a feasibility study for the proposed seniors’ housing complex.
That study is done and the TGIS now plans to form a working group around the project and begin raising money. They want assurance that the property is theirs so they can leverage it to raise funds.
TGIS is asking the city for creekside property running from Midway Street to the elementary school. The property is actually in two pieces separated by a cul de sac; however, the two lots are joined by city property beside Boundary Creek.
The mayor promised them a reply by the end of the month.
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Sander also spoke for the Phoenix Alpine Ski Society (PMASS), this time asking for permission to use the ball park on Sept. 26 as a staging area and starting line for a bike road race. She anticipates 50 high calibre riders to come for a ride that would take them up to the Phoenix Cenotaph. The event is being planned as a fundraiser for the PMASS Ski Patrol to help fund courses for youth.
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Councillor Darla Ashton reported that the last Greenwood Recreation Commission meeting had included a representative from the volunteer group that kept the rink open this winter. She said the volunteers are planning to turn the facility into a year-round venue for events; plans that were talked about included the possibility of a two-day street hockey tournament in the summer and an outdoor dance. Ashton said the next meeting of the Rec Commission is on March 3 at 6 p.m.
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It was reported that the concession stand should be ready this week, with all of the equipment installed. An official opening is yet to be announced, but the month of April was mentioned.
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Mayor Ed Smith read a statement thanking the volunteers who worked at the rink and on the Christmas dinner. He gave special thanks to John Martin for his donation toward the campground if it were to be moved beside the washrooms near Lion’s Park. Smith also noted Martin’s service to the community and sense of civic pride.
Smith sounded fully in support of relocating the campground. “Our present campground—across from the sewer dump and no washrooms and toilet facilities—is unacceptable,” Smith said.
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The city will hold its first meeting to discuss the budget for the coming year on Friday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. in council chambers. There is a second meeting scheduled for Friday, March 6 at 9 a.m.
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Staff was asked by council at an earlier meeting to report on the procedure used for approval of accounts payable at each meeting. Ashton had questioned cheques being approved after they had already been issued. The motion made at each meeting is to approve for payment a list of cheques and auto-debits.
Dalziel’s report stated the current procedure has been in place for years. “Cheques are produced on the basis of submitted source documents that have been approved under the city’s budget or council resolutions. Because we are a small municipality the signing authority is divided between staff and council. One member of each group is required to sign. To keep council informed, a listing of cheques is issued since the last listing distributed to council at each regular council meeting.
“This has been the procedure for over 18 years based on council motions since 1997. This procedure has never resulted in a qualified audit opinion for the City of Greenwood. The requirement not to release cheques until approved by the entire council has never been the policy within the City of Greenwood.”
During question period, Jim Nathorst agreed with Ashton that voting to pay bills that had already been paid seemed redundant. “A motion to approve payment doesn’t work if they have been approved,” Nathorst said.
He said the list of cheques is good information that the public should see but suggested that the motion should be to receive the report rather than to approve payment.
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The administrator and Fire Chief Roy Terashita will attend a weekend-long Fire Service Administration Educational Program in Nelson in April. The workshop is entitled Working Together: Effective Fire Service Administration for Fire Chiefs and Local Government Chief Administrative Officers.
The program is aimed at communities operating predominately volunteer and smaller paid on call/composite fire departments. It will support CAOs and fire chiefs to carry out their responsibilities in providing fire services to their community.