Grand Forks will no longer be working with the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary to provide animal control services.
City Council voted in favour to withdraw, with a request to have staff look at next steps for providing the service within the city.
This comes after weeks of contentious debates with the RDKB and concerned citizens over animal welfare after numerous complaints were raised in regards to the regional district renewing a contract with the Commissionaires.
Gallery 2 executive director leaving for B.C. Museums Association
The executive director and curator of Gallery 2 Grand Forks Art Gallery is heading to new opportunities.
Tim Van Wijk announced during the gallery’s quarterly update to City Council he was leaving for an opportunity with the BC Museums Association as the director of finance and revenue.
He will officially leave his position at the gallery July 19 to determine the board’s next steps and help with the transition, but is staying in the city.
“We are in a really strong financial position and we have a good team, so I’m optimistic of the future of the gallery,” he said. “It’s been great working with city administration and the executive. It really is a great partnership.”
Aside from Mayor Everett Baker’s thanks for all his work Councillor Christine Thompson said the gallery’s loss was the BC Museums Association’s gain and was glad he wasn’t leaving the city entirely.
A new director wasn’t announced immediately.
New bylaw officer introduced
There’s a new face among Grand Forks Bylaw.
Community Bylaw Officer Jon Wilson introduced Shane Gorbin as the new Building Official Bylaw Officer, which Wilson said will be a welcome addition to the growing workload and an additional presence in the community.
Gorbin originally worked with Boundary Family Services.
Several capital projects nearing completion and floodway update
Flood mitigation projects in South Ruckle are almost complete and the habitat channel in the North Ruckle area is showing promise of working exactly as designed.
Ben Stevens, manager of Flood Mitigation and Strategic Initiatives, Peter Novokshonoff, project manager for the flood mitigation program and Graham Watt, Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Flood Recovery gave a brief presentation on activity in South Ruckle, the trail next to Rockwool, the habitat channel and the electrical work in Valley Heights.
On the Rockwool trail, Novokshonoff said paving was completed and a guard rail was put up to mitigate fall hazards. On South Ruckle, paving on the dike ramps was completed.
He also spoke about the three home demolitions in Manly Meadows, 12th Street and Kettle River Drive near the BMX park. The homes in Manly Meadows and 12th Street slated for tear-down have been cleared, he said, with the one on Kettle River Drive starting tear-down by the end of the week.
On the habitat channel, it’s showing signs it’s providing shelter for fish during seasonal floods and freshet. Watt said during the freshet, biologists counted more than 786 fish, mostly juvenile red-sided shiners and suckers. With the small, but extended freshet the floodway filled twice, giving the fish a warm shelter to feed in, he said. There were also high numbers of ducks and geese.
Vegetation is also taking hold, with about 90 per cent of the trees planted flourishing, mostly in the areas where irrigation is best. Weeding and mulching by landscapers will be helping to re-establish the trees.
In Valley Heights, Steven said the project is moving along on schedule, with the initial grinding of pavement underway, locating existing underground utilities and working with residents on construction and where to put permanent infrastructure.
One surprise crews encountered was a large amount of bedrock on Winnipeg Avenue about two feet down. Crews have moved on to excavation in other areas while a larger machine is being brought in to deal with the bedrock.
