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Here’s a quick look at what to expect at the Village of Pemberton’s (VOP) regular council meeting on Nov. 3. The meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom. For details regarding how to access the meeting, visit pemberton.ca/public/download/files/158384.
Evacuation route planning
Council will look at applying for Union of BC Municipalities Evacuation Route Planning funding as part of a joint project with the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) and the District of Squamish.
The funding would support an evacuation exercise in the Pemberton Valley and Squamish floodplain areas to test the assumptions made regarding the existing evacuation route plan, according to a report from emergency program coordinator Sarah Toews. The funding covers 100 per cent of the cost up to $25,000.
The VOP was previously successful with a joint application with the SLRD and Lil’wat Nation from the same UBCM funding stream in 2018. That grant funded an evacuation route plan through the Pemberton Valley, which the Village received in February. The plan itself included such information as traffic modelling and mapping while also evaluating timelines of how long it would take to evacuate in various scenarios.
The report said it’s key to test these models in a practical way.
“A joint exercise will test and validate these assumptions and feed into the updates and developments of the operational components of Evacuation Plans in the SLRD, DOS and the Village,” the report reads.
Once this is completed, the final version of the plan will come to council for approval.
Well house and pumping station backup generator
Council will consider allocating funds for a project that has been in its work plan for several years.
In a report submitted to council, manager of operations and projects Tom Csima is seeking funding for a standby generator for the Village well house and pumping station.
The project was identified as a priority in 2018, but during the 2020 budget process, council opted to shift those funds to the search for a fourth well. With that search coming up empty, operations has shifted back to improving the quality of its current wells and is looking to bump the funds back to the standby generator project.
“Currently this critical Village infrastructure has no back-up power capabilities, leaving the entire Village water system vulnerable during emergency or routine power outages,” Csima’s report says.
The report outlines two options: a generator at roughly 275 kilowatts that would power both well house pumps and miscellaneous loads including lighting, HVAC, controls and chemical injection or one at roughly 200 kilowatts that could run one pump and the miscellaneous loads.
“Current operation parameters allow for occasional simultaneous utilization of both pumps during periods of extremely high water use, but generally only one pump operates at a given time,” the report notes.
However, Csima also adds that the first option, with its increased capacity, would better allow for future expansion and pump or facility upgrades while also creating less wear and tear for the generator itself.
With 20-per-cent contingencies built in, the first option is estimated to clock in at $192,000 while the second option would run $162,000.
The report notes that the budget to explore options for developing a new well in the 2020 budget was $360,000. Nearly $166,000 of that has been spent, leaving just over $194,000 available.
