At the Sept. 21 Village of Pemberton (VOP) council meeting, with just one more week before mayor and council were required to return to the office for council meetings, a long discussion was had about what the future of the meetings would look like.
The discussion revolved around the ability to perform the duty of being accessible to the public versus the newfound convenience of being able to conduct the meetings online from wherever the council members chose.
While most were in favour of keeping, at minimum, a hybrid-style of in-person and online meetings, some, like Councillor Ted Craddock, “still see a real benefit of meeting in person,” and don’t want to completely shift away from that and lose that dynamic that comes with being in the same room together.
A second concern was raised about the logistics of doing hybrid-style meetings including both spacing to adequately support the public’s attendance of the meetings and the return of all the councillors to one room, the rules surrounding the newly implemented vaccine passport for members of the community wanting to attend in person, and the costs of the technology to support proper audio and visual to those attending virtually.
In the two weeks following the Sept. 21 meeting, it was found that members of the public do not need to show proof of vaccination to attend council meetings, removing one of the hurdles faced by mayor and council.
But with more answers still needed on best practices for hybrid-style meetings, it was decided, at the Oct. 5 meeting, that the meeting room configuration will be adjusted as needed as more information becomes available to “accommodate cameras, microphones, speakers and screens, and to enhance video and audio recording and livestreaming,” for the purpose of going forward with hybrid-style council meetings.
Application for funding for wildfire protection equipment approved
On Sept. 21, Pemberton Fire Rescue Chief Robert Grossman presented a report to mayor and council requesting support in making an application for grant funding from the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation in the amount of up to $85,000.
If approved for the funding, the money would go towards the “purchase of wildland firefighting equipment to protect the Village of Pemberton and the service area in the event of a wildfire,” according to Grossman.
“During the 2021 wildfire season Pemberton Fire Rescue was called upon by the province to assist with the wildfires occurring in the Interior,” he said.
“During this wildfire deployment, it became clear that it is important to be prepared, which includes ensuring the department is sufficiently supplied with the right type of equipment to support responses to these types of wildfire events.”
With no other conflicting applications currently going to the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, the motion was ultimately carried for Pemberton Fire Service to go ahead with its application for funding.
Proposal for purchase of new dump truck approved
Pemberton’s manager of operations and projects Tom Csima joined mayor and council on Oct. 5 to submit his proposal for the purchase of a replacement for the recently deemed irreparable 2004 Chevy 3500 flat-deck dump truck used by the Parks and Public Works crews.
According to Csima, over the years the flat-deck truck has become a critical asset for the parks team, as it is used for hauling soil and organic material in the summer and also snow plowing and sanding smaller side streets and parking areas in the winter.
Due to excessive rust damage, the truck can no longer be used and a replacement is needed.
Luckily, due to some projects not being completed in 2021, there is an estimated $25,000 surplus in the roads-maintenance budget that Csima proposes be used for an immediate upgrade.
He outlines three potential options, which include using the $25,000 dollars on a down payment for either a 36-month or 60-month lease on a new truck or to use the money to rent a truck at a cost of $3,000 dollars a month for the next eight months until the budget can be approved to purchase a new vehicle.
Mayor Mike Richman suggested going with the 60-month lease option instead of the 36-month option, which would lower the monthly payment from over $1,500 dollars a month to just over $1,000. However, Councillor Ted Craddock persuaded him to switch to the shorter lease as it would save money on interest payments while the budget can be adjusted to find room for the new truck.
With the rest of the Village’s fleet of trucks also nearing an age which would see them potentially need to be replaced, Richman wanted to get the conversation started about switching from gas powered to electric vehicles in the near future.
However, with the immediate nature of this replacement, that discussion will be held for when other village vehicles need replacing in the future.
