Times Chronicle Staff
The following are Oliver town council briefs from the last meeting.
Every three weeks
Town council has amended its meeting schedule to every three weeks instead of two.
The amendment comes after a discussion about how Monday meetings in 2022 conflicted with some statutory holidays, resulting in those meetings moved to a Tuesday. It was also noted that staff’s preparation schedule was further truncated by the loss of a day that week.
As an alternative, staff suggested scheduling the regular meeting to every three weeks on a Tuesday.
Corporate Officer Rochelle Lougheed said this shift would allow more time for staff to prepare notices and more time for residents to respond to proposals.
But Coun. Aimee Grice expressed a concern with the shift slowing down the development process in town. In addition, Mondays are best for her since she works on Tuesdays.
Randy Houle, director of development services, acknowledged the change would add a bit of time to the development process. But he noted that residents have expressed concern about not being notified in time regarding issues.
Grice agreed that staff and the public would benefit from the amendment, but again, developers would experience a delay.
Mayor Martin Johansen said it’s worth a trial, noting it could open up other opportunities.
Councillor Petra Veintimilla said she would be okay with keeping Monday as their meeting day.
Resolutions for SILGA
Oliver town council is considering what resolutions it wants to submit to the Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA) in preparation for this year’s convention.
Previous resolutions included tiny homes, extreme weather response shelters, landlord protection, and primary care network funding.
Councillor Aimee Grice suggested this year’s resolution should be requesting ongoing operational support from the government relating to Oliver’s food secure program. She noted the province often downloads these responsibilities to municipalities, expecting them to carry those burdens.
Council voted to support the suggestion.
It also carried a recommendation for a SILGA excellence award that the town also plans to submit.
Under the social responsibility category, council wants to submit the installation of the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) flag at Town Hall. Mayor Martin Johansen said this is a great project to submit.
