Early budget release approved
Council authorized the release of $40,000 for a dog pound facility prior to the adoption of the 2015 budget.
The Town entered into an agreement with the Town of Osoyoos until the end of March to use its pound facility until Oliver was able to construct its own.
In order to commence construction, staff requested the early release of funds.
Town enters fire radio agreement
Council approved entering an agreement with the regional district to use the Town’s fire department radio frequencies for emergency communications until 2017.
Chief Administrative Officer Heidi Frank reported that the regional district passed a resolution to take over emergency communications from all fire departments.
The E911 Fire Radio system will be a centralized dispatch for police, fire and ambulance.
Frank said the Town had numerous concerns over the contract, which has since been resolved satisfactorily. The amended agreement will see the Oliver Fire Department remain as the licensee of the command channel, and radio traffic from other stations will not interfere with Oliver.
It was also noted that fire dispatch will be able to stay online with the fire department for operational support for incidents in progress.
Fire truck repair funded by reserve
The Town approved spending up to $10,000 to repair the fire department’s 1981 pumper truck and use the Joint Fire Reserve to pay for it.
Chief Financial Officer Dave Svetlichny reported that a bearing in the pump was sheared off, rendering the truck inoperable.
Fire Chief Dan Skaros recommended the unit be repaired immediately to ensure the safety of the Town and rural area.
Svetlichny said if a large fire occurred in Area C, that could possibly leave the Town unprotected.
It was noted that Ernie Rotheisler from the Oliver Fire Protection District consented in using the joint fire reserve to fund the repairs.
