Diana Daghofer and Keith Robine from Rossland addressed Council Monday night as an impromptu delegation early in the meeting.
They are looking to host an off-road triathlon in Rossland that would include a 1,200 metre swim in the Centre Star Gulch reservoir. Time is a challenge for the pair as they hope to do a trial run with the organizing team on July 29 and they need access to the reservoir.
“This is a great new event that we want to bring to Rossland,” Daghofer said. “It’s an off-road triathlon. We’re looking at a 1,200 metre swim, a 20 km bike ride, and a 10 km run.”
Their initial plan was to hold the main event on the same weekend as the Single Track Six, and they recognized that could be an issue, so they shifted their proposed date to Sept. 10.
Mayor Kathy Moore told the delegation that allowing access to the reservoir for the race, and having people swimming in a source of drinking water, is not a concern.
“The concern is not the bodies in the water, as we have a filtration system, but the potential disruption to the structural nature of the dam with the rocks and such,” Moore said.
Despite this caution, Moore liked what she heard.
“One of the things I like about this idea is we’re trying to be a more multi-season destination. I’d love to see something like this if it works,” she said.
Coun. Aaron Cosbey asked the delegation if it is limited to just a one-time-a-year event, which was answered “yes.”
“Our concern is we don’t want people to think they can start swimming in there,” Coun. Cosbey noted.
Coun. Lloyd McLellan added that he was all for the event.
“I like the idea and I’d like to see it grow and become an annual event,” he said.
Coun. Cosbey moved to approve the test-swim in the reservoir in principle and move it to city staff to ensure there are no public health issues. It was seconded by Coun. Andrew Zwicker and passed unanimously.
Red Mountain day lodge expansion
An amendment to the Red Mountain day lodge addition/expansion was discussed.
The mayor asked if there is a plan in place to remove the temporary buildings once the expansion was completed.
A representative from Red Mountain said the plan is to complete the plaza for the hotel and at the same time construct a new driveway to the hotel, which will also be a new driveway to the lodge. The new road access will allow for them to remove those temp facilities next year.
Paradise Lodge
A development permit for a proposed expansion to Paradise Lodge and expansion to the washroom facilities was next on the docket.
Coun. Cosbey questioned the wording regarding the septic field and sewage, but Rossland city planner Stacey Lightbourne assured him that the permit will move forward with an amendment. Coun. Cosbey asked, “How do we know best practices are being followed?”
“The building inspector has to check on that, and the septic field is monitored by the person who designed it,” Lightbourne said. “The variance part of it will come back to us.”
The permit was approved after discussion.
Tandem dump truck
Council then confirmed the awarding of the tender for the purchase of a tandem dump truck, which came in under budget. R. James Western Star won the bid. It will cost $153,711 minus trade-ins for a total of $119,461.
Water consumption report
Coun. Andy Morel discussed the relatively high amount of water consumption last month and said there should be an effort to re-educate the citizenry about irrigation responsibilities.
“We’ve been vocal to get that information out this year. I’ve watered more this June and July than all of last year. We have changing weather patterns. I’d request staff to ask if we’ve made an effort to get that info out,” Coun. Morel said. “We also have a new bylaw officer starting and watering policy should be addressed.”
Coun. McLellan added that there should be scheduled watering times year round.
Wildfires and fireworks
Information item no. 12 C covered the wildfire update from the southeast B.C. fire centre.
Coun. Morel said with the smoke in the area, people are concerned within the community of local risks for fire. Lightbourne pointed out that the FireSmart handbook is available online and it has some great recommendations.
Coun. Morel made a motion to direct staff to create a bylaw regarding fireworks. He would like to see a restriction on usage and the sale of fireworks within the community, year round.
Member reports
Coun. Cosbey attended the Seven Summits grad. “It was an amazing, moving ceremony,” he said.
Coun. Zwicker discussed the solar plan for a roof for the library.
“What [the contractor] needs from us are the building plans or an engineer’s assessment,” Coun. Zwicker said.
Coun. Zwicker was looking for a motion to allocate up to $5,000 for an engineering study to confirm the roof can handle the load-bearing requirements of the solar panels. That motion was approved.
Coun. McLellan reviewed the notes from a building committee meeting that was held July 5 for the Seniors’ Hall facade work.
“Our aim is to have that work completed by the end of October,” McLellan said.
Mayor Moore then reviewed her Federation of Canadian Municipalities trip to Vietnam that ran from June 23 to July 3.
“Edmonton and Rossland are trying to get these cities [in Vietnam] to work together. They’re really interested in changing and trying to be more collaborative. It was really interesting,” Moore said. “It’s been left with the Vietnamese groups to propose a project to Rossland and Edmonton and then we’ll respond with how we can help.”
The mayor also talked about the concerns with Teck and labour negotiations and other discussions going on in the community.
“There is a firm commitment from Teck that [they] are here for the long term. They have plenty of investments coming,” Moore said.