Recent City of Quesnel press releases

Courtesy of the City of Quesnel:

1) ourQuesnel

There was an excellent community response to events held on Friday evening and Saturday (April 27 and 28) to celebrate Quesnel and envision the long-term future of the community.

On Friday, more than 60 people gathered to share some thoughts about what they love about our community and where they’d like to see it in the future. They were also treated to a sustainability presentation from Barkerville Historic Town’s James Douglas. On Saturday, some of Friday’s participants returned and were joined by new faces, as about 60 people participated in one or both of the two, half-day sessions envisioning Quesnel’s sustainable and successful future.

The strategy areas discussed were: economy, work, education and skills training; transportation and mobility; energy, water, resources and waste; food; social and community well-being; ecosystems, natural areas and parks; communications and connectivity infrastructure; buildings and sites; arts, culture, recreation and leisure; and housing and land use.

In addition to the successful workshops, more than 200 people completed the recent ourQuesnel public survey, providing valuable community input to the process.

The ourQuesnel Sustainability Task Force will compile all the input received and begin developing “descriptions of success” in each strategy area. Those descriptions will be released to the public, with another opportunity for input in early June.
Quesnel is developing a comprehensive, community-wide, long-term sustainability vision, plan, and process through the ourQuesnel: Sustainability in Action initiative. It is meant to include as many community members and organizations as are willing to participate.

ourQuesnel is led by the City of Quesnel with help from the Whistler Centre for Sustainability, a non-profit organization that provides sustainability planning and advisory services to local governments in BC and across Canada. To learn more about the Centre’s work, visit www.whistlercentre.ca To learn more about ourQuesnel, visit www.ourquesnel.com or like us at www.facebook.com/ourquesnel

2) West Quesnel Land Stability -- Drilling underway

Vertical well drilling, an integral component of the West Quesnel Land Stability dewatering program, is underway. JR Drilling Central Ltd began work this morning in the Paley Place area of Uplands. The drilling crews are expecting to spend from two to three days at each of the 14 drill sites. The entire process is expected to take from four to six weeks to complete, depending on the drilling conditions encountered.

Drilling will take place at a number of different sites, including along Dixon Street, near Stork and Crane Avenues, and in a wooded area to the west of Abbott Drive near Dawson Street. For a detailed look at the drilling plan, look for "2012 Work Plan Map" on the City of Quesnel website by visiting http://www.quesnel.ca/wqls.html

The estimated cost for this part of the program is $566,000, which includes the well drilling, engineering costs ($110,000), and pumps and installation ($125,000). JR Drilling Central Ltd. was the low bidder on the well drilling portion, at $147,398 plus HST, leaving this part of the dewatering program under budget so far.
The full-scale dewatering program is designed to help reduce land movement in the West Quesnel Land Stability study area. The $4.7 million project will see the installation of 14 pumping wells, nine horizontal drain sites consisting of more than 70 drains, and storm water system improvements for West Quesnel and area residents.

More than $3.1 million was provided by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia, through the Building Canada Fund-Communities Component program, part of Canada's Economic Action Plan for this project. The City of Quesnel also contributed more than $1.5 million to pay for the full-scale dewatering program. In addition to the federal and provincial contributions, the City of Quesnel has invested more than $2.1 million on the West Quesnel Land Stability Program since 2000.