Thursday, January 24, 2013

WL Council seeks mediation on Rural Fire Protection Dispute

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

Editor's Note - watch for the Cariboo Regional District to hold its' options open until after rural residents' report what option they wish the Regional District to pursue (legal option, negotiate with City of WL or start their own Fire Department).  Also, Mayor Cook talks about "open and respectful communications".  This should have occurred long before we got into legal proceedings and certainly, we would not be here now, had it not been for Council's Dec 11th motion of a 1 year fire protection agreement which not only angered elected officials with the Regional District but also its' residents

The City of Williams Lake values its relationship with the Cariboo Regional District, and as such, will ask the District to enter mediation with the City on the rural fringe fire protection issue as soon as possible.

The City is eager to meet with the CRD to come to a solution, rather than have the issue proceed in court. The CRD filed a Notice of Civil Claim in B.C. Supreme Court Jan. 15. The City has 21 days to respond to the Notice of Civil Claim. Entering mediation as soon as possible would save time and allow for plenty of discussion before the April 30 court ordered injunction is set to expire.

“It’s very important that we are able to sit down at a table and work on issues together,” says Mayor Kerry Cook. “Open, respectful communications are key.”

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