Quesnel Council Highlights - Oct 7th mtg

 Courtesy of the City of Quesnel:

FireSmart Education – Grant Application Council approved City staff to submit a grant application to the Union of BC Municipalities, 2021 Community Resiliency Investment Program, for FireSmart education/outreach, communications as part of the Quesnel and Surrounding Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan’s private land strategy. In this grant, the City will be advocating to increase the rebate amount to $1000 (from $500) to assist with tree removal, as this is an identified need in Quesnel.

Remedial Action – 251 English Avenue Council approved a Remedial Action Order against the property owners of 251 English Avenue (“Property”). The condition of these structures are considered to constitute an unsafe condition, a health and safety concern, and a nuisance. The property owners have until November 15, 2020 to demolish all buildings and remove all foundations found on the Property, otherwise the City will carried out this remedial work with costs being added to the property taxes of this Property.

Food Hub (Sprout Kitchen) - Lease Council approved the City entering into a five-year Lease for a 2,689 ft2 portion of the building located at 101 Marsh Drive for the City’s Food Hub (Sprout Kitchen) project. The City of Quesnel was awarded $500,000 in funding by the Ministry of Agriculture to build a Food Hub as part of the BC Food Hub network in 2019. An additional $250,000 in funding has been approved by Northern Development Initiative Trust. Launching in Fall 2020, Sprout Kitchen will be a small-scale food processing and innovation hub that serves the North Cariboo Food Hub Region. A member of the BC Food Hub Network, Sprout Kitchen will provide space and support for emerging and existing food entrepreneurs to get their ideas off the ground or scale their business for new markets.

Community Forest Application Process – Funding Request Council approved $12,000 from the Council Initiatives account to fund the Community Forest Agreement process, including the City’s role in the potential Non-Replaceable Forest Licence process. The Community Forest Application process is now at the point to advance an interim management structure as well as an accounting function to deal with the potential Non-Replaceable Forest License that will enable the Community Forest Agreement application. These funds will be repaid to the Council Initiatives account once the Non-Replaceable Forest Licence is established.

Next Meeting 6:00 pm – October 20, 2020 - Council Meeting