3 Major Items Coming Forward at Tuesday's WL Council Meeting

1) South Lakeside Drive Improvements - Engineering Work (bottom of Hodgson Rd to Pioneer Way - road going up to Wal-Mart Site) - see City Staff report here.  Note - if this is approved and the engineering work is done, paving is scheduled to be completed in 2012, although the next Council as part of a "budget restraint" program could delay the paving for this project in 2012 - if they so choose as part of a 2012 Budget and 2012-2016 5 Year Financial Plan

2) Updating at Dog and Suds Restaurant - see City Staff Report here and here.  If both the Development and Development Variance Permits are approved (WL Council to formally consider this item at the September 14th WL Council meeting) then the applicant proposes that this project proceed in late September

3) Committee of the Whole has recommended a request for the local Legion for 100% tax exemption be forwarded to the 2012 Budget Process.  See the City Staff report here.  Question - should the local Royal Canadian Legion get a 100% tax exemption, like Salmon Arm gives their local Legion, or should our local Legion continue to apply for their usual property tax exemption...?

Items coming up on Tuesday - Committee of the Whole Meeting (WL Council)

A number of interesting items are coming forward at Tuesday's Williams Lake Committee of the Whole (Council) meeting, as follows (see the full Agenda here):

1) New Parks, Trail and Outdoor Recreation Master Plan.  See here.  The Plan calls upon Council, of all things, to ditch small parks, like Tot Park on 12th Avenue, Patrick Reid Park on Boundary Street and start planning for a 2nd municipal cemetery in the Westridge neighbourhood.  When the City starts to consult on the 2nd municipal cemetery idea in Westridge - I can see how that idea may get a cold shoulder by Westridge residents - I'm not too fond of that idea and we should have a list of alternate sites for a 2nd municipal cemetery (no list of alternate sites available in the Parks, Trails, and Outdoor Recreation Master Plan). 

Finally - the City Staff report on this item makes reference to the local Joint Committee.  Hopefully - this item will not be adopted at this meeting (City Staff are recommending this Parks, Trails, Outdoor Rec Master Plan be adopted), but again just receive and refer to Joint Committee for discussion and approval.  If not - the lesson learned over the Indoor Turf Facility business case tender clearly was not learned.  Finally - I wonder if Acting Mayor Geoff Bourdon or Mayor Kerry Cook, as Co-Chair of the local Joint Committee, made sure that the CRD Directors for Areas D, E, F were made aware of this item coming forward at Tuesday's Council Meeting.  It would have been the neighbourly thing to do...

2) Royal Canadian Legion Property Taxes - they are requested a 100% exemption.  See here.  They indicate that Salmon Arm/Enderby has given them 100% property tax exemption and Quesnel has also looked at this issue as well.  I really sympathize with them as they do a lot of work for Veterans and Cadets, but given the hard economic times this year (2 Sawmills down early this summer) in Williams Lake, it is not likely that Council will agree to their request

3) Property Tax Exemptions Policy - see here.  Although this new policy, if adopted, is a step in the right direction.  I would take a step further and say - let's have 3 year property tax exemptions.  Sure - you might have to tighten the requirements to qualify for a 3 year exemption, but then there would be admin efficiencies by not having to deal with exemptions, year after year.  Note - Quesnel Council has a similar 3 year property tax exemption policy with a public hearing on it so the public can provide input to Quesnel Council prior to approving the 3 Year Property Tax Exemption list

4) Rick Hansen Monument at TDC - see report from Alan Madrigga here.  Curious though - the report does not identify funding sources which would lead one to believe that City Staff are asking Council to consider putting money into this project.  Note - local residents' previously were not happy with Scott Nelson's Council when they invest money into statues by Lake City Ford and down by A&W on Highway #97, given the amount of money used