City officials dealt with a range of municipal business during the March 14 governance meeting, such as looking over plans for a new elementary school and ballpark fees to an argument over council paying themselves more. Like the past 10+ years in a row, council ended up getting more money. This time, however, the vote for another bump in pay was not unanimous.
Glenmerry school
A delegation from School District 20 presented renderings of the new school coming to Glenmerry. Heather Simm, director of operations, said the school district would be issuing a tender for project construction in the coming weeks and that the building schedule would be developed once the contract is awarded. Simm noted the school district will communicate about the upcoming build with nearby residents. She said the old school will be used while the new school is under construction.
Renewable energy
Council asked staff to prepare a report outlining what the city has done to date in regards to improving energy efficiencies after West Kootenay EcoSociety director, Montana Burgess, addressed the table. Burgess asked Trail to commit to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050. The West Kootenay 100 per cent Renewable Energy Plan, released in December 2020, is described as community-focused and meant to be a template for use by other communities. The plan includes actions such as: accelerating the switch to electric vehicles; getting people to move beyond cars with public and active transportation; retrofitting existing buildings to reduce energy use; and generating more renewable energy region-wide. To date, 11 West Kootenay municipalities have signed on as well as the Central Kootenay Regional District.
Little league
Council members agreed to provide a one-time cash grant to the Trail Little League Association equivalent to sports passes purchased for players from Rossland and Area B, not otherwise reimbursed. This consensus was reached instead of the request from Trail Little League wherein the city would exempt those respective players from the Trail Resident Program. On top of a nominal league fee, each player from Rossland and Area B would be subject to pay around $250 for a sports pass for eight weekly sessions starting with “blastball” for pre-schoolers, up to the majors, for ages 11 and 12 years.
New floors
Council members awarded Centaur Projects a $78,000+ contract to replace flooring in the former library space at the Trail Memorial Centre. The new flooring is described as “best suited for lower impact activities such as fitness studios and meeting rooms,” with a 25-year warranty. Council also agreed to earmark $125,000 in the 2022 capital budget for new exterior windows in the old library.
Council raise
Mayor Lisa Pasin moved that council take a zero per cent (0 %) increase this year. She cited the high legal costs council has incurred over the past year and that not taking a pay increase is a goodwill gesture to Trail taxpayers. Pasin also suggested a two per cent increase could take effect following the 2022 municipal election, slated for Saturday, Oct. 15. Her motion was defeated after four councillors — Robert Cacchioni, Carol Dobie, Colleen Jones, and Eleanor Gattafoni Robinson — opposed. That made way for council to give themselves a two per cent raise, costing Trail taxpayers an additional $3,015 this year. Only Mayor Pasin and Coun. Paul Butler voted against another pay raise. (As chair, Coun. Sandy Santori would vote in the event of a tie.) Council stipends now top $153,000 annually; $18,896 for each of the six councillors, and $40,214 for the mayor.
Read more: Trail council votes for a pay raise
Read more: Potential pay increase coming for Rossland councillors and mayor
newsroom@trailtimes.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter