As our year comes to a close I wanted to reflect back on our first year representing the Village of Warfield.
When this council stepped into office some of the key issues we wanted to tackle in year one were; the recreation agreement with the City of Trail , our aging website and a focus on family friendly activities.
Earlier this year we were able to announce a 5 year recreation deal with the City of Trail, something we were quite proud to accomplish. The village set has been working diligently behind the scenes with Pro-Creative Design Lab of Trail to breathe life into an outdated and tired website. Many residents have commented to us about the quality of our website and the struggles to navigate it.
On Nov 23rd we flipped the switch on our totally redesigned website www.warfield.ca and we are thrilled with the fresh new look and the ease of navigation that now exists. Residents can now easily see what’s happening in our community, upcoming events, media releases, public notices, review minutes from council meetings and contact staff or council through the website. Thank you to Wally and the staff at Pro-Creative Design, they did a great job for us.
Council met this week with the Ministry of Transportation, the RCMP, Webster PAC, Principal Stefani of Webster and the school district trustee to discuss the excessive speeds and traffic patterns in front of Webster school.
This issue was first presented to council by Webster PAC in October of 2015, but unfortunately the ministry of highways was unable to attend due to a schedule conflict. This initial meeting was a way to start the discussion process for dealing with the safety of our kids crossing the highway. Parents of Webster students also staged a peaceful rally along the highway in front of Webster encouraging motorists to be respectful of the school zone.
This most recent meeting produced some very good dialogue with everyone and each party is currently researching some possible solutions, which may include increased police presence in front of Webster school.
Staff at the village have been working through the audit process with our Auditors Grant Thornton formerly Soligo and Associates to finalize our 2014 year end.
On December 9th our auditors will be reviewing their findings with council. Once the process is finalized council will be conducting an open house with the public to review the financial statements as well as discuss some of the future plans being considered for the village. An announcement for dates and times will be posted on our website and in the Trail Times.
As the year comes to an end there is a still a flurry of activity happening in the village. All of these upcoming events are viewable on our website and in the latest issue of the Warfield Scoop newsletter.
On behalf of everyone at the Village of Warfield we wish you all a safe and happy Christmas.
Ted Pahl is the Mayor of Warfield
Community Comment is an opportunity for elected officials from our local municipalities to update citizens in the region on the events, plans and progress in their respective communities. Every Friday, the Trail Times will present, on a rotating basis, a submission from councils, school trustees or regional district directors.