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Spring cleaning in full swing

Councillor Don Berriault provides an update on upcoming work and events in and around the Village of Montrose.

Looks like spring is finally arrived, so I will start with a couple of reminders.  Street sweeping is going to happen April 25, 26, and 27.

When raking your lawn and boulevard, the works crew would appreciate leaving the rakings as a windrow along the front instead of piles.  This makes their job a little easier and the machine works more efficiently.  Also happening that same week is the first yard and garden waste pick up on April 26.

We are coming into the time of year when each community has its special weekend.

This year, due to the low usage last year, we will not have the bus available for tours of the dam, at Montrose Sports Day on June 9.

For those residents who wish to see the progress at the dam, the bus will be available for tours during Fruitvale’s May Days, May 25, 26 and 27 as well as at Trail’s Silver City Days May 11, 12 and 13.  Hope everyone enjoys the festivities.

Moving onto the subject of water.   We are progressing with our water project.  Final design should be complete by the end of April, so we can then go to tender for getting the job done.

We will be participating in the Columbia Basin Trust initiative of Water Smart Ambassador Program again this year.  This will again be a shared person with Fruitvale.  The program is established to help residents understand water conservation programs.  There will be residential irrigation audits and residential indoor fixture and behaviour surveys.  Anyone wishing more information can contact the Village office or make an appointment at the display that will be set up ay Montrose Sports Day.

Council had a strategic planning meeting earlier this year.  This full day session allowed us to discuss and priorities our views as a team. The big ticket item, of course, is our new well and associated features to allow us to get rid of the “boil water advisory.”

Other items identified for this year are the community hall lower roof replacement and electrical upgrades in the hall kitchen.

Ongoing work with paving; we are trying to work with the surrounding communities to get a company that does “Micro-surfacing”.

This is a process that reworks the top layer of pavement to extend its life.  The equipment is expensive and large to move around so we are trying to get a large amount of work lined up to make the cost worthwhile.

We will also be purchasing some excavation shoring to keep our crew safe when working in trenches.

And last but not least, spring is also the time of year when the bears awake from their winter hibernation, and they are hungry.  In an effort to keep the bears away, please remember to set your garbage on the morning of pick up so as not to invite them to snacks.

We thank you for helping in keeping the bears away from the village.

Don Berriault is a councillor for the Village of Montrose. Community Comment is written by elected officials in Greater Trail.