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There continues to be a high
level of activity at City Hall. City Staff and City Council have had a
number of meetings dealing with this year’s City budget. The work and
planning is being done with the expectation that there will be a 5%
increase in City taxes. Council must approve the financial plan by May
15. Part of the approval process is to provide for public input.
Documents showing the full financial plan are available for review and
input and can be accessed at City Hall or online at
www.cityofrevelstoke.com. Also look for information in City ads in
the Revelstoke Times Review.
As people will now have
heard, Revelstoke Mountain Resorts had a very successful initial
offering of real estate properties. Over 100 units were purchased. City
Council congratulates RMR on their success as they proceed with
development on Mt. Mackenzie.
City Planning staff have
worked very hard to issue the development permit for phase I of the
Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Laurie Donato, Manager of Development
Services, gave a report on this at the last Council meeting. Residents
can view the development permit and related documents in the Planning
Department at City Hall.
At the last Council
meeting affordable housing was a major topic of discussion. Council
reviewed the strategic objectives that were recommended by Jill
Zacharias in the Affordable Housing Strategy she prepared for the City
last year. The first objective of creating a housing vision statement
for Revelstoke was adopted by Council late last year. Council then went
through the rest of the objectives and adopted them all except for #7
which was referred to the Housing Committee for further review. These
objectives move the City ahead in dealing with affordable housing issues
by:
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Establishing on-going sources of funding for affordable housing.
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Setting aside land for affordable housing.
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Creating a mix of affordable housing.
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Developing an appropriate vehicle through which affordable housing
can be improved and developed.
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Improving the understanding of affordable housing issues in
Revelstoke.
This issue is very
complex and there is no one correct solution but Council is committed to
moving ahead to work with the community to find what will work for
Revelstoke.
City Council recently met
with representatives of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC-CUPE Local 873 to
discuss issues related to the provision of ambulance services in
Revelstoke. It is obvious that we have a very committed group of
paramedics here in Revelstoke. Based on these discussions, Council
passed a resolution at the last Council meeting to request a meeting
with the BC Ambulance Service to register our concerns with regards to
restoring a full time paramedic chief in Revelstoke, making sure we have
ambulance service when the primary ambulance is out of town, and making
sure there is a building that is suitable for use by the ambulance
service.
Just as a reminder to
City residents, a by-election is being held on April 28 to fill the
vacancy created when Russ Gibbs had to resign because of health issues.
There are three candidates in the running for this Councillor position.
They are Frank Fik, Corin Flood, and David Raven. I would encourage you
to learn about each candidate and remember to vote on April 28 or at the
advance poll today (April 18) or on April 20. Voting will take place at
the Revelstoke Community Centre from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.
On a final note I would
like to remind people that you can get information about what is going
on at City Hall in the weekly ads in the Revelstoke Times Review. Also,
you can always get information about the City and its various
initiatives or give feedback at
www.cityofrevelstoke.com.
Submitted by Councillor MacFarlane
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