Several matters were addressed on February 20, when Sparwood District Council members met for a regular council meeting.
Council denied a request from the Fernie Minor Hockey Association for waiver of ice rental fees for 10-hours of ice time in accordance with section 3 of the District’s Financial Assistance to Organizations / Clubs / Groups / Individuals policy. The Association, which will be hosting the 2017 PeeWee Provincial Championships in March, has scheduled four games in Sparwood.
One of the reasons for this denial was, "if Council were to provide tournament ice at no cost to an outside organization, it would be anticipated that our local organizations would also be looking for this type of support each time they hosted tournament."
Council directed staff to proceed with the design and tendering of a low use access road and relocation of the overhead hydro lines at the Middletown Crossing - Highway 3/43 Intersection.
This will result in the removal of the overhead power lines on a short section of Highway 3, as well as the clearing of trees up the hill across from the Red Cedar Drive intersection and across Highway 3 from the easterly Elkford directional sign.
Relocating these overhead lines was decided on due to the estimated cost savings to follow, as well all the safety issues this will resolve.
Council accepted funds through the Clean Energy Canada’s Solar Now Program of $25,000 and agreed to match those funds using monies from Sparwood’s Carbon Neutral Reserve Fund (CNRF) to install a solar photovoltaic energy generation system on one or more municipal buildings.
According to council, this initiative helps Sparwood achieve its goal of “promoting environmental conservation best practices”.
Council amended the District’s Video Surveillance Policy, which will allow them to install a live-feed surveillance system in the arena concourse area that provides a live feed only. This bypasses requirements under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, as this act only applies when images are recorded. Council approved this in order to better monitor the concourse area for safety concerns, as well as reduce any potential vandalism.