At the July 11 Fernie City Council meeting, Council approved a motion for a land use agreement with the Fernie Pets Society. The land agreement will allow the Fernie Pets Society to move forward with the construction of an off-leash dog park, a project the society has been working on for five years.
The land designated to the park is located at the base of Ridgemont hill, between the Skateboard Park and 13th Street. Both City staff and the Fernie Pets Society prefer the Ridgemont location to other potenial locations.
The land use permit will be in effect July 15 for a three-year term, ending on July 14, 2019. The motion was made by Councillor Ange Qualizza and seconded by Councillor Phil Iddon. It pass unopposed.
Representatives from the Fernie Pets Society were present in the gallery and took the opportunity to thank City staff for their help with the project.
“I just wanted to say thank you to Council for approving our agreement. We have been looking for this agreement for the last five years,” said Pierre DuPont. “It’s been a long time and we are anxious to get started. Our project is quite large, our budget is about half a million dollars. We are actively looking for money to complete the project but we do have enough to get started this year and we will get started as soon as we can.”
Along with this agreement, Council also approved to enter a partnering agreement with the Fernie Chamber of Commerce in support of Griz Days. This partnering agreement is for a three-year term, with the City providing $10,000 in funds each year to help with the annual winter festival. The agreement will also allow the Chamber to use City facilities for Griz Days along with the City’s assistance with road closures and the supply of bleachers, among other amenities.
The motion to partner with the Chamber of Commerce was made by Councillor Iddon and seconded by Councillor Joe Warshawsky. It also passed without opposition.