FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014
WOMEN’S SHELTER
DONATIONS NEEDED
KOOTENAY COLUMBIA
CANDIDATE ACCLAIMED
Cranbrook Women’s Shelter needs help.
David Wilks will be the Conservative candidate in this riding.
See LOCAL NEWS page 4
See LOCAL NEWS page 4
THE BULLETIN PROUDLY SERVING KIMBERLEY AND AREA SINCE 1932 | Vol. 82, Issue 200 | www.dailybulletin.ca
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Bavarian Esso building to be demolished A 3 - 2 vote in favour of taking building down C AROLYN GR ANT Bulletin Editor
CAROLYN GRANT PHOTO
The realtors and staff at Royal LePage East Kootenay Realty in Kimberley are in the midst of their annual Coats for Kids campaign. This is a national program for Royal LePage. Anyone can drop off a kids’ coat (in good condition) to the Kimberley EK Realty office and the Kimberley Food Bank will make sure they used to warm up kids this winter. EK Realty would like to thank all those who donate coats, including Togs and Toys who dropped off a dozen bags of outerwear for kids.
It is unlikely you will find anyone on Kimberley City Council who doesn’t agree that the former Bavarian Esso building on Wallinger Avenue is an eyesore. Located right across from the east entrance to the Platzl, the vacant building became property of the City of Kimberley last spring when Council voted to swap land with the owner for a lot elsewhere in the city, so that the City could deal with the building. However, there was no money put in the budget this year for the building’s demolition. At a special meeting of Council on October 6, Council voted three to two to proceed with tearing down the building this year. Councillors
Darryl Oakley and Bev Middlebrook were unable to attend the meeting. The motion read “that the City hire Rainbow International Restoration of the Kootenays and DST Consulting Engineers to proceed with abatement and monitoring of the hazardous materials for 170 Wallinger Ave. for an amount not to exceed $6,000 taken from the Kimberley Reserve Fund, and that the City hire a contractor to demolish the building at 170 Wallinger Ave not to exceed the amount of $54,500 to be taken from the Kimberley Reserve Fund.” The hazardous material is asbestos siding, says Mayor Ron McRae. McRae says that money from land sales goes into the reserve fund and it was hoped to have all the lots on the former pool property in Chapman Camp sold to pay for the demolition. See ESSO, page 3
Signs of the times Auditor General will not visit Election signs won’t go up until October 20 C AROLYN GR ANT Bulletin Editor
Where are all the election signs, you may be asking? If you drive through Cranbrook you will see municipal election signs popping up all
over, yet Kimberley remains sign-free. Are we just slow to get started? No. In fact, candidates in Kimberley are not allowed, by way of the City sign bylaw, to put up signs until October 20. The bylaw was updated in 2011 and a time period for temporary signage, including that for an election, was established.
Signs were actually put up too early by all candidates in contravention of the bylaw during the 2011 election campaign, but it was pointed out to candidates in the 2014 campaign that the dates had to be honoured. Expect to see signs popping up in Kimberleyon October 20, 2014.
C AROLYN GR ANT Bulletin Editor
Although the City of Kimberley, after much debate at Council, sent a request for the Auditor General to audit the City on capital procurement and asset management, Auditor General Basia Ruta has written City CAO Scott Sommerville to inform him that the AG’s office will be unable to do so.
The matter arose at Council last May when Coun. Don McCormick moved that the AG be brought in to look at the costs on the flume rehab project. Staff looked further into potential costs and the matter was eventually okayed by council in June of 2014 and the request to the AG sent out. In the letter received by Council this week,
the AG says that while her goal that a regulation be brought into place allowing a city to request her services, that regulation does not yet exist. She is hoping it may become a regulation in 2015/16. In other words, a city cannot request a visit from the Auditor General. However, there are tools available for the City to use such as a
booklet called Oversight of Capital Project Planning and Procurement which can guide staff through a look at a project. The AG also said that Kimberley’s request would be considered in future audit planning.