InteriorNEWS THE
109th Year - Week 13 •
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
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26 Days To Go
Signs of spring led assistant superintendent Brian Hutchinson and superintendent Steve Kerbrat to prepare the golf course for a new season. They predict an April 7 start to the season, possibly earlier. Xuyun Zeng photo
Draft sign bylaw approved Smithers financial plan By Chris Gareau Smithers/Interior News
A draft of the new sign bylaw was approved and will be presented to the public at an open house on April 19 from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at town hall. Written comments are also being received until noon that day, and a complete copy of the proposed rule changes can be found at interior-news.com. Town planner Alison Watson presented the draft for approval at last Tuesday’s council meeting. She took into consideration surveys completed by 411 residents. “So there were a couple overarching themes ... from the public input phase,” Watson told council. “The first was a clear, continued support for an alpine theme that does regulate signs, but one that is evolved to provide
more room for a contemporary approach, or interpretation and creativity from the business community. “So this is a move away from fonts that are a certain size, or serifed or not, moving away from those very fine details.” Core elements were the focus, including sign material, lighting and size. But what most business owners and residents wanted to know, admitted council and staff, was what is permitted. The new rules, scheduled to be adopted by June at the latest, are not set to be immediately applied to current signs. “Your sign can stay, provided it does not cause unlawful obstruction or pose a hazard,” said Watson. “So there are signs that don’t conform to the design guidelines in terms of number, lighting type; that’s to be expected when your bylaw’s fairly new.” See ENFORCEMENT on A2
By Chris Gareau Smithers/Interior News
The Town of Smithers has released its $20-million budget and five-year financial plan ahead of its April 12 public presentation. The public presentation will be followed by a question and answer period from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. before that night’s general meeting. Municipal general property taxation is up $190,000 this year. Tax requisition is up 4.87 per cent, with 3.47 of that coming from new construction that mostly went up in 2014-15, and 1.4 points as new tax. “We can have really low taxes, but we would have [fewer] municipal services,” said Mayor Taylor Bachrach. Expenses are budgeted to drop $1.4
FIRE AT ANIMAL SHELTER PROPERTY Couple escape chimney fire at trailer on property shared with animal shelter.
MUSICIAN SWIMS WITH THE CURRENT Mark Perry prepares to make waves with his new album, Northern Waters.
GENEROUS SPIRIT LIVES ON Elizabeth Norton leaves a posthumous gift to the homeless community.
NEWS/A3
A&E/A12
OUR TOWN/A14
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Western Family Toilet Paper see last page in A
million from last year. Big ticket capital items have already been announced. They include the $6-million airport expansion and modernization, and the $450,000 fire department storage building to be built near the fire hall at Main Street and Highway 16. There is also $359,000 budgeted for Chandler Park field upgrades (see page A11). Recreation and culture services have gone up over $65,000 from last year’s budget, and $273,000 more than 2014 after the construction of the new arena. A $10-million arts and culture centre is slated for 2018. The $5 million for a 2017 library expansion in last year’s financial plan has been removed. The Smithers Gallery Association got the $32,000 grant-in-aid board members said they needed to keep operations at their current level. See EXEMPTION on A2
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