Notes from the Clinton council meeting of April 27.
Aboriginal Day
Council approved a request from High Bar First Nation for free use of Reg Conn Park for an Aboriginal Day event on June 21.
The letter from High Bar stated that they would like to partner with the Village of Clinton and David Stoddart School for a celebratory day in the park. Plans are still being finalized, but the hope is to have music, crafts, Lahal, a drumming circle, story-telling, a bannock-making competition, and more.
Support for off-road vehicle corridor
Council received for information a letter from the Clinton and District Outdoor Sportsmen Association noting broad support from Clinton businesses for an access corridor from the Gold Rush snowmobile trail into Clinton.
“The club has spoken to most of the businesses that are on the east side of Highway 97 to determine if they are in favour of this initiative,” stated the letter. “All are in support of this as they feel access would be good for tourism for the community as a whole.” Eleven businesses signed the letter of support.
Mosquito Run Trail renaming
Community Development Coordinator Kat Chatten submitted a recommendation that the Mosquito Run Trail be renamed. The village would like to promote the trail as part of a walking loop in the new Trail and Visitor guides and in the community profile, which is scheduled to be printed in the next two weeks.
Chatten noted that attracting residents and visitors to use the community parks and recreation trails is important, but that the name “Mosquito Run” was hampering use of the trail by making it seem uninviting. Research into the history of Clinton, as well as revisiting suggestions from residents that were submitted when the trail was first named, led to three options:
- Dorrell Trail: Cedric Dorrell donated his property to the village for the creation of a park, which was named Dorrell Park before being renamed Reg Conn Centennial Park in 1974.
- Cut-Off Valley Trail: Cut-Off Valley Creek runs through Reg Conn Park.
- Reg Conn Trail: The park was named after Clinton’s first mayor.
After a brief discussion, council unanimously agreed to rename the trail — which follows the southwest edge of the village from Reg Conn Park to McDonald Avenue — Cut-Off Valley Trail.
Tax rate bylaw
Council gave first and second reading to Bylaw No. 580, Tax Rate Bylaw 2022, after a discussion initiated by Coun. David Park about possibly dropping the mill rate (amount paid per $1,000 of assessed residential property value), which has not been changed since 2015. The rationale for dropping the mill rate was that property assessments have increased in Clinton by an average of 12 per cent as per the BC Assessment Authority, effectively increasing the amount of property taxes paid by residents.
It was noted that Clinton’s mill rate is neither on the high nor low end of rates charged by small communities in B.C., and that while everyone would like to pay less in taxes, costs are rising across the board; the village has to save for a new fire engine; the village has had to take out a loan for the new public works building; and the village has lost the income from the Chasm mill. Staff were directed to make income calculations based on different rates and bring the information back to council at the next meeting.
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