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Cache Creek council hears concerns about Collins Road footbridge

Council also heard a request for a second community bus stop in the Village
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All members of Cache Creek council save Coun. Lisa Dafoe were at the regular meeting of Feb. 24, 2020. At the Jan. 27 meeting, council had voted to excuse Dafoe from the meetings of Feb. 10 and 24 and March 9 in order for her to meet educational requirements.

The meeting opened with a presentation from Amelia Smart, representing Sage and Sands Mobile Home Park. She explained that Sage and Sands was asking for an additional stop for the community bus at the Park, as many residents are seniors or people with disabilities and several have been asking for the service. Smart provided council with a list of names of residents asking for the additional stop.

She also discussed the footbridge at the south end of Collins Road that leads to the Mobile Home Park, noting that the area is very dark and has been the scene of several incidents, with some residents now avoiding the area. RCMP have advised that the area needs footbridge and path lighting, and that if these lights cannot be installed the footbridge should be permanently closed.

“Many of our tenants and ourselves use this bridge, and we don’t want it closed,” said Smart. She noted that if Sage and Sands was successful in getting the community bus to stop there, the footbridge could benefit residents in that area wanting to use the bus. Her request was for the Village, in the interests of public safety, to install lighting in the area.

Coun. Wendy Coomber said that there has been discussion at the transit committee about adding second stops in each of the communities (Cache Creek, Ashcroft, and Clinton) served by the bus, which currently stops at the Cache Creek Community Hall. She noted that she has asked several times for a stop at Sage and Sands due to the number of residents in the area who would like to use the bus but cannot travel to the community hall. “It is being discussed, and there is a meeting coming up next month about the local service.” She added that having the list of names of people interested in the stop was very helpful.

Coun. Sue Peters moved that staff look into lighting for the footbridge and path area and report back with the cost, and the motion was passed. Mayor Santo Talarico said that consideration needed to be given to the fact that the footbridge represents an evacuation route for residents of Sage and Sands.

Peters raised the possibility of funding being found on those grounds. CAO Martin Dalsin suggested the option of floodlights in the area, but it was noted that care would have to be taken because of a nearby hotel and residences, in terms of brightness and the angle of the lights.

There was lengthy discussion about the details of an amendment to the Water Rates bylaw regarding administration fees and charges for bulk water supplied from standpipes and/or hydrants. Talarico also suggested an additional service fee to cover the cost of crew having to go out for connection and disconnection, as well as to ensure there was no damage to standpipes or hydrants. The motion for first, second, and third readings of the bylaw amendment was tabled and referred back to staff for more information.

Following a request from the Friends of Historic Hat Creek Ranch, Coomber was appointed as Cache Creek council’s representative on the Friends board, with Dafoe as the alternate. Council also moved to provide a letter of support to the Clinton and District Assisted Living Society, which is applying for a loan for the development of an assisted/supported housing facility in Clinton. Since funding of $2.9 million from the provincial government for the project was first announced in March 2017, the cost of construction has risen, leaving the Society to try to make up the difference in funding.

Minutes and agendas for all Cache Creek council meetings can be found on the Village website at http://www.village.cachecreek.bc.ca/. The next regular meeting of Cache Creek council will be on Monday, March 9 at 7 p.m. at the Village office on Quartz Road.



editorial@accjournal.ca

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