by Susan Swan
From the Jan. 12 Council meeting.
Present were Mayor Roland Stanke and councillors Daniela Dyck, Margaret James and Marian Nelson. Coun. Bonnie Stanke was absent.
Education Schedule
Council authorized CAO Heidi Frank to attend several conferences, a training course, and other webinars or courses as approved by the Mayor.
Economic Development Funding
Clinton was able to expand a position to include economic development officer duties after receiving $47,500 from the Northern Development Initiative (NDI). The economic development strategy for Clinton included attending the economic development rural summit; develop a vision statement and kiosk sign to display the vision statement and a map of the Village.
Other projects undertaken were the successful lobbying of Telus to get cell phone service in Clinton; creation of an economic development strategy and implementation plan. The Village entered into a Community First Agreement with the provincial government. They also completed a tax base revenue diversification study.
Future projects include brownfields and contaminated site remediation; increasing volunteer capacity and social sustainability. The Village will work on regional community alliances and shared services, exploring the shared services model.
Projects started in 2010 and are still underway include obtaining a community forest license; downtown Western Heritage revitalisation; improving the business climate by supporting small business; youth economic development planning, building capacity in youth and transportation infrastructure.
The grant writer position brought $345,360 in grants into the community.
Mayor Designate
Council designated Coun. James to serve as Acting Mayor when the Mayor is absent or otherwise unable to act or when the office of Mayor is vacant.
Statistics Canada
At the request of Statistics Canada, Council wishes to make the residents of Clinton aware of the importance of the upcoming census and survey in May. An article in the next `Village Voice` newsletter will explain how the information collected impacts government funding to municipalities.
Community Literacy Plan
Coun. Daniela Dyck is the Literacy Co-ordinator for the Village of Clinton. She advised that she is working on a springtime Computing for Seniors course after an overwhelming response to the idea at the recent Health and Wellness Fair She is hoping that some of the local youth will help with the teaching. She is also working on a course in home cooking and planning to be taught by some of the seniors.
There was also support for a Red Book Shelf project. This is a free book exchange where residents can borrow a book, read it and then return it or replace it with one of their own.
Bylaw Adopted
The Clinton Fire Department Constitution Bylaw was adopted by Council.
Next Meeting
The next Clinton Council meeting is on Jan. 26 at 7 pm.
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Gold Trail Report
School District 74’s annual report to the Ministry of Education is now available to read on their website at http://www.sd74.bc.ca/
The report, A Vision for a Sustainable and Equitable Future for All, includes their Community Consulttion Summary.