Mayor and council for the Village of Burns Lake (VBL) met on Nov. 15 for a full agenda. These are some of the highlights, with more in-depth stories to follow.
Telus about faster internet
Janet Geddie, senior strategy manager with Mascon by Telus, made a presentation to council to advertise the new 1-gigabit service being installed in Burns Lake. She said it should be complete by the end of January.
“That means we will be providing a robust, increased speed set of services,” Geddie said. “It will mean increased reliability into the community, unlimited internet data which is really exciting to be able to have available, which gives increased access to online healthcare, online education, people who would like or need to work from home, it gives a lot more flexibility and abilities to work in rural communities. We know how important connectivity is to the rural communities.”
However, rural is a relative term. The service is limited to the immediate Burns Lake area, so outlying communities are not covered by this upgrade.
Coaxial cable being used, not a fibreoptic system, but has the capacity to handle the larger, speedier flow of internet data similar to a fibreoptic network and, said Geddie, plenty for the average household or business. Vanderhoof and Fraser Lake have already gotten this same upgrade.
No quads on toy drive
Lake Babine Nation’s toy drive is coming up and the VBL was asked if quads could be used among the procession of vehicles dropping toys off at the Margaret Patrick Memorial Centre. It was determined that this could not legally take place unless the vehicle in question was legally licensed to travel on a public road. Most quads are ineligible for such licensing.
Pickup the slack
The Burns Lake Fire & Rescue Department (BLFRD) already knew it was in need of a new pickup truck for administration and support duties. Mayor and council agreed to purchase one in 2024 when the current vehicle was scheduled to reach end of life. That timeline would be hastened, if approved by council.
“We are now going to be using the existing pickup for the new bylaw officer position,” proposed Rob Krause, director of protective service for VBL.
There was another reason to act quickly, he said. “If I wait until February [when the new capital plan would be introduced to coincide with fiscal year end] we will not get a truck in 2023, most likely. I’ve been told they [multiple vehicle dealerships consulted] cannot provide a truck for our use, period, for 2023. The earliest would be for 2024 delivery.”
Since it was already in the approaching capital plan, said Krause, would it be ok with council to order early to ensure timely acquisition? All in [truck, canopy, winter tires, graphics, lights and siren package, communication system, etc.], the budgeted cost would be about $93,000 and that quote was good for only 30 days.
Council voted in favour of the early order.
Drax chats
Energy company Drax, owners of Burns Lake’s pellet factory, formally requested a meeting with VBL officials. Council agreed to the request and tasked administration with setting up the visit. The first time Drax met with the town’s council was about one year ago when they purchased the operation from Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.
Council emergency
The council meeting’s proceedings were temporarily halted when Rob Krause, director of protective services, called attention to one member of the council table. “I have a presentation to make and I would like to call councillor Darrell Hill up, please.” Intrigued, mayor, council and staff agreed to the presentation.
“Councillor Hill, I am proud to present you with your Hazardous Materials Operations Core Achievement Certificate, which means the councillor Hill is now qualified as a Level 2 firefighter under the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards for the province of British Columbia.”
A round of congratulations followed and Hill quipped that he could now burn his textbook.