The village of Granisle’s summer newsletter is out and it has a number of updates for the community.
Council meetings and town hall
The village has continued to conduct its council meetings however they are not yet open to public due to the COVID restrictions. Their quarterly townhall meeting is also currently on hold however the council is hopeful that they would be able to ramp up their community presence with the vaccinations in the community on the rise.
“We remain hopeful and optimistic by the fall we will see an opportunity to resume our Town Hall meetings,” says the newsletter.
Taxes
In 2020, the council decided to not raise taxes in order to help individuals and businesses during the COVID 19 crisis. This year, the community has seen an overall increase in assessments of roughly 3.75 per cent. With that, to ensure the village is able to cover increase in costs related to fuel, hydro etc. the council has decreased the mill rate from 22.45 to 22.38 and an increase in taxes post the assessment by 1.02 per cent.
“While assessments are out of the control of local government, we do have the ability to decrease/increase the mill rate, depending on the needs of the community and annual budget requirements,” clarifies the newsletter.
Wildfires
The village is urging residents to sign up for the Voyent alert system to get notified of any pending or emergency events or activities. They are also asking citizens to consider becoming part of the village’s Emergency Support Service team as with the potential threat of wildfires, the village wants to ensure the Emergency Services are in place.
Waste Water Treatment plant
Last year, the village received a $4,372,900 grant under the Investing in Canada Plan for upgrading its waste water treatment plant. The village was finally able to begin construction on the waste water treatment facility last month. The public works department removed several years worth of tire accumulations to prepare the site and the tires are to be transported to a Tire Stewardship facility in Delta, BC.
Upcoming projects for 2021
The village has several projects planned for this year, including some that were pending from last year. Work on the new sand shed at the PW yard which was delayed from last year, is slated for this year. Ditching work would continue through the community this year, the curling rink facility will receive a number of upgrades from kitchen upgrades to exterior improvements. The village is also waiting on several grants for many other projects such as the fibre optic to homes, fibre project, curling rink exterior improvement project and Monday meal programs.
Priyanka Ketkar
Multimedia journalist
@PriyankaKetkar
priyanka.ketkar@ldnews.net
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