The Village of Valemount held their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 22 at the Village Office. Present were Mayor Jeannette Townsend, councillors Rita Tchir, Cynthia Piper, Joshua Estabrooks, Nathalie Olson, administrator Doug Fleming and deputy Sandy Salt.

Audit

Colleen Ballantyne, an auditor for KPMG, presented the village’s 2006 financial statements. She said that the village’s audit was clean.

Annual Report

Fleming gave a brief overview of the 2007 Annual Report. He said that the village would provide an opportunity for public input at an advertised meeting. People who wish to pick up a copy can get it at the office or find it on their website.

Parade

Townsend agreed to ride in the parade at a request from the Valemountain Days Committee. She said that once a year she has the opportunity to ride in a car, which is older than she is.

Caribou Information

Townsend volunteered herself and Tchir to attend a Caribou Information Meeting the following day in Blue River.

Water bottling response

Irvin Leroux and Jill Moore wrote a letter to council regarding their rezoning application to allow a water bottling plant near Valemount protesting the council’s decision to reflect the public opposition within the community to the plant.

“The belief that there is no regulation around ground water extraction is wrong,” reads the letter. “The current international public relations Climate Change campaign is causing a measure of extreme environmental emotionalism and this is effect is clearly reaching some folks (including some council members) in Valemount.”

Included with their letter were regulations which require an environmental assessment when ground water extraction when volumes exceed 75 litres per second [which means the regulations do not apply to the proponents].

The letter argues that the real fear is around bulk water exports, which are currently banned.

“We want to go on the record in response to council’s comments reflecting ‘opposition of Valemount and Area residents’ to our project.”

Townsend said that the time for the proponents to defend the project was at the public meeting, when everyone was gathered.

Development Permit

Council discussed a proposed design for the Fields Store. Council suggested various ways that the design on the building could be improved and were generally dissatisfied with the proposed look of the building with a long false peaked red roof and grey front.

“I think there could be just a little bit higher of a peak,” said Townsend.

Fleming asked council if they wanted to give an approval in principle so he could frame up the development permit for formal approval at the next meeting.

“He has started the project. There are some things that a property owner can do before they get a development permit. They can service the site for water and sewer, electricity and telephone and under an engineer’s direction, they can design the foundation and build it,” he said.

“We will have to turn this around very quickly because soon he will want to pour the concrete and rise out of the ground.”

Councillor Estabrooks asked about an interim solution for parking.

Council moved that the proponent raise the false peak of the building slightly and have more natural colour on the exterior.