Kimberley City Council held a special Council meeting this past Monday evening to take care of a few items before the Christmas break.
New manager
One piece of business was to introduce the new Manager of Parks, Recreation and Facilities, Dave Clarke to Council.
Clarke said one of his goals was to look at where the City was in terms of all its facilities and to create a master plan for parks and recreation.
Coun. Darryl Oakley said that he thought an inventory analysis was a good idea.
“I really look forward to you communicating to us so we can be aware of infrastructure needs in recreation facilities,” he said.
Coun. Bev Middlebrook asked about staff morale, noting that the previous manager had been very popular with staff, leaving big shoes to fill.
Clarke said he was gong to be visiting all staff. He was not looking to be buddies, he said, but was looking for good relationships and communications.
Coun. Kent Goodwin noted that one of the criticisms the City received as that there were a lot of facilities but not a lot of programming.
Clarke said there was quite a bit of programming out there and sometimes it was a case of people not knowing about it. That was something he’d like to improve, he said.
RMI Funding
There was considerable discussion on allocation of Resort Municipality Funding. There is $85,000 to be allocated for 2015 and it will be distributed as follows:
Winter Peak to Platzl shuttle: $15,000
Community Signage: $25,000
Parking development and revitalization: $30,000
Ski racing infrastructure: $15,000
That was agreed upon but Coun. Nigel Kitto had concerns about funding from the 2014 allocation, which had gone to the Trails Society for a bike skills park. Kitto said it didn’t look like that park was going to happen and he wondered what became of the funds if they weren’t spent before the end of the year.
After some discussion, Council agreed it was likely the funds would have to be re-allocated.