Watch City Council meetings live or view recordings at www.campbellriver.ca/webcasts.

The City of Campbell River acknowledges that we are on the territory of the Laich-Kwil-Tach people of the Wei Wai Kum and We Wai Kai First Nations.

DELEGATIONS/PRESENTATIONS
BC Hydro Hydroelectric Operations Update
Stephen Watson, Senior Stakeholder Engagement Advisor for BC Hydro, presented an annual update to Council on the three dam safety upgrade projects at the John Hart, Ladore and Strathcona facilities.

LONG RANGE PLANNING AND SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE
Campbell River's Housing Accelerator Fund Action Plan
(Presented during the Committee of the Whole meeting on May 7, 2024.)
Council received an update on the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund Action Plan schedule, for information. Earlier this year, the City was awarded $10.4 million from the Government of Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund. The City will use this funding to address barriers to development and fast-track an additional 282 housing units in Campbell River. This is part of a broader strategy to grow the local housing supply that looks to permit a total of 1,200 units, over the next three years. To learn more, the City invites residents to attend an open house at the Maritime Heritage Centre (621 Island Highway) on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, from 5 to 7 p.m., or to visit getinvolved.campbellriver.ca/HAF.

User Fees and Charges Amendment Bylaw
Council adopted Solid Waste User Fees and Charges Amendment Bylaw No. 3956, 2024, which includes updates to the fee schedule for garbage and recycling. With the adoption of the bylaw, the annual rate for solid waste services within City boundaries will increase from $245 to $285 in 2024. Effective January 1, 2025, the annual fee will again rise to $315. The cost of garbage tags remains unchanged, at $4 per tag.

Higher solid waste user fees are due to increased contract costs with the City’s waste collection contractor and an increase in tipping fees. Increases to solid waste user fees allow solid waste, including organics, yard waste and recycling, services to be self-funded, moving the cost burden from the general taxpayer to the service user.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES
Airport Operation, Maintenance and Management Amendment Bylaw 
Council adopted Airport Operation, Maintenance and Management Amendment Bylaw No. 3953, 2024. The amendment bylaw includes various updates to administrative and operational tasks and fees for the City of Campbell River Airport (YBL). In a previous report to Council, the bylaw proposed landing fees for piston-powered aircraft, however, this amendment was removed following correspondence received on and discussion around the item.

FINANCE UPDATES
Campbell River Art Gallery's Permissive Exemption Update
Council approved a permissive tax exemption for the Campbell River Art Gallery, which will be funded from the Council Contingency fund. In the fall of 2023, Council elected to remove the Campbell River Art Gallery’s permissive tax exemption to allow time for discussions to take place and solutions to be identified that could enhance communications, improve downtown safety, and help keep the Centennial Building — where the art gallery is located — clean and welcoming for residents and visitors. At the time, Council acknowledged a commitment to working together to find a productive path forward and potentially funding their 2024 property taxes through Council Contingency.

The City’s Permissive Tax Exemption Program assists many local organizations with the ongoing operation of community arts, culture, recreation, social, emergency, and places of public worship, and programs that greatly enhance the quality of life in the community. 

2023 Audited Financial Statements
Council approved the City's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023. The audit was completed by the City’s auditors, MNP.

Tax Rates Bylaw No. 3954, 2024
Council adopted Tax Rates Bylaw No. 3954, 2024. Now that the Financial Plan Bylaw has been adopted, the City is required under Section 197 of the Community Charter to adopt a Tax Rates Bylaw before May 15, 2024. The Tax Rates Bylaw enacts the tax increase that was approved to support the City’s 2024-2033 Financial Plan. The 2024 tax increase supports the base operating budget, investment in capital infrastructure as well as incremental enhancements to the services the City provides to its residents.

The City’s Property Taxation Policy requires the City to review its tax rates by property class on a three-year basis. Staff will complete a review in advance of financial planning 2025 to ensure that tax rates are reasonable given assessed values in Campbell River and comparable to other communities. Findings will be provided to Council in the fall of 2024.

LEGISLATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT UPDATE
Road Closure and Dedication Removal Bylaw 
Council adopted Road Closure and Dedication Removal Bylaw No. 3952, 2024, for the closure and dedication removal of a roadway adjacent to 1890 19th Avenue. The bylaw responds to a request from the Campbellton Neighbourhood Association to accommodate their River Route Parks and Trail Completion Project. A statutory right of way will be required for BC Hydro to protect existing infrastructure within this portion of roadway, and an easement will be needed for the adjacent property owner at 1900 19th Avenue to ensure driveway access to their project. Costs associated with the easement will be included in the Campbellton Neighbourhood Association’s project budget.

CITY ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT UPDATE 
40th Anniversary of the Twinning of Campbell River and Ishikari
Council resolved that Mayor Kermit Dahl and up to three council members and three City staff will participate in a delegation to Ishikari, in Hokkaido, Japan, in October 2024. Representatives from the We Wai Kai Nation and the Wei Wai Kum First Nation and School District 72 will also be invited to attend.

Campbell River has been twinned with Ishikari since 1983 and is celebrating the 40th anniversary with the sister city. Close bonds of friendship have been built and nourished through cultural and student exchanges. In 2008, Ishikari gifted 25 cherry trees to Campbell River, which many people enjoy today, particularly when in full bloom. An updated twinning agreement was signed in 2023 when eight dignitaries from the City of Ishikari were welcomed to Campbell River, and the City looks forward to building on the relationship when a delegation from the City heads to Japan. Costs associated with the delegation will be funded through the Ishikari Twinning Reserve Fund.

CORRESPONDENCE
Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship Request for Letter of Support
(Received during the Committee of the Whole meeting on May 7, 2024.)
Council received correspondence from Katie Maximick, Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship, requesting a letter of support regarding the re-issuance of salmon aquaculture licences in First Nations' territories. Council directed staff to send a letter of support to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

HIGHLIGHTS of MAY 9 2024 COUNCIL MEETING - NEWS RELEASE