Rosemont skatepark, Japan relief money, age-friendly community, innovative regional hospice care, and more: a summary of the City of Nelson’s December 17 Committee of the Whole meeting
By Bill Metcalfe
Once each month Nelson City Council holds a Committee of the Whole meeting in which community organizations, individuals, and the City’s own staff may make presentations. The following is a summary of presentations made to the December 17 Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Rosemont Skatepark Gets the Go-Ahead
City Manager Kevin Cormack and Kootenay Lake Outdoor Skatepark Society representative Chad Hansen appeared before Council to present preliminary drawings and plans for a skatepark in Art Gibbon Park in Rosemont. They discussed the pros and cons of the location.
At a regular council meeting immediately following the Committee of the Whole meeting, Council approved the plan and location in principle, pending a public hearing to be held in Rosemont early in the new year, with a view to having a functioning skatepark in the fall of 2013.
A full story on this discussion at council will appear in The Nelson Daily on December 21. For a previous Nelson Daily story on developments leading to this decision, click here.
Money for Japan Relief Released
Wendy LaCroix, the head of the committee that collected money in Nelson in the spring of 2011 to provide relief to Onagawa, Japan, after the earthquake and tsunami, appeared before Council and asked that the approximately $40,000 held in a city bank account be released to her group, which intends to send the funds to the City of Onagawa to purchase a flatbed truck.
In a regular council meeting held following the Committee of the Whole meeting, Council approved the release of the money.
For background on this story in The Nelson Daily, click here and here.
Letter of Support for Kalein Hospice Society
Brooke Leatherman appeared on behalf of the Kalein Hospice Society to ask for a letter of support for its fundraising and other development work.
The group intends to create not only a regional hospice care facility at its newly-acquired former monastery in Rosemont, but also a campus-style learning and conference centre for dialogue and education about “living fully at all stages of life, including the end of life.”
He outlined recent activities on the site and connections with other community groups including SelfDesign High, and he explained that the Nelson Hospice Society will be moving into the Kalein site in the new year and will complement, not compete with, Kalein’s work.
In a short regular council meeting after the Committee of the Whole meeting, Council agreed to write a letter of support for the group.
To read an earlier Nelson Daily story about Kalein’s plans for its site in Rosemont, click here.
Age-Friendly Community
The Osprey Community Foundation’s Executive Director Vivien Bowers and board member Dr. Nelson Ames presented information about its 3-year, $270,000 Creating and Age-Friendly Community project, to be carried out by the Nelson Cares Society.
With the increasing awareness that the world’s population, including Nelson’s, is aging and that the proportion of seniors will increase dramatically over the next few decades, the concept of age-friendly community looks at how well a community’s infrastructure, services and attitudes will serve an older population, such that seniors can stay active and connected.
To read a copy of Osprey’s presentation to council about this and about its activities in general, click on the attachment at the end of this article.
Fire Department Update
The Nelson Fire Department Updated Council on its activities over the past year.
A Concern About Water Rates
Barry Taylor, the owner of the Nelson Coin Laundry and Car Wash, appeared before council with comments on the City’s recent increase in water rates and its experiment with metering. He said that as the only business among the four large water users who are metered now and whose rates will go up significantly in 2013, he feels unfairly singled out.
He presented a variety of observations and statistics about water use in Nelson and elsewhere. Council agreed that city staff would meet with Taylor to discuss his concerns.
To read previous stories in The Nelson Daily about water metering and next year’s water rates, click here and here.
