Council supports

Mt. Milligan Mine Project

Council has sent letters to Fisheries and Oceans Canada in support of the Mt. Milligan Mine Project. Council will make the letters public for submission.

Healthy Food And

Beverage Sales Policy

Deputy Treasurer Brenda Lukeniuk made a presentation to Council.

The District of Fort St. James is committed to encouraging citizens to make healthy food and beverage choices in municipal facilities.

She was looking for support in making the Fort Forum a Healthy Choice Facility. Recreation facilities are a key community setting and it can influence eating behavior. If the choices people have in eating healthy is limited, people can’t make healthy choices.

A minimum of 25 per cent healthy choices will be made available.

Mayor Sandra Harwood said that 25 per cent was not enough, and that she thought 50 per cent would be more appropriate.

Purchase and tender policy

The auditor from RHN Schmitz deGrace had a concern with the annual audit which was prepared. The concern had to do with the existing purchasing policy. A new and improved purchasing policy has been prepared based on their recommendations. The policy adds sections on inventory and capital projects, and it overhauls the old policies sections on purchase orders and tenders.

2008 annual report

The annual report is presented at a public meeting prior to June 30 each year. The report contains a number of required statements and reporting on municipal goals and objectives for 2008, 2009, 2010.

The report is presented to council and then it is made available for public review for at least 14 days before it is considered, along with any input from the public, at a meeting.

Nak’azdli Youth

Fun @ the Beach Day

The Nak’azdli youth Committee is planning to hold a Fun @ the Beach Day down at Cottonwood Park on July 11. There will be educational booths, and there will be games for the whole family.

The Nak’azdli Youth Committee is expecting about 250 to 300 people to attend. The youth committee asked council to support the youth in their efforts in bringing education and fun to the Fort St. James area.

The Nak’azdli Youth Committee requested support in the amount of $500. Council said that while they are not prepared to do it in cash, they will instead do it in kind by having staff open the bathrooms and provide extra garbage cans.

Bioenergy meeting

Council held a bioenegy meeting with First Nations last Friday. The meeting was about bioenergy and the possibility of exercising our rights for the amount of wood that is being offered for 20 years. We agreed we don’t want it to go anywhere else and that it will be used by the people here. The suggestion came that council sign the memorandum of understanding with the First Nations and the District that we will pursue the investigation of that $1 million cubic of wood.

The First Nations involved were Takla Lake, Tache and Nak’azdli. The group attends to keep the right to our wood cooperatively. The First Nations are receiving so many promises from outside our community and inquiries and to their credit they would rather keep it here and have the ability to use it.

Fort St. James Youth Soccer

Brian Ray, Youth Soccer President, thanked the Council for building a new shed to store their equipment. He thanked Council, but he also asked if Youth Soccer can still use shelving in the old soccer shed. Council said there was no problem with that.

Spirit Square

The grand opening for Spirit Squire is the August long weekend. Council will allow some overtime assistance in setting up the grand opening and taking things down after the event.