City councillors passed a motion last week which will move the city towards becoming a ‘fair trade town’.

The decision will see City Hall switch to using Fair Trade certified goods at meetings and venues.

Council has also committed Revelstoke to promoting the use of Fair Trade goods within the community, as well as encouraging Revelstoke businesses to stock and sell Fair Trade goods.

Farmers’ market to expand

Councillors voted in favour of a request by Revelstoke’s Farm and Craft Market to expand up Mackenzie Avenue to Second Street and possibly beyond.

Initially, councillors were concerned about the impact such an expansion would have on local businesses, especially those located along Mackenzie Avenue.

Yet despite council’s concerns, a representative from the Chamber of Commerce indicated that all of the businesses he spoke to were in favour of the expansion.

The expansion will involve the closure of the intersection at Mackenzie and First, and will require cars travelling along First to detour through a series of alleyways. Several councillors, along with Mayor Raven, expressed concern at this arrangement, but decided it was acceptable for the remainder of the summer and would be reassessed before next season.

Councillor Welock expressed concerns about the rerouting of the city’s buses, and also put forward the of potentially increasing the business fees required of market vendors.

Ultimately, the motion was passed with no opposition.

Parking strategy adopted

Revelstoke city council decided to adopt its proposed parking strategy.

The strategy would place restrictions on parking times along certain downtown streets, but does not involve parking meters.

“We received input from everybody we could think of,” said Councillor Johnston of the plan.

The parking strategy includes plans to ticket and/or tow offending vehicles.

Council also asked city hall to investigate service plates for commercial vehicles needing to park in the restricted areas.

Mackenzie Avenue Report

Mayor David Raven gave a verbal update regarding the progress, as of last Tuesday, on the Mackenzie Avenue upgrade.

“I will give you my version,” said Raven.

“The streets are paved, the lines are painted, the holes are dug for the trees, the city crew are putting in the brackets to hold up the signs ... I suspect that most of the brickwork ... should be completed on, or very near completed, by this evening. There was still one grey brick in there ... the plants are ready to be planted ... the two intersections will be bricked once they have curbing in place, and [the curbing] is being put in place as we speak.”

Kid’s help phone

Council, in a motion moved by Councillor Scarcella and seconded by Councillor Johnston, agreed to donate $500 to Kids Help Phone.

elevator at museum

John McAlpine, great-grandson of Revelstoke’s first doctor Dr. Dugald L. McAlpine, has asked that the City of Revelstoke help fund the construction of an elevator at the Revelstoke Museum and Archives.

According to McAlpine, the second floor of the facility is currently inaccessible to those who struggle with stairs.

“I am 78 years of age, disabled, and on crutches; the stairs to the second floor were a major challenge for me,” wrote McAlpine in a letter to the city.

McAlpine has donated $500 towards the construction of an elevator at the museum and has asked the city to look at making its own financial contribution.

City councillors decided to refer the request to public works for further consideration.