City council turned down suggested tweaks to its snow and ice removal policy at Monday’s public meeting that could have shed as much as $1.275 million off the annual $13.1 million road maintenance budget.
Since the proposal was made pubic late last week several counsellors said they have received calls from concerned residents, especially seniors, who were outraged the city would consider not clearing residential driveways left with snow pile barriers to achieve a cost savings of $225,000.
Count. Trudi Klassen said the cost of that driveway entrance plowing service works out to $3 per person and she considers that money well spent. Count. Garth Frizzell said the city’s median population is aging upwards and seniors should not be tasked with having to open packed piles of snow on their own driveways after the graders have plowed the street.
The city also considered increasing the minimum snowfall thresholds to trigger plowing crews by 2.5 centimetres. The proposal would have raised the 24-hour minimum snow accumulation deployment point to 10 cm from the current 7.5 cm for Priority 1 and 2 roads and from 12 cm to 14.5 cm for Priority 3 roads.
In 2023, which had five snow events, the increased thresholds would have reduced that to three snow events for an estimated cost savings of $240,507. In 2024 so far there have been four snow events and the new thresholds would have reduced that number to two, resulting a $371,495 budget saving. There were four major snow events in 2022 and all four would have exceeded the new threshold, so there would have been no savings that year. From 2022-24, nine of the snow events fell short of the threshold, resulting in a projected three-year savings total of $612,002.
Council also considered reducing snow clearing service on statutory holidays, which require 24-hour operations with crews working three shifts per day. There are four stat holidays during winter. Administrative staff estimates that for each day in which snow and ice control operations are paused for a stat holiday the city would save $211,501. If paused on all four days the cost savings would total $846,004.
Blake McIntosh, the city’s director of civic operations, reported there is about $4 million left in the 2024 snow and ice removal budget.
All-weather field centrepiece of Carrie Jane Gray Park improvement plan
A proposed project to make improvements to sports facilities at Carrie Jane Gray Park was enthusiastically welcomed by city council.
Council unanimously directed city administration to utilize the Carrie Jane Gray Park Renewal preferred concept plan in a phased approach through incremental annual budget funding submission requests, starting in 2025.
The project stems from a May 2023 council meeting in which council directed administration in May 2023 to add a capital project to its future capital plan to find a centralized location for a new synthetic turf field that the city would manage.
Masich Place Stadium is fully-scheduled, according to the report, and construction of another all-weather field, at the urging of the Prince George Kodiaks junior football program, would be well-received by various sports groups whose use of existing natural fields is restricted by the short outdoor season, from May-October.
City parks supervisor Robyn McConkey said the initial phase possibly to be presented for council approval next year is to service the 40-hectare park with roads and parking and the relocation/rebuild of the BMX track that would cost between $1.5 million and $2 million.
“Synthetic turf fields, in today’s dollars can run municipalities $12 million,” said McKonkey.
While the total of the entire project was not revealed, council indicated a revitalized Carrie Jane Gray Park would add to the city’s sport tourism industry and would encourage more local participation in recreational sports.
Councilors suggested the city administration look into organizing a fundraising drive and investigate public-private partnerships to help fund park refurbishments, which include a centrally located washroom/changeroom/storage facility.
Bear awareness advisory committee recommendations raise funding concerns
The city’s advisory committee on bear awareness brought eight recommendations to council to try to reduce the number of black bear human conflicts in the city.
Council members expressed concerns about the cost of implementing all eight recommendations and referred the proposal to the city administration to determine how much each of those recommendations would cost the city.
The committee has recommended that the city hire a dedicated employee focused on sustainable waste management to try and minimize human-bear conflicts. As was so obviously demonstrated a year ago when bear sightings were nightly occurrences in many city neighborhoods after extended drought dried up the berry crop in the forests that surround the city, bears are attracted to fruit trees and garbage bins in residential areas as food sources. By proactively addressing those conflicts, which in 2023 led to 79 black bears euthanized by conservation officers, the committee suggested Prince George would be more likely to achieve provincial Bear Smart status.
The committee also proposed a two-year pilot project utilizing automated bear-resistant solid waste bins in areas that experience high bear activity. If it proves successful that could lead to city-wide implementation, further reducing the risk of bear encounters and promoting safer communities.
“Waste management is the Number 1 bear conflict issue,” said Lisa Cran, a board member for the Northern Bear Awareness Society.
BC Conservation officer Alicia Buchanan told council there have so far been 474 reports to the conservation office on black bear sightings within the city limits in 2024, as compared to 3,725 in the 12 months of 2023. Eight bears have been destroyed by conservation officers, compared to last year’s total of 79.
- Council endorsed the Mental Health and Addictions Accord document developed for local governments, mental health agencies and service organizations across central and northern BC. The document, which outlines shared responsibilities and commitments, is being developed in advance of the Mental Health and Addictions Symposium, Nov. 13 and 14, co-hosted by the city, Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, Lheidli T’enneh and North Central Local Government Association.
- The city received a 46-page report from city administration that lists and describes the front-line agencies and non-governmental organizations that provide outreach programs in the Prince George area. That list can be found online here.
