New residence on ALR land approved

Council today approved an application from an area orchardist to build a primary residence on his agricultural land and to turn an existing rental home into accommodation for farm labour.
The 9.3-acre property is in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in the southwest corner of town at Fairview Drive and Panorama Crescent.
According to a report to council from development service director Randy Houle, the proposal is permitted under town zoning and will have minimal effects of the farming on the property.
As well, the location will allow the house to be hooked to the town sewer system, eliminating the need for a septic field.
After the town approval, the proposal will still need to go to the Agricultural Land Commission for approval. The orchard includes apples, cherries and peaches.

Pay for council and senior town staff

The provincial Financial Information Act requires that municipalities make public the remuneration and expenses paid to elected officials and to employees whose pay exceeds $75,000 per year.
According to the report to council today, remuneration and expenses paid to members of council in 2019 are:

Mayor Martin Johansen $38,182
Councillor Aimee Grice $24,471
Councillor Dave Mattes $16,000
Councillor Larry Schwartzenberger $19,300
Council Petra Veintimilla $20,878
Water Councillor Rick Machial $6,086
Water Councillor Parminder Sidhu $6,684

Remuneration and expenses for 2019 for senior staff are:
Chief Administrative Officer Cathy Cowan $154,774
Operations director Shawn Goodsell $106,941
Corporate Officer Diane Vaykovich $98,161
Deputy operations director Darren Bjornson $92,453
Chief financial officer Doug Leahy (partial year) $82,574

 

by Roy Wood