The new council for the Village of Radium Hot Springs met for their first regular meeting on Wednesday, December 10th.

The village’s new mayor, Clara Reinhardt, made introductory remarks expressing her fortune at inheriting such a well-run community, and said that her fellow councillors — Todd Logan, Ron Verboom, Karen Larsen, and newcomer Tyler McCauley — represent a very strong cross-section of the community.

As IS the common practice for mayors, Reinhardt will be her community’s representative at the Regional District of East Kootenay, with Verboom serving as the alternate. Verboom was also named Deputy Mayor. McCauley will be the art liaison; Larsen will be on the library board, and Logan and Verboom will be on the backcountry coalition.

One of the new council’s first decisions was over a recurring issue — sign bylaws. Council gave Horsethief Creek Pub and Tavern permission to replace their backlit sign. After consultation with the business, McCauley agreed that some regulations are inconsistent, allowing maximum font size for lettering, but providing no restrictions on the size of symbols. Until Radium updates its sign bylaw, which it’s in the process of doing, council is considering changes on a case-by-case basis.

“In the meantime, any business can come to us and ask for a variance,” Reinhardt said. “But we want to rewrite the bylaw to be thoughtful.”

A strategic plan was formed at the beginning of the last council’s term three years ago. Council scheduled a meeting for next month to evaluate the progress.

“It’s an opportunity to see what we’ve done, what we need to do, and where we want to be in two years,” Reinhardt said, adding that the village is on track to achieve the goals set three years ago.

Because of holiday scheduling, the next regular meeting takes place on Wednesday, January 14th at 7:30 p.m.