January 12 marked the first Village of Radium Hot Springs regular council meeting of 2011.
The meeting began with the review of Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment zoning bylaws, and also the dangerous dog bylaw, brought up by council last month, which received its second and third reading.
The drafted bylaw, which is Dangerous Dog Bylaw No. 373, would allow council to regulate, prohibit and impose requirements on dogs deemed “dangerous” by the bylaw’s definition for health, safety, and protection of person, property and other animals.
The bylaw describes leashing and muzzling methods, owner and authority responsibilities, dangerous zones or behaviour, and owner penalties in detail to address the needs of the village.
“The issue which is being addressed is the number of potentially dangerous dogs in the village,” said Councillor Clara Reinhardt.
“The intent of the bylaw is to give our staff options for stepping in when these situations present themselves both reactively and as a prevention. We feel this new bylaw will meet this challenge.”
Council is looking to adopt the bylaw by the next meeting.
Council also discussed the 2011 budget retreat date and resolution, which is proposed to be on March 14, outside the village.
A Water Smart Implementation Conference will also be held on March 8 to 9, and a resolution was passed for council to apply for gas tax funding for the planned water capacity upgrades project that council will be undertaking later this year.
OCP consultation dates are in the works for the village as well. Reinhardt had this to say about the past and upcoming surveys:
“The survey helped to identify trends in what the people of Radium are thinking. We will use this information to direct the conversations at the meetings towards the specifics of what needs to be addressed, changed and/or added to the new OCP. We are still on track to have the first draft of the OCP ready for public review in late spring and the new bylaw enacted in September.”
Winterfest’s development was also a topic at the meeting.
A paid co-ordinator has been hired to keep the process on track.
This year’s Winterfest on February 19 will have a family funspiel on two sheets of ice at Legends Field, which will be shorter than regulation sheets, but will encourage curlers of all levels to participate.
There will be four end games, and each team is guaranteed two games in the four hours of play.
Turnkey Resorts has donated two one-week vacations at any luxury condo in their Interval network.
One of these vacations can be won at the after-curling “Draw to the Button” contest, and the other will be raffled off at the dance.
Children’s crafts and activities will be taking place all afternoon, as will the popular potato-topping contest.
The sliding hill will be back, and hotdogs, hamburgers and hot chocolate will be served. Sleigh rides have yet to be confirmed.
Those looking to register their curling teams can email Clara at regclara@shaw.ca. It is $20 to register a team for the event at Winterfest this year.