City Council Cliff Notes - July 28, 2025 - Salmon Arm

Let’s be honest — most people aren’t spending their free time digging through Salmon Arm City Council minutes. The city’s website isn’t exactly a beacon of navigability, and the meetings hardly binge-worthy content. That’s where this comes in.

What you’ll find below is a plain-English summary of what actually happened at the latest council meeting — who said what, what got approved, and what got kicked down the road. It’s not thrilling, it’s not funny, and we don’t send it out to our subscribers because we respect your inbox. But it’s here if you want it — a way to stay informed without needing to decipher incorrectly uploaded PDF agendas or scrub through 3-hour videos.

Consider it your shortcut to civic literacy. Boring, yes — but useful. Actually, just boring.

Disclaimer: This summary is provided for informational purposes only and may (probably) contain errors or omissions. While we do our best to capture what happened, it is not an official record and should not be relied upon as a complete or fully accurate account of the meeting. For the official minutes and decisions, please refer to the City of Salmon Arm’s website. Also, it's seriously so boring so read at your own risk.

Video available here if you REALLY wanna watch the full thing:

TLDR:

• Beetle Infestation Prompts Major Logging Plan: Canoe Forest Products detailed its plan to salvage-log over 100 hectares in and around the East Canoe Creek watershed to combat a severe Douglas-fir beetle infestation and reduce wildfire risk. Council deferred a decision on granting the company access to a required city road pending a full council meeting.
• New Animal Control Bylaws Advance: A comprehensive new Animal Control Bylaw, along with its associated fee and ticketing bylaws, was given first reading. The updated regulatory package will now undergo consultation with the Agriculture and Environmental advisory committees before returning for further readings.
• City Approves $50k Financial System Overhaul: Council approved hiring a consultant to modernize the City’s 20-year-old general ledger system. The project aims to improve reporting efficiency, clean up legacy data, and enable future technology integrations like asset management.
• Wastewater Plant Upgrade Continues: Council approved additional sole-sourced consulting work for the Liquid Waste Management Plan update, a key component of the multi-million dollar wastewater treatment plant upgrade, ensuring the public and First Nations engagement process moves forward with the design team.
• Community Tributes and Concerns Addressed: Council approved requests for memorial plaques at the Little Mountain Fieldhouse and Raven Park, while referring a detailed public letter regarding downtown parking challenges to the newly formed Select Parking Committee for formal review.

Full Meeting Summary

Attendees:

• Deputy Mayor: Kevin Flynn
• In Chambers: Deputy Mayor Kevin Flynn, Councillor Louise Wallace Richmond, Councillor Debbie Cannon
• Virtual: Councillor Sylvia Lindgren, Councillor Tim Lavery
• Absent: Mayor Alan Harrison, Councillor David Gonella
• Staff: CEO, Director of Engineering and Public Works Jennifer Wilson, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Planning and Community Services Gary Buxton, Deputy Corporate Officer, Manager of Roads and Parks Chris Juro, various other staff members.
• Proponents/Delegates: Ray Mills (Canoe Forest Products).

Meeting Summary:

1. Call to Order & Procedural Business

• [00:08] Deputy Mayor Kevin Flynn called the meeting to order and provided a land acknowledgement.
• [01:26] Agenda Adoption: The agenda was adopted with the removal of Item 9.4 (Purchase of Sewer Inspection Camera). Motion passed unanimously.
• [02:04] Disclosure of Interest: None.

2. Committee Reports & CSRD Update

• [02:28] Development & Planning Services Committee Minutes (July 21): The minutes were received for information.
• [03:58] CSRD Update: The CSRD Connect summary was received; no further updates were provided.

3. Presentations

• 7.1 Canoe Forest Products – Douglas-fir Beetle Salvage Harvesting [04:29]
  • Presenter: Ray Mills, Planning Forester for Canoe Forest Products.
  • Proposal: To conduct salvage harvesting of approximately 108 hectares within the East Canoe Creek community watershed, plus additional blocks on the slope above Canoe, to control a significant Douglas-fir beetle infestation.
  • Rationale: The harvest is presented as a forest health and wildfire risk reduction measure to remove dead and dying fuel. Mr. Mills noted the beetle outbreak is extensive across the region, driven by drought-stressed trees.
  • Plan Details: The plan includes building 3.5 km of new road, winter harvesting to minimize public interaction and control the beetle flight, post-harvest reforestation with a diverse mix of species (including ponderosa pine), and opportunities to grind slash piles for hog fuel instead of burning.
  • City Road Access Request: The project requires reopening and using a section of an old, recontoured logging road on City-owned land off Metford Road to access one of the blocks.
  • Council Discussion: Council discussed reforestation strategies for a drier climate, the improved economics of grinding vs. burning slash, and the broader issue of forest health around Salmon Arm.
  • Outcome: Council decided to defer the decision on granting road access to a future meeting when more members are present.

4. Staff Reports & Bylaws

• [44:01] 9.1 Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP) – Additional Scope of Work: Council approved a budget amendment and the sole-sourcing of additional consultation work for the LWMP update to the project's design engineer, Brown and Caldwell. Passed unanimously.
• [46:36] 9.2 MyBC Datacom Lease Agreement: Council authorized a new 5-year lease agreement for MyBC Datacom to use space on the City-owned Hazard Beacon on Tims Road for their equipment. Passed unanimously.
• [48:30] 9.3 Memorial Plaque for Glenn Hill: Council approved the placement of a public appreciation plaque at the Little Mountain Fieldhouse in memory of Glenn Hill, recognizing his significant contributions to the facility's development. Passed unanimously.
• [51:06] 9.5 Financial System Revamp: Council approved hiring a consultant for $49,920 to overhaul the City’s 20-year-old general ledger system (trial balance) to improve reporting efficiency and prepare for future technology integrations. Passed unanimously.
• [54:27] 9.6 Property Tax Collection Status: The CFO presented an informational report showing a 92.6% collection rate for 2025 property taxes, a rate consistent with previous years.
• [58:14] 11.1, 11.2, 11.3 Animal Control Bylaw Package (First Reading): Council gave first reading to a new Animal Control Bylaw, an associated Fee for Service Amendment Bylaw, and a Municipal Ticket Information Amendment Bylaw. The package will now go to the Environmental and Agriculture Advisory Committees for consultation before returning for further readings. Passed unanimously.
• [60:24] 12.1, 12.2, 12.3 Bylaw Adoptions: Council gave final adoption to three bylaws: Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 4677 (CD Zone for a multi-family development), Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 4675, and Housing Agreement Bylaw No. 4734 (securing long-term rental units). All passed unanimously.

5. Correspondence

• [63:06] Council addressed several items, notably:
  • A request for a memorial bench plaque at Raven Park was approved.
  • A detailed letter regarding downtown parking availability and meter distance was referred to the new Select Parking Committee for review at its first meeting.
  • An invitation to a farming municipalities meeting at UBCM was noted for consideration.

6. Council Statements

• [75:15] Councillors gave profound thanks to the organizers, volunteers, and staff for a successful Roots and Blues Festival weekend.

7. Adjournment

• [77:42] The meeting was adjourned.

That’s the meeting — in all its procedural glory. If you made it this far, congrats: you now know more about local government than 99% of your neighbours.

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