Chamber News

The Chamber Welcomes New Members in March

By Karen Brown

The South Shuswap Chamber of Commerce continued to see growth to its membership last month. New to the Chamber this month are Blind Bay Citizens Patrol, The Natural Choice Garden Supplies, Kingskey Construction and Celista Estate Winery. Welcome to all!

Sign Up Now for SuperHost Courses

The South Shuswap Chamber will be hosting multiple dates for SuperHost training to prepare local businesses for our summer visitors. Due to monies received through recent grants, these courses will be offered for 75% off their normal pricing. Dates are available in April and May to prepare for the summer of 2021. Check the Chamber website for more information: SuperHost (southshuswapchamber.com)

• Foundations of Service Quality

teaches frontline staff and team members how to elevate customer service to the customer experience. The ultimate goal is to ensure your customers are given a superb experience at your place of business so that they will not only return but will recommend you to many when they return home. Recognizing opportunities to provide that customer experience, learning the value of Net Promoter Scores, Conflict Resolution, and more are covered in this day-and-a-half course. This highly engaging and interactive course is normally $80 being offered for $20 per participant. For April and May training dates visit: SuperHost (southshuswapchamber.com)

• Destination Ambassadorship

teaches frontline staff and team members about all the experiences that are in their area. The goal here is to learn how to identify what a visitor’s interests are and to point them in the right direction depending on their travel type. You will explore the Explorer Quotient – a quiz that defines what kind of traveller you are. You will also discover the top four types of travellers who come to the Shuswap and

www.shuswapscoop.ca

what they are looking for. This highly engaging and interactive halfday course is normally $60, being offered for $20 per participant. Visit: SuperHost (southshuswapchamber.com)

All Call for

Committee Members

This year is looking to be a busy one for the South Shuswap Chamber. To that end, there are several committees that could certainly use the help by its members. If you are interest ed in joining one of the following committees, please send an email to Executive Director Karen Brown at manager@southshuswapchamber.com •Advocacy •Economic Development •Education & Workshops •Membership & Benefits •Networking & Events •Tourism & Visitor Services

By Jo Anne Malpass

A contract for Evacuation Route Planning services was awarded to Red Dragon Consulting at the Columbia Shuswap Regional District board meeting March 18.

The sole source contract agreement is not to exceed $24,380 plus applicable taxes. Derek Sutherland, Team Leader, CSRD Protective Services report to the board says the CSRD received $24,380 in grant funding from the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund in February 2021 to provide evacuation route planning activities to the Shuswap Emergency Program’s electoral areas. The grant includes provisions to compile community specific information needed to adequately coordinate an evacuation.

The project will focus in on high-risk areas of the Shuswap, including Eagle Bay, Blind Bay, Sorrento and Sunnybrae, and create specific route plans for those communities. The work will develop “toolkits” of information that will be used by the emergency operations centre to develop a tailored plan for evacuating the community during a hazard event. By doing this work in advance of an emergency, the emergency responders will only need to integrate the specifics of the hazard event with the pre-determined information to come up with an effective strategy for evacuation.

Area C Director Paul Demenok asked about the highrisk areas and what evacuation options will be considered. Darcy Mooney, head of CSRD operations said a preliminary report was done in 2019 and this takes a deeper dive into that report and focuses on high-risk areas, considering land, air and water evacuation routes and muster stations. During the process, there will be consultation with community leaders, Neighbourhood Emergency Program leaders and fire departments but input from the general community won’t be sought.

Sutherland explained that because of limited funding, the planning will focus on 10 communities in CSRD rural areas that would most benefit. It’s an all-hazards plan, considering any disaster event that would create the need for an evacuation, including fire, flood and train derailment. It will look at specifics of each community and what local resources are available if any events happen.

In other business at the board meeting:

White Lake Fire Department was named CSRD fire department of the year. Chief Bryan Griffin & Deputy Chief Lynn Mazur attended by zoom to receive congratulations.

Appointment of Tappen Sunnybrae Fire Chief - Deputy Chief Marc Zaichkowsky has been named Fire Chief of the Tappen Sunnybrae Fire Department after Chief Ryan Gray stepped away from the role for personal reasons.

Chief Zaichkowsky has been a member of the Fire Department for 12 years, holding positions as firefighter, captain, training officer, and deputy chief. He has achieved the highest training level available to CSRD firefighters as a fully qualified Company Fire Officer and has been part of the leadership team that developed Tappen Sunnybrae Fire Department as the most highly trained fire department within the CSRD. He is also a team leader on the structure protection unit and has been actively engaged with the Shuswap

Emergency Program, providing site leadership during activations.

Nutrition Program – The Board will be sending a letter to the Honourable Adrian Dix, BC Minister of Health thanking him for his support in 2020 for the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program and asking him to support it again in 2021. Working through health services and food banks, coupons were provided to lower income people to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese, eggs, nuts, fish, meat and herbs direct from farmers at local farmers’ markets.

FireSmart Coordinator Sole

Source Contract Award – The Board entered into an agreement with 1477556 Alberta Ltd. for the provision of FireSmart coordination services for all Electoral Areas for a 12-month term commencing April 1, 2021 and expiring on March 31, 2022, for a total cost not to exceed $85,000 plus applicable taxes and in accordance with the terms of the grant received from the Union of BC Municipalities through the Community Resiliency Investment Program. 2021. Len Youden is the lead consultant of 147556 Alberta Ltd. and has been providing the service to CSRD over the past two years.

Staffing Increases – The board approved the addition of a full-time Plan Checker position for development services building department and a full-time human resource coordinator position.

Mattress and Car Seat Recycling

Program Contract Awards - The Board entered into an agreement with Shuswap Enviro Solutions for the provision of mattress recycling and hauling services at $30 per unit for Falkland, $25 per unit for Salmon Arm, $30 per unit for Scotch Creek, $26 per unit for Sicamous, $27.50 per unit for Skimikin and $30 per unit as a back up for Revelstoke; and for car seat recycling and hauling services at $8 per unit, plus applicable taxes, over a three-year term effective April 1, 2021, with an optional two-year extension. The Board also entered into agreements with three other recycling hauling companies to serve areas within the CSRD.

Ben Van Nostrand, Team Leader, Community Services, reported that since 2014, over 35,000 mattresses have been collected and recycled from CSRD refuse disposal sites. In 2019, the CSRD was approached by a recycling firm, Shuswap Enviro Solutions (SES) from Lumby to provide the CSRD with an alternative mattress recycling service. The CSRD has conducted a trial with SES during 2020,

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(continued from pg 9) inspected their processing facility, and are confident that they can provide the mattress recycling services required at a significant cost savings and a reduction in overall carbon emissions from the current methods. SES collects mattresses from the landfills and transfer stations in the Shuswap and processes them at their facility in Lumby. The CSRD continues to haul mattresses collected at the Golden Refuse Disposal Site to the facility in Calgary and Revelstoke mattresses are hauled to Hope.

Search and Rescue Grant-in-Aid Amendment

Bylaw – The Board approved an amendment to increase the maximum annual tax requisition by 25% for the Search and Rescue contribution of financial aid service in Electoral Areas C, D, E, F, District of Sicamous and the City of Salmon Arm. The CSRD has been providing annual financial contributions to the Shuswap Lifeboat Society which operates the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue RMCSAR) program since 2016. The additional funding will go towards a permanent on-water facility which would be used as their base of operations.

Grant in Aid Area C - 1,950 Blind Bay Community Society (operating funds), $2,000 Sorrento Memorial Hall (operating funds), $2,000 Sunnybrae Seniors Society (operating funds) and $16,940 White Lake Residents Association (lake stewardship plan).

April 2021 Kicking Horse Closures for

Shuswap Travelers

By Barbra Fairclough

The Kicking Horse Canyon highway project has published notices for spring extended highway closures. The closures apply to only the 4.8 kilometer construction zone of the project itself. The project will realign and widen the highway from West Portal to Yoho Bridge. The estimated cost of the construction is $601 million. Planned completion is winter 2023-24.

Beginning April 12, 24 hour extended highway closures begin and continue until June 1. Except for May 15,16 and May 22, 23, 24, Highway 1 will be closed 24 hours daily.

Over the course of the project, there will be a maximum of 30 weeks of extended-day closures, confined to the lowest traffic shoulder seasons. During the last two weeks of May and the last two weeks of September (entering and exiting summer season) the extended closures will be allowed only on weekdays. There will be two daily windows for school buses and local commuter traffic.

The Trans-Canada Highway from Castle Junction to Lake Louise, Field and Beaverfoot will be open even during extended closures.

During summer, as a rule of thumb, daytime through the Canyon will remain fully open and free of interruptions other than momentary traffic control for turning vehicles. Overnight, interruptions may range from 20 minute stoppages to 8 hour closures. The closures will require significant notice.

To make this closure easier for visitors, Shuswap Tourism and the cities of Revelstoke and Golden have partnered to produce “Getintobc.com”. This website is a “go to” for current highway information and it also includes local information for visitors.

The information on this website is “live” and will provide current information for those travelling to and from Alberta through the Kicking Horse Canyon. It is mobile friendly and easy to use by travelers who want to “know before you go.”

During all closures, travelers have the option of taking the alternative route using Hwy 93 and 95 via Radium.

Sign up for advance construction/Traffic notifications automatically on the newsletter page at www.kickinghorsecanyon.ca/construction/ traffic-management/#notices. Drive BC will also have the most current information.