Bow Island Council considers surveillance policy, skate-a-thon

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Ryan Dahlman

By Anna Smith
Commentator/Courier

Moved up from their usual Monday due to the day in lieu, November 14 marked the first of Bow Island’s two monthly Town Council meetings.

The meeting opened with a brief delegation from John Heibert of Jade Homes and Heibert cabinets, inquiring into the possibility of an exception to be made in the fire services and protection bylaw for hosting a summer event for his business, to allow the inclusion of a fire ring. Current fire protection bylaws do not allow for fires on commercial properties. 

The bylaw will be reviewed to see what can be done; it was remarked by council that there have previously been fires allowed on other properties, such as for Town events.

There was a lengthy discussion on the possibility of a new surveillance policy, in order to combat instances of vandalism. The policy had been drafted at the direction of Council, to create something to use as a guideline when handling footage, but concerns were raised by Councillor Kim Mitchell about the effectiveness of the policy.

It was expressed by Mitchell that the policy is “playing it safe,” and that she did not feel that it would enable the Town to take meaningful action against instances of theft, vandalism, or nuisance in its current form. No motion was passed, and more information will be gathered before proceeding, including reaching out to other municipalities to compare policies.

Council has waived the rental fee for the arena for the Island Vitality Group’s annual Skate-a-Thon, which will take place at the Servus Arena on December 30.

Chelsea Geldreich and Char Brocklesby were appointed to the Bow Island Municipal Library Board for the coming year, with the term to expire at the end of 2025.