As has been the case in recent weeks, today is Wanted Wednesday, and well we can guarantee today's photo of the Wanted is destined to be a much viewed feature for the local detachment.
From the Prince Rupert RCMP Facebook page, comes an introduction to the newest recruit for the 6th Avenue West Detachment, Canine, er Constable?? Pebbles, who will soon be the most in demand member there is.
We imagine at some point we're going to hear word of a partner for the beat, and well, the early money would seem to be on Bam Bam to be added to crime fighting on the North Coast.
RCMP members ratified their first contract over the summer with the Federal government, with some improved pay coming their way for 2022; it's not known what volume of kibble will need to be put aside by the City of Prince Rupert for the newest member in Prince Rupert.
More notes on the work of emergency responders on the North Coast can be reviewed from our archive page here.
A new Soundboard will bring the beautiful noise of the Lester Centre on into the future, after another Arts investment by the Prince Rupert Port Authority (Image from the PRPA website)
The Prince Rupert Port Authority has heard the call for better sound for the community's premier entertainment facility, announcing today of another investment from their Community Investment Fund, this one now in place at the Lester Centre of the Arts.
In an information release today it was revealed that a new world-class sound system has been installed at the Lester Centre of the Arts in Prince Rupert, opening a new range of artistic possibilities for the many performances and community events that take place at the facility.
The extensive upgrade was made possible through a partnership between the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s (PRPA) Community Investment Fund and Prince Rupert Performing Arts Society (PRPACS) it makes for just the latest in a series of projects that has revitalized the creative heart of the city.
As the Port notes outline, the new digital sound system replaces the original equipment that was installed when the Lester Centre of the Arts first opened in 1987.
All the components have been updated and replaced, including the speakers, amplifiers, microphones, and digital mixing console.
A local electrical contractor has also upgraded the electrical infrastructure in the theatre, adding five new power supplies.
The total cost for the project was $206,000, with PRPA covering half of the expenses.
“Our organization is committed to investing in resources that augment the quality of life in Northwest BC. The Lester Centre of the Arts is a facility that is enjoyed by thousands of people annually and has played a central role in the community for cultivating a strong arts culture through the years, enhancing performing arts programs and enriching the lives of music, dance and theatre audiences for years to come,” -- Shaun Stevenson, President and CEO, Prince Rupert Port Authority.
The Lester Centre of the Arts has long been the destination for arts devotees in the community and is the feature location for many of the community's musical and theatrical performances both from the largest talent pool found on the North Coast and location often marvelled at by those who travel to the city to perform.
Image From PRPA Website
Towards today's announcement by the Port, John Roper, the General Manager, Lester Centre of the Arts. noted of the path ahead that the new system will provide for the community.
"We are thrilled to have the support of the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s Community Investment Fund to ensure that the Lester Centre of the Arts remains on the cutting edge of technology for the benefit of the community for generations to com. This new sound equipment greatly improves how a show is produced, presented and received and has opened up a whole new world of creativity for all to enjoy for many years to come.”
The following video from the Port provides a further look into the new system that has been put in place.
With a large volume of positions to fill across Northern British Columbia, Northern Health is expanding on the tools of recruitment, making use of a newly created Facebook Page to explore all themes related employment with the Health Authority.
Launched in Late November, the online portal provides both stories on health practitioners and their work in the health authority, along with snapshots of employment opportunities available from the Northwest to Northeast and all points in between.
The introduction to the Facebook page, provides a snapshot of what it's about and what Northern Health hopes to achieve with it.
Welcome to the new Northern Health Careers Facebook page!
This page is a dedicated space for Northern Health career opportunities including job postings, connecting with recruiters, and information about Northern Health as an employer and the region/facilities we work in!
Please be sure to LIKE this page to stay updated and SHARE to those who might have an interest in becoming part of the Northern Health team!
As we outlined in early November, the North Coast is among the areas where recruiting is a challenge, with Health officials from the Health Authority appearing as part of a Council session last month to outline their plan to recruit and retain health professionals in the Prince Rupert region.
While Terrace makes for much of volume of listings for the call for employees, the Prince Rupert area has over 80 positions currently listed on the career listings page.
CityWork crews clearing an area around the Nisga'a Hall during last week's large snowfall period, somewhat surprisingly the weather event did not make for conversation at this week's City Council farewell to 2021
While it may be the topic of the day at the coffee shop, hockey rink or among neighbours shovelling out their driveways over the last week, if you were watching Prince Rupert City Council's final public session of the year on Monday, you might think that when it comes to snow and snow removal...
It's a case of there's nothing to see here, move along, move along (if you can).
While the subject of snow and its removal around the city has made for some lively conversation around the community and on the city's own social media feed, at the Monday night Council session, the only indication of the recent week of winter weather came from an anecdote from Councillor Nick Adey, who recounted a recent the drive between Terrace and Prince Rupert and a mention from Councillor Blair Mirau of the timely moment to be purchasing a snow plow as part of the Capital spending program.
Other than that it was No Go on Snow for the Mayor and five of six council members in attendance at the Monday session, with no mention of the volume of solid precipitation that has fallen and sent both City crews and citizens to their shovels.
There was some praise Monday from the councillors for the hard working staff from the city who head out into the elements to do the best they can on the situation and they should be saluted for their work.
Though one might think that there should have been some time put aside to review the approach the city has taken on snow removal as well.
To show some indication that they were on top of the situation, Council could have used some of their time on Monday to review the Snow Plan in place for the community; offering up some notes on the budget for Snow removal and perhaps even addressing some of the very justifaible concerns that residents have made public to date over the work so far.
Perhaps an update will come in January with their first council session of the year, though one imagines that the Council members are hoping for a thaw and return to more familiar weather patterns of rain to wash it all away.
Something which would make for an escape from scrutiny on the Snow Plan for 2021 and how it had been rolled out during the storms of last week or any that may come before the gather next on January 10th.
Tis the season for festive gatherings, though with some COVID measures in mind and among the opportunities this week for some Holiday Cheer is a session with North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who is hosting a Hot Chocolate encounter this Friday, December 17th from 4 to 6PM.
The opportunity to chat and sip a Hot Chocolate takes place Outside of the MLA's offices in the Ocean Centre Mall adjacent to the Bank of Montreal.
As part of the two hour holiday event, Ms. Rice notes that Public Health guidelines will be in place and physical distancing will be the focus along with the Hot Chocolate.
Plans for eventual replacement of the Prince Rupert Fire Hal was among some of the Capital Spending items reviewed on Monday By Prince Rupert City Council
The city's Police and Fire Departments got some attention as part of this weeks approvals for Capital Spending, with Council approving of some spending plans for the Prince Rupert Fire/Department while also observing on the ongoing work towards the new RCMP detachment for the community.
The new RCMP detachment, which is planned for property adjacent to the Court House at Third East and McBride did not make for any conversation from the Council membership, and for the most part its status was that of an information piece as part of the Capital Spending review towards the 30 million dollar capital project, with few other details on the planning revealed.
When plan move forward, the funding for the New Detachment will come by way of Municipal borrowing.
The Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue service will also see some momentum towards a new structure begin in 2022, with Council approving the Capital budget item towards design of a new Fire Hall, though few details related to a location or timeline towards a build was made note of from the Monday afternoon session.
Council also approved a new Reserve Pumper for the PRFD, as well as for the purchase of a Drying Cabinet and Modifications for the Department's Engine Five.
None of the Capital Requests resulted in any questions or inquires of the Fire Chief, or made for much in the way of discussion for Council members of City Staff as part of the review on the day.
The funding for the items for the PRFD will come by way of Surplus funds, grants, or short term financing through the Municipal Financing Authority.
Monday's Capital Spending Presentation opportunity delivered perhaps the most complete update yet on just how the much anticipated Woodworth Water Dam project has fallen so far behind schedule.
With Richard Pucci, the City's Director of Operations providing the thumbnail sketch of weather woes and other issues that led to the oft changing completion date, now set for the Spring of 2022.
The path towards the much needed replacement dam was launched back in the days of Mayor Jack Mussallem and has made for much of the focus of major projects for the Current Mayor and Council since that time, with the first RFP for a study for replacement issued in July of 2016.
The Big Projects of the Hays 2.0 presentation of 2018
During the Hays 2.0 presentation of the Spring of 2018 Mayor Lee Brain highlighted the water supply issues as key, noting of the design plan to include hydro generation for the Water Dam an element that rarely gets a mention these days as part of the review of the project.
Those early days of enthusiastic release of wide ranging public presentations and videos slowly faded to only occasional mentions over the last six years, however.
The delays of the previous two years at times attributed to COVID issues, the most recent update on the status of the project coming in October, putting the focus on weather as the main contributing factor to the delay, though as Mr. Pucci would note in his presentation, that was not the only factor that contributed to the city's woes on the work.
The Monday review of the Dam project began with the introduction of the topic by the City's Chief Financial Officer, Corinne Bomben, who noted of the plans to use both reserves and dividends towards funding for the five million dollar project.
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That was followed by a question from Councillor Blair Mirau who asked for some clarification on now the funding process worked as well as some further background on the delays.
"Knowing what we now now, with all the kind of hardships we've faced on this project, weather delays, and construction issues and things like that. I'm wondering if we can get a bit more context ... on some of those, I don't know if I want to call them high ticket items, but some of the larger cost overruns just to give a bit of context as to where we're at with that"
The City of Prince Rupert's Director of Operations, Richard Pucci Speaking to Council on Monday afternoon
"The major over runs are really, delays ... so when a storm hits, we have several moths worth of storm management and storm work. So we would have a large storm it would wash out a certain area, we would have to go and rebuild that certain area and then also kind of pick back up. So, we lost several months due to these storms and repairs associated with the storms, not only on the project but on other areas around the site.
The other major factor was some geo-technical issues, so you know we did a very rigorous geo-technical program on the site. But even after that, we found once you drill down there was fissions in the rock and also soft rock area, so we had to over excavate and take out more rock than we thought. And when you take that out you have to replace with also dowels and with concrete. So that obviously was extremely expensive, bringing concrete and other items to this site is very, very expensive. Every little bit of gravel, sand everything was brought over by barge.
So you know, COVID saw a little bit of delay on it, but not as much as say the storms, the rebuild back after storms and also this the geo-technical conditions" -- Director of Operations Richard Pucci
While informative, one thing missing from the quite expansive overview was that there wasn't a detailed review of the cost over runs that Councillor Mirau made mention of, whether as to what they are or what impact that they have had on the budget for the project and how the city will pay for them.
Another missing element from the review was the missed deadlines of the past and why updates weren't provided during that period of time.
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In addition to the Dam update, the Water Treatment Facility and Submarine Design process that will mark the next phase of the City's Water program (estimated at 4 million dollars) also gained some attention, once again with Councillor Mirau making inquiries towards it.
"I'm just wondering, what would help me conceptualize why this particular item is relatively high, without actually building anything. Can you give a little more context on the kind of scope of work and how much of that cost is related to federal requirements, versus how much is actual detailed design work.
The Director of Operations provided the thumbnail sketch for Council as to the thinking behind the four million dollar tab for the design process.
"I think that four million is a bit generous for just the engineering and design, but it definitely will be in the millions. We put a four million dollar number there, because if we're able to get into any sort of ground prep, or anything else, then we would like to have that money available and not have to come back to Council for a variance, or an amendment.
But these are three essentially, separate, multi million dollar projects.
You know we have the upgrades that have to happen on the mainland side which is where our water system is. Upgrades on our side which is the island side, we have a submarine line that has to be fully designed and then we look at design for a very sophisticated water treatment plant for our certain, very specific water.
We also have to do what is called value engineering, that is a must with the province and at that table well have provincial delegates, and we'll have Northern Health delegates and we'll have city representatives on that panel. So that is another expense as well.
You know, we're looking at a you know 28-29 million dollar build, so you know, fifteen to twenty percent in design and engineering is not uncommon in that number"
Mr. Pucci's presentation on the Dam, as well as some of the other large scale infrastructure coming following it can be reviewed from the City's Video Archive starting at the 27 minute mark.
At the end of the Regular Council Session, Councillor Barry Cunningham led the salutes of the council membership towards city Staff for their work on the presentation process.
"I'd like to thank the staff that came today, as well as the staff that prepared this report, it was quite in depth and I think they should be recognized for what they've accomplished"
"It was very well explained, I think it was well done. Each department got to say what they wanted to and what we need, and it's not very often that we have the expertise of our staff in a meeting to explain different things, especially in front of council or in a forum in front of the residents" -- Councillor Barry Cunningham
And they were quite right to do so, for the session was very informative and a welcome addition to the City Council process of information sharing.
It makes for something that they should incorporate into their regular public sessions of 2022, providing for frequent and comprehensive reviews of the ongoing major projects that have been taken on.
Should they follow up on the success of the Monday Presentation session, hopefully more of the Council members come prepared with questions and follow up on some of the information they hear during the sessions, in order to provide as wide an overview of the major projects that the city takes on.
