There could be times when mayor Shane Brienen cannot act in his official capacity and that means council members fill the role as required.
Here is the list of councillors who will step in as the acting mayor when needed,
These are rotating two-month terms for the coming year. First on the list is Tom Euverman followed by Troy Reitsma, Tom Stringfellow, Jonathan Van Barneveld, Rebecca Hougen and ending with Lisa Mueller.
Signing authorities named
Mayor Shane Brienen and all six councillors have been named as signing authorities for the District of Houston for the next year.
Also on the signing authority list are chief administrative officer Michael Dewar, finance director Jennifer Larson and corporate services officer Madelaine Swift.
Councillors assigned to liaison roles
Council members do not just attend council meetings and District functions, they also represent the District on various community bodies.
• Bulkley Valley Airshed Management Society – Primary is Reitsma/ Alternate: Stringfellow
• Houston & District Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors – Primary is Mayor Brienen / Alternate: Mueller
• Houston Public Library Board of Directors – Primary: Hougen / Alternate: Reitsma
• Northern Development Initiative Trust Northwest Regional Advisory Committee – Rotating between Euverman and Mueller
• Harm Reduction Committee – Primary: Stringfellow / Alternate: Euverman
• Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako Board of Directors – Primary: Brienen / Alternate: Mueller
• Dungate Community Forest Limited Partnership – Primary: Hougen / Alternate: Reitsma
Community hall lease finalized
The lease agreed to between the District and the Royal Canadian Army Cadets Corp. #3020 for the use by the cadets of the community hall has been finalized.
The cadets now have access to the hall for 2.5 hours a week between September and May at a cost of $594, plus taxes.
At a discounted rate based on District policy for non-profit groups, the cadets would normally pay $25 an hour or $2,375.
But the District has also agreed to a grant-in-aid of 75 per cent of the hourly rate or $1,781 over the course of a year. That drops the annual cost to the cadets to $594.
Also part of the lease deal is paying $1 a year to use a basement room as an office and storage room.
Tourism grant sought
Council has its eye on a $50,000 marketing project provided it can secure a $20,000 grant from the Northern Development Initiative Trust.
The $20,000 works out to 40 per cent of the cost based on the following breakdown:
- $30,000 for a website to attract tourists
- $12,000 to refresh the community tourism brand
- $8,000 for a new tourism guide
“Houston has the opportunity to grow its tourism sector by improving our marketing resources,” District of Houston chief administrative officer Michael Dewar noted in a memo to council.
“Improved tourism attraction capacity also serves to improve resident attraction capacity as the resources that are used to market a community to tourists are often viewed by potential residents considering relocation options.”
Dewar said the District would work with the Houston and District Chamber of Commerce in putting the project together.
Canada Day beckons
It’s still months before July 1, 2023 but the District is already meeting a grant application deadline to help finance community activities.
The federal government is now calling that time of year the Celebrate Canada period, beginning with June 21 as National Indigenous Peoples Day and ending on Canada Day itself, July 1.
In a memo to council, District leisure services director Cassie Henrickson said a Canada Day event has been held in Jamie Baxter Park for years.
The federal grant to support those activities in the past has been $4,000.