As part of the first draft of the 2025 to 2029 financial plan, City of Powell River councillors will consider allocating funds for a veteran crosswalk.
At the November 21 city council meeting, mayor Ron Woznow introduced a motion to include an expense of $2,500 in 2025 and $1,500 annually thereafter, funded by city property taxes, for a crosswalk recognizing veterans.
Councillor Trina Isakson asked by having this in the budget, was it anticipated that there would be a report from staff regarding location and further details above and beyond the stated financial figures.
Chief administrative officer Lisa Bhopalsingh said staff have considered two locations and she believed staff would come back to councillors to confirm the appropriate one. She said the numbers in the mayor’s motion were provided by staff. She added that the locations being discussed were near Dwight Hall in Townsite and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 164 facility in Westview. She said council may wish for staff to have conversations with veterans regarding which of the two is preferential.
Councillor Cindy Elliott asked if the numbers were consistent with other crosswalks in the city. She said it appeared that the veteran crosswalk would have to be repainted every year, so she was curious about the structure of the motion.
Bhopalsingh said she did not have all the answers without the expert staff input. She said, however, that this is not a standard crosswalk. It would involve stencils and colours similar to other crosswalks in the city that are special.
“There’s a little more to this than a regular crosswalk,” said Bhopalsingh. “I can ask staff to come back and give you the details.”
Councillor George Doubt said the motion states that a certain amount of money for painting and a certain amount for maintaining the crosswalk every year is to be included in draft one of the budget. He said there is a bunch of other things that will be included in draft one of the budget.
“Experience shows me that things tend to change from draft one to the final accepted draft,” said Doubt. “I don’t have a problem with including it in draft one. Recognizing the veterans is a good thing to do, but at the end of the day, when we come down to our final budget, and how much the tax increase is going to be, everything will have to be balanced and we’ll have to make decisions on our priorities.”
Councillor Rob Southcott said he likes the idea, coming from a multigenerational family of veterans. He added that he would be interested in what $2,500 and $1,500 are in tax cost for average single-family dwelling.
“In principle, I support this,” said Southcott.
Councillor Jim Palm said he was pleased to see the motion come forward.
“This is long overdue in our community,” said Palm.
Councillor Earl Almeida, who was chairing council because Woznow was only participating remotely for part of the meeting, said if approved, the crosswalk discussion would be added to draft one of the budget for conversation in budget deliberations.
“When I saw a picture on social media, I thought this was a great way to honour our veterans,” said Almeida. “The one thing I don’t like about painted crosswalks is that they fade. They look good for a period of time and then they need to be touched up. It’s an ongoing maintenance cost because of cars.
“I would much rather have this as a mural that honours them the same way that will not get the same type of natural abuse that road will. A mural or some other art form might be better.”
Council voted unanimously in favour of the motion.
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