Council Matters: Rossland City Council Meeting, June 1, 2026
By Sara Golling
Introducing Lindsay Barnett, the new Manager of Recreation and Events; contract award for the McLeod retaining wall project; another clean audit for Rossland; two major mountain biking events coming this fall; learning about ERAP
PRESENT: Acting Mayor Jeff Weaver (presiding), Mayor Andy Morel (online) and Councillors Maya Provençal, Craig Humpherys, Stewart Spooner, and Lisa Kwiatkowski (online). Absent: Eliza Boyce.
Staff: CAO Bryan Teasdale, CFO Craig McDonald, Deputy Corporate Officer Cynthia Añonuevo, Manager of Operations and Infrastructure Scott Lamont, City Planner Stacey Lightbourne (online), Executive Assistant Rachel Newton, Deputy Operations Manager Josh Solman and the City’s new Manager of Recreation and Events, Lindsay Barnett.
PUBLIC INPUT PERIOD
Dimitri Lesniewicz spoke in support of the variance application for the garage with secondary suite above it. The owners also spoke in support of the application, explaining their reasons for wanting the secondary suite and the full-height garage.
Trevor Smith spoke in favour of his own variance application.
DELEGATIONS:
Community Futures South Kootenay:
Council heard from Kamren Farr (Executive Director) and Ron Perepolkin (Community Economic Development Coordinator) about an Economic Resiliency Action Plan (ERAP) for Community Futures South Kootenay. Perepolkin explained the purposes of the newly updated ERAP – “a coordinated, action-ready framework designed to help the region prepare for, respond to, and recover from economic disruption.” To read a clear explanation of what ERAP does and does not do, click this link. As pointed out here, “With climate change the world is reacting with unprecedented floods, wildfires, severe weather, and most recently a global pandemic -It’s not if a disaster will occur . . . it’s when.” He said the real value of the plan is that the next time there is any kind of economic disruption, people already know who should do what to work toward recovery.
MNP LLP auditors: Jennifer Saville, CPA, of MNP, attended remotely to present her firm’s report on the City of Rossland annual audit. The audit opinion was that the financial statements earned a “clean” status – no indications of fraud or misrepresentation, though she referred to delays in obtaining information from the City. (Those delays were caused by recent changes in Rossland’s finance department personnel during the audit period – former CFO Mike Kennedy departed, and new CFO Craig McDonald arrived; Justin Brogan was another key member of the finance team, and they are reported to have taken a new position in Revelstoke.) Saville noted that there is a change coming for the next year in the way financial statements are presented, and that she included information about that to help the City prepare for the new standard.
BYLAW:
Election Procedure Bylaw # 2867:
A motion to give the bylaw second and third readings CARRIED unanimously.
REQUESTS FOR COUNCIL DECISION:
Approval of the 2025 Audited Financial Statements:
A motion to approve the audited 2025 Financial Statements CARRIED unanimously.
Development Variance Permit – 2303 Fourth AvenueTh
The applicant seeks permission to replace the current garage with a new building that will contain a full-height garage with a suite above it. The current garage encroaches on the setbacks and even extends into the laneway; the plan for the new building would honour the side setback, and would not encroach on the lane, but needs a variance to modify the rear setback. It would also be over the height allowance in the current bylaw, and would exceed the height allowance on the draft zoning bylaw by half a metre, and would comply with new draft new zoning bylaw.
Spooner queried whether the proposed zoning bylaw’s height limits are adequate for a garage with a suite above. Lightbourne explained that the 7.5 metre limit was chosen based on earlier applications, which topped out at 7.5 metres.
A motion to allow the variances CARRIED unanimously.
Development Variance Permit: 1650 Nickleplate Road
The applicant wants to build a carport with deck above, a corner of which would encroach on the required front setback. A motion to allow the variance CARRIED unanimously.
Temporary Use Permit (Red Mountain Parking Area Special Event Camping)
RED Resorts seeks permission to allow overnight parking of campers, vans and RVs as temporary accommodation in designated sections of its parking areas on September 4 – 6 and October 2 – 4, for two major mountain biking events on those dates. RED will seek to direct people to existing accommodators and campgrounds, but expects demand to exceed the available supply. Overnight camping is not currently a permitted use in RED’s parking areas.
Motion to approve the temporary use permit CARRIED unanimously.
RFP Review and award – RW064 and associated utilities
Council discussed a motion to award a contract to Copcan Civil LP (Copcan) in the amount of $729,350 (exclusive of GST) to complete the Retaining Wall Remediation Project on McLeod Avenue. The materials submitted anticipate completion in early September of this year.
A motion to approve the recommendation and award the contract to Copcan CARRIED unanimously.
Spooner was glad the project looks to be within budget. Kwiatkowski was concerned about the access limitations during construction for affected residents; Solman explained how communications have begun with affected parties, and that all residents will be able to access their properties, and that pedestrians and cyclists may be able to use the north-side shoulder. Copcan has produced a traffic plan.
Union of BC Municipalities Convention — Ministerial meetings
Staff requested Council to identify any priorities for possible Ministerial meeting(s) during the 2026 UBCM so that applications can be submitted in good time.
Provencal suggested a meeting with Emergency Management, especially regarding extended power outages, and also a meeting with the Ministry of Mining and others responsible for decisions about the proposed Record Ridge Mineral Mine (RRMM).
Spooner suggested lobbying to reinstate FireSmart funding, as the need seems to be increasing.
Kwiatkowski agreed with the RRMM lobbying and FireSmart, and added words about transit.
Morel agreed with the current suggestions, and noted (he is currently in Victoria) that he had hoped to “knock on a few doors” about the RRMM but has not been granted access to anyone because of the ongoing litigation.
MEMBER REPORTS:
Kwiatkowski thanked Weaver for filling in for her, as she was scheduled as Acting Mayor, but missed that fact and went away.
Spooner attended an Outdoor Recreation Council (ORC) gathering, and found it interesting that they are quantifying the health benefits and the economic benefits of outdoor recreation, and incorporating the information into their decision-making.
Weaver expressed appreciation for City Staff’s work during and following the recent big storm, and welcomed Lindsay Barnett as Rossland’s new Manager of Recreation and Events.
Morel reported that East End Services is doing transit surveys; and that Tourism Rossland reported record accommodation figures, and added to the welcome for Barnett.
THE MEETING ADJOURNED and your reporter strolled home, thinking of greenhouses and gardening and the disturbing weather forecast predicting overnight temperatures of minus two C. in a few days, and how spotted knapweed, bindweed and other inedible vegetative pestilences are not at all discouraged by being frozen, stepped on, cut down and uprooted repeatedly, or doused with vinegar and detergent.
