The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George is considering abolishing the Bear Lake Community Commission.
On Thursday, the district board authorized staff to examine the process of repealing the commission. The move comes after no candidates came forward to run in a by-election to fill two vacant seats on the commission.
Earlier this year, commissioners Sandra Child and Sandy McClure resigned from the commission, prompting a by-election to fill their seats on the five-member board. In a report to the regional district board last week, district general manager of legislative and corporate services Karla Jensen – who was appointed to act as chief electoral officer for the by-election – said no nominations had come forward by the April 30 deadline.
"Being on that board, they don't really do a lot," director Pat Crook said. "They don't have any hands-on monitoring or control over the services they provide."
The commission was established in 1978, and is officially responsible for managing the operation of local fire protection, street lighting, cemetery operations, community water services, creation facilities and the ambulance station.
However, in practice, the board oversees the work of a local contractor doing snow removal and some other services, but very little else, Crook said.
"The community of Bear Lake has undergone many changes over the years since the establishment of the Local Community Commission, including a reduction in population and downward trend in economy," Jensen wrote in her report to the board. "The authority in overseeing Regional District services in Bear Lake of the Commission under the establishment bylaw has shifted over the years from hands-on 'day-to-day operation' of the services to making recommendations to the Board. This shift is a result of regulatory changes resulting in the need to mitigate risk by having certified Regional District staff be responsible for the hands-on maintenance and oversight.
The area under the commission's jurisdiction is roughly 98 sq. kilometres in size, and had 151 residents as of the 2016 Census.
The commission is made up of four locally-elected members, plus the director of the regional district's Crooked River-Parsnip electoral area, who sits as an ex-officio commissioner. The remaining members are Crook and commissioners Charlie MacDougall and Herbert Franklin.
