Quesnel City Council has directed staff to submit a joint application to the Union of BC Municipalities Community Emergency Preparedness Fund.
City Manager Byron Johnson said it made sense to work with the City of Williams Lake and the District of 100 Mile House.
“The thought process is if we’re going to get a consultant into help us it makes sense to amalgamate the three communities and do one larger project, although it will be looking at each community specifically, so its not a generic type of a solution.”
Johnson said the money would be used for a variety of things.
“The grant will fund a project which will help us to map extreme heat and understand our community risks more accurately between now and the 2080’s, including mapping areas, population, structures or assets at risk. It will also complete a risk assessment of the social, economic and environmental impacts of extreme heat events, and create a plan for response and risk reduction for future heat events.”
Councillor Ron Paull questioned why the Cariboo Regional District wasn’t included.
Mayor Bob Simpson responded.
“I believe the kinds of things you are planning for is sheltering in place, how are you dealing with seniors, it’s more of an urban oriented phenomenon. And the answer for the CRD for example, would be bringing people into the urban centres or a local solution of some kind, so I believe this is more of an urban oriented grant.”
The City of Williams Lake would administer the project if the grant application is successful.
It would be 100 percent funded.
