(UPDATE) Fort St. John council votes against bylaw exempting 848 properties from pool tax

Updated November 3rd, 3:30 p.m.: This article has been updated to include information provided by the Peace River Regional District regarding the overall impact of the City of Fort St. John’s decision for the bylaw process.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The city council has voted against supporting a bylaw exempting properties from paying towards the leisure pool passed by the regional district.

During the October 27th regular meeting, the City of Fort St. John council discussed the bylaw amendment recently passed by the Peace River Regional District (PRRD). 

The bylaw specified 848 properties assessed at approximately $444.58 million that will be exempt from taxation towards the North Peace Leisure Pool in Fort St. John on 100th Street.

According to the minutes for the October 26th, 2023 meeting, when the bylaw amendment was last passed, 786 properties assessed at approximately $319.28 million were excluded, meaning a total of 62 new properties are being added in the 2025 amendment. 

As it has been passed by the regional district’s board of directors, the written approval of Electoral Area B, Electoral Area C and the City of Fort St. John must be secured prior to the bylaw being submitted to the province’s Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs for statutory approval. 

During the meeting, the councillors and Mayor Lilia Hansen all expressed dissatisfaction at the bylaw, and disinterest in supporting it. 

“Fort St. John is the service hub in this area, and having a leisure pool is important,” Hansen said.

“We benefit as a region [from] having the leisure pool, it gives us the ability to attract [and] retain people in our community, whether they’re our mechanics, doctors or our teachers.”

Councillor Sarah MacDougall also voiced her concerns, and the number of properties being excluded, which she described as “23 pages.”

“[This] is going to shift the tax burden to others,” MacDougall noted. 

“It’s similar to me to how we pay for a hospital in Dawson Creek, or a school, whether we do or do not have children that go to it.”

Hansen expressed her belief that the only way the region could continue to “do things effectively” was to work together on things such as funding the leisure pool.

MacDougall stated: “This is part of our tax contribution to a good community, things like promoting a healthier population.”

Ultimately, the council voted unanimously to send a letter to the PRRD to express their lack of support for the bylaw. 

When contacted by Energeticcity.ca, Tyra Henderson, corporate officer for the PRRD, stated the implications of the city’s lack of refusal will “be determined once the PRRD receives an official response” from the city.

Henderson stated as of November 3rd the regional district had not received an official response from the city regarding its stance on the bylaw.