Some of the highest fee increases are those for development services. Please click on the image to see a larger version of it. Revelstoke Current scan

By David F. Rooney

Proposed changes to the City’s schedule of fees and charges mean yu may end up paying more for the privilege of playing Bingo or renting a ball field. You’ll also pay 2% interest — up from 1.5% on overdue accounts — and a whopping $35 on any NSF cheques — up from $15, under this plan intended to help the City recover the cost of some services.

A couple of years ago the City hired a cost and management consultant, James Pammenter, to complete a Cost-Recovery Report for the City’s Planning/Building Department and Fire Rescue Services to compare fees against neighbouring communities similar to Revelstoke. Last spring, Council decided to refer the cost recovery report to the Economic Development Commission for review and comment. The response was to have further public input once the language was clarified from the report to the new bylaw.

There are also a number of new fees attached to certain Fire Rescue Service and Engineering and Public Works charges. For instance, it will now cost you $30 to register a fire alarm, $110 to have a fire alarm installation or modification inspected, or $480 for a Fire Safety Plan review.

A Heritage Alteration Permit will set you back $300 and there are some real eye-poppers contained in a section detailing proposed increases to municipal development service charges.

It is important to stress here that most user fees and charges will not change. Most fees and charges are not changing but there there are increases, many of them quite stiff.

Council gave the changes proposed in Bylaw No. 2008 first and second reading. It will now actively seek public comment on the changes until February 8. They will be presented to Council during its regular meeting on February 14 with third and final reading of the bylaw expected sometime after that. However, it is worth noting that the increased revenue anticipated from these changes is included in the Five-Year Financial Plan 2012 to 2016 — in other words, the next budget.

Planning Director John Guenther said many existing fees had not been adjusted in many years and consequently when increases are proposed some people believe the changes are inordinate and unfair when, in fact, they are not.

The real question is whether service is being improved, he said.

Additional fee schedules will be forthcoming in 2012 for water, sewer, animal control, business licensing and the cemetery.

Click here to read the full set of proposed changes

These are the different homes that were nominated for this year's round of Heritage Awards. Please click on the image to see a larger version of it. Images courtesy of the Revelstoke Community Heritage Commission

Four local residents have been awarded Heritage Awards for their treatment of existing homes or the way their new home fit in with their neighbourhood’s character.

This year’s winners are:

Residential Renovation — Chris Johnston  for his treatment of the old Sturdy House at 102 Third Street East. He removed a stucco exterior, reconditioned the original wood siding and applied new paint that brought out the structure’s original details;

Residential Renovation — Paul and Eileen Sutherland for their application of hardi plank siding and shingles, a new roof, new windows and new paint to the Down’s House at 917 Second Street West;

Residential Detail — This award went to David and Leslie Savage for their use of new paint and wood detailing in a heritage style to give new life to their home at 111 Fifth Street East; and

Residential Infill — Laura Stovel won this award for the way her newly built home at 404 Connaught Avenue reflects the character of her neighbourhood with sensitivity.

The briefing package provided to Council by the Community Heritage Commission noted that there were seven entries in just three of the six categories available. There were no nominations for the Commercial Renovation, Commercial Infill and Institutional Renovation categories.

Plaques will be awarded to the owners during Heritage Week, February 20-26.

Councillor Steve Bender, who was hospitalized in Vancouver last week after he experienced serious internal bleeding, could be back home in Revelstoke by the end of the week.

His wife, Adelheid, said “his vital signs are good” and doctors at Vancouver General Hospital have resumed his blood thinner treatments. He started taking Warfarin after heart surgery in 2010. The blood thinners were suspended after he collapsed last week.

“He doesn’t have cancer, he has a kidney condition where scar tissue forms on the kidneys that cause them not to work properly,” Adelheid said.

“His kidneys are about 20% working, but he doesn’t have to go on dialysis at this time.

“He must be getting better he is starting to get grumpy.”

Maybe if everything goes well we can take him back to Revelstoke at the end of next week.”

Her husband’s ordeal began Jan 5, when he underwent a kidney biopsy at Royal Inland Hospital.  He was sent home on January 7 and January 14 he experienced abdominal pain and severe vomiting. That night he was taken to  Queen Victoria Hospital where they diagnosed internal bleeding from the kidney and measured his blood pressure at 70/35 — far, far below normal.

Steve was then transported to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops and from there to Vancouver General by air ambulance at which point he was sent to surgery.  He had only 20% function in his kidneys and he lapsed into a coma and was attached to a ventilator. He was then sent to the Intensive Care Unit.

“By the end of that day — Monday — he was breathing on his own,” Adelheid said in an interview from Vancouver last week. “His hands and feet are very swollen and his stomach is hugely swollen.

It looks a lot like your house… wait a minute! It is your house.

This sounds like a bad joke but it has really happened to one Revelstoke woman.

School teacher Sue Leach said a good friend contacted her on January 14 to tell her that her house was being advertised for rent.

Imagine checking The Stoke List one day and finding your own house posted for rent! Would that surprise you? You bet it would. The scammer who claimed to own Sue Leach's house scooped this photo of her house from a legitimate real estate web site. Screen Shot by The Revelstoke Current

“Yikes!” Sue said as she asked me if I could contact the Stoke List’s Karilyn Kempton “in case there is a scam in the making.”

I called Karilyn who was alarmed when I told her that Sue’s house at 1300 Front Street was being listed as a rental when it was actually up for sale. She said that was the second complaint she had received about a local house being falsely listed for rent.

“Crazy story!” she said.

“The sad thing is, people do get scammed on the Internet.  Good to put the word out there. Occasionally Stoke List users will post warnings about scams, so I’m glad to see that it is a little bit self-policing. I do try to delete as many scam ads as I can (some, like the exotic pet ads, are quite obvious). Someone posted a while back about a scam and finished it by saying we might as well be flattered that scammers think the Stoke List is important enough to scam. Glad you picked up on it right away.”

Karilyn’s partner, Simon Wex said he hadn’t spent any real time investigating such scams.

“I did find that the obvious scams weren’t being posted from Revelstoke. You’ll notice that I then added the “Posted From” field at the bottom of posts. It isn’t 100% accurate, but for a free service, it was the best I could do.”

Curious, I decided to see what would happen if I sent an e-mail inquiry to the person who posted the for-rent ad on Sue’s home.

“How much are you asking for this?” I asked

Here’s the reply I received:

From:        Derek Herringthon triangle@ireland.com
Subject:        Re: 4 bedroom home for rent in downtown revy
Date:        January 15, 2012 11:51:23 AM PST
To:        David Rooney <drooney1@telus.net>

Hello Tenant,
The house offers comfort and style, from the bright and elegant living room to the contemporary designer kitchen, which comes fully-equipped with everything you may need during your living there, It is also spacious and inviting, and has been furnished with top quality fittings and features. their is carefully selected light fittings to the intricate interior decor. Bedrooms are bright and spacious, and offer a cozzy experience.
Amenities: Parking, TV, DVD Player, Wifi High-Speed Internet, Gas Heating (“Gas Natural”), Central Air Conditioning, Refrigerator, Dishwasher, Washing Machine, Dryer, Oven, Microwave, electric kettle, cooker, autonomous hot water supply,The floor is heated,the apartment has a perfect location.
Don’t be nervous am saying so much classy thing about my place,what is your budget and are you looking for short or long term?how many of you would be living there?I relocated from there to Ukraine and that’s why am renting it out,if not it’s a lovely place to reside.My phone number might not go as it is roamed or might be switched off if am not at work.
Thanks
Derek
Omega Equipment Services, Inc.
Derek +447011120311
jupongatana01@omegaequipment.com
omegaequip@excite.co.uk
www. omegaequipment.com

Do you notice anything about this guy’s command of the English language? Despite his use of the word “cooker,” which is an Anglicism, he doesn’t write as though he is a true English speaker, does he?

It was obvious to me and to Sue that this was a scam. The friend who originally told Sue about it  received a nearly identical response. And although she didn’t take it much further, I did. I wanted to know who and where this guy was and how much money he thought he could scam from us. So, I asked him how much he wanted for it. Here’s his reply:

Hello,
You will make out a refundable deposit payment to me as a sign of commitment,you will then give me a date so i can come over to hand over keys,receipt,sign lease and show you around.
Deposit would be refunded if you won’t be in the area any longer,maybe found another place to stay or my rental doesn’t seem appealing again after viewing which i know it’s impossible.Forget to say their is fridge and freezer and oven.I will exchange location area details and more pictures if you want to proceed.
Sincerely
Derek

When I asked him how much he wanted as a deposit he responded:

Hello,
The deposit will be made out through western union money transfer or money gram agent near to you,i will be needing some of your details before i send you my details and address to which the money will be made out.As soon as i receive the payment i will travel over to meet with keys and relevant document. 2 yrs ago when vacating abroad some Mexican contacted my wife and me to rent and we sent address to them to look up,they leverage on the opportunity of our not been around to loot our property ok?I will travel over and meet you personally if you are interested in this,the value of the property is higher than what we are giving out because a tenant that will take care of it matters to us most.I have accepted your budget.I would be there whenever you want me to be in as much you make out the deposit.i can send more pics and address ok?
Bye
Derek

I really wanted this putz to ask for a specific amount of money so I sent him another e-mail:

From: “David Rooney” <drooney1@telus.net>
To: “Derek Herringthon” <triangle@ireland.com>
Sent: Sunday, 15 January, 2012 18:15:22 GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: 4 bedroom home for rent in downtown revy

Hi Derek:
My partner would like to see some additional photos. And I would like to know how much you want for the deposit and what the monthly rent will be. Once I have those I can arrange a deposit on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.
David

Derek, of course, thought he had hooked a real sucker and sent us a selection of photos. We have no idea where he got them but they are obviously not Sue’s house. Here’s his reply:

The man who tried to scam Sue Leach attempted to claim that there were shots from her house. Anyone who has been inside Sue's house would know they're not. Screen Shot by The Revelstoke Current

Hello David,
I hope your partner like the details i supply below,do you know the western union money transfer agent close to you?

To which I responded:

Hi Derek:

My partner was pleased with the photos. And the $2,000 is reasonable for a house like that. Let’s do this.
How do you want me to send the money to you?
Cheers
David

At this point I contacted RCMP Const. Michael Shannon at our local detachment.

Mike and I talked it over and we decided that once he sent me the details of how the money would be transferred to this guy we would, if he was here in Canada, contact the nearest RCMP detachment and have them talk to the Western Union office Derek specified. They’d get Western Union to alert them when they called our buddy Derek and, when he showed up to collect the cash, they could bust him.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen.

And, finally, Derek (or perhaps I should call him Igor) sent this last message:

Make out the deposit through western union to my details below
Derek Hetherington
Address-2b matrosava
City-lugansk
Country-ukraine.
Zip code- 91001
when you are through let me know and let me have the mtcn number then we shall organise meeting
thanks.

That was definitely my last conversation with “Derek” who also sent me what he claimed was a scan of his British passport and birth certificate.

Not only is "Derek Herringthon" or "Derek Hetherington" incapable of writing in English, he doesn't even look like someone from the British isles. Screen Shot by The Revelstoke Current

The fact that this self-described Brit was asking for the money to be sent to the Ukraine told Shannon and I that this guy was most likely working the scam for an East European criminal gang. There would be no point in going to the Ukrainian police as East European police forces are allegedly very corrupt and deeply penetrated by organized crime.

All of this info was, however, sent to the Mounties division that follows national and international frauds.

I haven’t heard anything back from Derek or Igor or whoever he is and don’t expect to hear from him either. But perhaps I’ll send him a copy of this column… just for fun.

PS: Is there a moral to this story? Be careful on the Internet. That sounds trite. But most people think nothing bad will happen to them online. And that is the wrong way to think. Bad stuff does happen to nice people

Fire Chief Rob Gerard said Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services received a First Responder call at 6:30 pm about a man on fire at a residence in the 900 Block of Begbie Road.

“Upon arrival fire crews discovered an elderly male who suffered significant burns to his body and was treated by First Responders and Paramedics on the scene,” he said in a statement Friday. “The remainder of the fire crews checked the mobile home for fire extension that had received minor fire damage The occupant of the residence was transported by BC Ambulance to Queen Victoria Hospital.

Girard said the clothing material worn by the senior citizen was ignited by a propane portable heater that he was using inside the residence to thaw a frozen water line.  He said using portable propane heaters used inside a residence is “an extremely dangerous and potentially lethal act.”

“This time of the year when it is cold, residents need to exercise extreme caution with space heaters of any kind and the overloading of electrical extension cords in their homes,” Girard said.  “The use of these types of products are, more often than not, the cause of residential house fires.”

The Chief also cautioned wood stove and pellet stove users to regularly clean their stoves to prevent a fire in their houses.

Fire fighters battled an afternoon fire on Simpson Street on Friday. Photo courtesy of Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services

Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services responded to a 911 call about an house fire in the 400 block of Simpson Street on Friday afternoon.

“Fire crews quickly extinguished the fire, located in the rear of the residence”, Fire Chief Rob Girard said in a statement.  ”The fire was located in the basement, main floor and extended into the attic space and our crews did a great job in actioning the fire.”

He said that firefighters initially feared that one of the occupants was still inside the building, but that person was accounted for shortly afterwards.

“Firefighters extinguished and overhauled the fire in just under an hour and a half, with no injuries to fire personnel,” Girard said.

He said the three occupants were quickly assisted by an Emergency Social volunteer who helped them find temporary shelter.

“I cannot stress enough how appreciative we are to have ESS volunteers available within our community to come to the aid of individuals in these types of circumstances,” Girard said.

The fire is under investigation.

Regular City Council meeting at 3 pm on Tuesday, January 24:

• Social Development Coordinator Jill Zacharias outlines social development accomplishments to date;
• Revenue Anticipation Borrowing Bylaw;
• Services Agreement with the Chamber of Commerce;
• First, Second and Third Reading of Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 2008;
• Proposed OCP land-use amendments;
• Announcement of the 2011 Heritage Award Winners;
• RCMP Report;
• Business License Summary;
• Parks, Recreation & Culture Daily, Monthly and Yearly Transaction Summaries; and
• Minutes of the Enhancment, Heritage, Finance, Economic Development, Parks, Recreation and Culture Meetings as well as minutes from the Community Housing Society.

Please click here to access the full agenda

Steve Bender

By David F. Rooney

City Councillor Steve Bender is in the acute care ward at Vancouver General Hospital after he began bleeding internally from his kidneys.

His wife, Adelheid, said Thursday that her husband’s ordeal began Jan 5, when he underwent a kidney biopsy at Royal Inland Hospital.  He was sent home on January 7 and January 14 he experienced abdominal pain and severe vomiting. That night he was taken to  Queen Victoria Hospital where they diagnosed internal bleeding from the kidney and measured his blood pressure at 70/35 — far, far below normal.

Adelheid said Steve, who underwent open heart surgery on his aortic valve in November 2010 when he received a mechanical valve and has since been on Warfarin (which contributed to the internal bleeding).

He was then transported to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops and from there to Vancouver General by air ambulance at which point he was sent to surgery.  He had only 20% function in his kidneys and he lapsed into a coma and was attached to a ventilator. He was then sent to the Intensive Care Unit.

“By the end of that day — Monday — he was breathing on his own,” Adelheid said in an interview from Vancouver. “His hands and feet are very swollen and his stomach is hugely swollen.

“Steve had dialysis on Monday and we know he doesn’t have cancer (of the kidneys) but there’s something on his bladder.”

She said Steve’s physicians are discussing what to do and when to do it so “he’s gonna be here for sometime. It’s just a matter of waiting.”

David F. Rooney

We have heard a lot about the transition to a tourism economy over the last several years but what do Revelstokians really think about it?

That’s a question Tim Palmer, the city’s top civil servant, hopes to have answered through a survey he is conducting over the next couple of weeks.

It’s an important and valid question. Judging by news media stories about economic development over the last several years it would be easy to reach the conclusion that local government, businesses and residents are strong supporters of tourism and resort development. But is that really true? I have long believed that about a quarter of the population does not like Revelstoke Mountain Resort, specifically, and tourism development in general.

Their reasons are varied and Palmer’s survey is beginning to winkle out their thinking. It is also showing that there is no broad agreement about what might be considered appropriate or desirable tourism development.

“There’s a segment of the population that has something to say but whose opinions haven’t really been heard,” the City’s Chief Administrative Officer said in an interview Thursday.

Why haven’t they been heard? Many people will give their opinions in private but decline to voice them in public. As well, most of the public discussion about economic development has been driven by the City of Revelstoke and the Chamber of Commerce where the dominant speakers have been business owners and others, many of whom have had a stake of one kind or another in tourism development. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but in the face of that kind of pressure many individuals will simply keep their mouths zipped rather than say what really think.

This is not an ‘official’ municipal government survey. No. This is an anonymous survey that Palmer has devised and personally financed as part of his study for an MBA from Royal Roads University.

“This is not about best-practices in tourism development,” he said. “This is a statistically valid survey of residents and their opinions on a variety of questions.”

Those questions touch on resort development, the definition of tourism, what residents regard as suitable and non-suitable tourism development, their thoughts about the effects of tourism development on our rural community and so on.

The results of the survey will not only be interesting when they are finally released but they’ll be statistically valid. Palmer is aiming at acquiring at least 250 responses and, ideally, 300. That would mean about five per cent of the resident population will have participated in the survey and provided not just yes/no or multiple-choice answers to questions but lengthier answers and observations, as well.

While this survey is not an official City one, the results will be presented to Council and will be publicly available this spring.

This is a valuable opportunity for Revelstokians to voice their thoughts, feelings, fears and dreams about this important issue.

Click here to go to the survey.

How do you measure your work? Revelstoke’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Penny Page-Brittin can measure it in any number of ways — from running programs and creating brochures to counting light bulbs.

Counting light bulbs? Really?

Yep!

“The total number of light bulbs (each light in the MP rooms has 4 lamps or tubes or light bulbs) for the Community/Aquatic Centre,

Revelstoke Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Penny Page Brittin

including the Seniors’ Centre and the Library is: 1,438,” she told The Current.  “That’s a lot of light bulbs!

The total number of bulbs City Hall, the Public Works Department, the RCMP, the Communnity/Aquatic Centre, Fire Hall, Arena, Museum, Courthouse and the Water Treatment Plant is a whopping 4,305.

Lest you think this is a bureaucratic waste of time, Page-Brittin conducted the count as part of an energy audit of municipal buildings.

Four thousand three hundred and five is a lot of light bulbs and counting them isn’t a trivial exercise. Consider this: the total electricity consumption for the lights and… operations in the buildings listed  above (minus the water treatment plant and its 112 bulbs) was 3,074,652 kW and the total cost to the City in 2010 was $201,497.

“That’s a good reason to turn the lights out and turn things off when they’re not in use,” Page-Brittin said.

Getting a handle on the municipal government’s energy consumption is an important part of the job she was hired to do last year.

And Page-Brittin was busy in 2011 and will be just as focused in 2012 ensuring that the City meets all of its environmental commitments.

“We are actually doing quite well in that we have created good plans that are being implemented,” she said in an interview Tuesday.

There were a number of major highlights in 2011 that are yielding real results. They include:

1. The new Cosmetic Pesticide Bylaw;
2. Meeting the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Milestone 1-3 for corporate emissions, which includes a reduction target of 20% below 2007 emission levels. The City’s progress on this front is such that Revelstoke is being recognized for this during an award ceremony in Ottawa at the beginning of February;
3. Finalization of the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) and the District Energy and Emissions Plan (DEEP). Their approval by Council is pending;
4. Action to reduce municipal energy consumption. This includes a reduction in the use of propane at the Department of Public Works, energy audits (including all those light bulbs) of City buildings and continued acquisition of a full year of data to compare temperature differences;
5. A Fuel Management Course for the City’s vehicle fleet;
6. A major CBT workshop on Adapoting to Climate Change; and
7. A public information session last autumn on energy efficiency in building construction;

“What do I see in 2012?” she asked. “We have a number of things lined up.

“Since this will be the first full growing season in which this will be implemented we’ll continue to raise public awareness regarding the Cosmetic Pesticide Bylaw. Part of that will be through a new brochure.

“Curbside Recycling began this month and we’ve just completed the first week of that. We need a better Anti-Idling education campaign. We can do more to raise awareness particularly among new residents. We have almost completed a new brochure for that.

“We’re going to review the City vehicle fleet and take a serious look at what vehicles we have and what size the fleet really should be.”

Page-Brittin also noted that she’ll look at when and why City crews  violate the Anti-Idling Bylaw. “We need to set a good example,” she said.

There will also be a SMART Driver Course for City staff , continued energy audits of municipal buildings and the development of a Green Building Policy.

2012 is also the year when the City must become carbon-neutral. A report on emissions will be released at the end of March 2013 and offsets will be purchased from the Pacific Carbon Trust on what hasn’t been reduced by that time.

As well, a Watershed Management Plan will be produced to ensure that Revelstoke will have a “resilient water supply for the future,” she said.

The Planning Department will hold another Public Information Session on Energy Efficiency for Buildings and Construction in April, the City’s CEEP will be submitted for Milestones 1-3 recognition through the FCM’s national Partners for Climate Protection program.

And, finally, there will be a Public Information Session this spring on a UBC/Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions interactive study of community energy consumption and emissions.

Click here to learn more about the City of Revelstoke’s environmental sustainability plans.