The City of Fort St. John will allow previously contentious property tax exemptions related to the North Peace Leisure Pool to proceed, after clarifying details with the Peace River Regional District.
During their most recent meeting, Fort St John city councillor Trevor Bolin moved to approve the Peace River regional district’s direction regarding the 848 exempt properties. He said there was a miscommunication between the parties about how many of the properties were newly added.
“The confusion that this caused by an extremely old bylaw suggesting there’s 848 additional properties,” said Bolin. T
He said the number provided by the regional district was the sum of exemptions since the agreement was originally signed. In 2023, 786 properties were allowed to be exempt.
Council also requested the regional district to include additional information in future letters to avoid repeating this confusion.
The original agreement between the regional district and the city was penned in 1995 and was renewed two years ago. With each renewal, additional properties in electoral area B are added, as some are hours away and unable to use the pool.
At the proposed new location for the pool, the city council clarified with staff that the existing exemptions will not continue. The current exceptions are in place because the Peace River regional district is the owner of the current pool facility. Previously, their steering committee was responsible for its replacement, but this summer Fort St John took over the project.
The city has established an aquatic facility working group, and Bolin said they are “making a splash” as work progresses.
