From the Bear Pit Council News | | Publication Date: March 16, 2026 | Committee of the Whole February 23, 2026 | Downtown Identity & Wayfinding Signage Concepts Presentation The Downtown Identity and Wayfinding Signage Concept is a system designed to make the town more welcoming and easier to navigate. It uses simple story themes—LOOK UP for the Northern Lights, LOOK OUT for local wildlife, and LOOK BACK for the town’s history and Culture—along with fun animal illustrations, natural colors, and easy-to-read fonts. Murals, stamps, and small artwork around town help bring these stories to life. Signs for vehicles and pedestrians, along with gateways and interpretive signs, will make it easy to find your way and learn about the area. Street and park improvements, native plants, traffic calming, and warm building materials keep the town’s character while improving public spaces. This system will encourage people to explore, enjoy, and connect with the Northern Rockies, and it can grow with the town over time. Video Recording | Regional Council February 23, 2026 | Development Variance Permit Application DVP-2502 – 4903 Sunset Drive; Variance of Off-street Parking Requirements Regional Council approved DVP-2502 for 4903 Sunset Drive, allowing the required number of on-site parking stalls to be reduced from 29 to 17 and approving a reduced dimension for one stall. Approval is conditional on the owner signing an agreement with the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality that authorizes use of the necessary portion of the municipal road right-of-way for parking and maneuvering. Finalization of that agreement is subject to Public Works approving the drainage plan. Admin Report #11/26 | Video Recording | FireSmart and Resiliency Committee Recommendation Regional Council approved $3,000 in funding from the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality’s Wildfire Mitigation & FireSmart Activities budget to support attendance at the Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit, to supplement the $1,500 FireSmart grant already awarded. Admin Report #12/26 | Video Recording | Planned Power Outages During Cold Weather Letter to BC Hydro Dennis Thomson, a local resident, raised concerns about BC Hydro’s planned power outages, and Regional Council sent a letter on his behalf. BC Hydro has responded, highlighting the following points: -
Pole Replacements: BC Hydro inspects and replaces poles year-round to maintain safety and reliability. Most work happens in spring to fall, but some winter work is necessary to prevent equipment failure. -
Weather & Safety: Planned outages may be delayed or canceled during extreme hot or cold weather. Factors such as temperature, windchill, outage duration, and type of customers affected are considered. -
Small Outages: Short outages affecting 15 or fewer customers may proceed with door-to-door notifications, with customer consent required. -
Contact: Residents can reach BC Hydro’s Northern Community Relations team. Bob Gammer is available at bob.gammer@bchydro.com or 250-561-4858. BC Hydro thanks the community for their understanding as they maintain a safe and reliable electrical system. Letter from Bob Gammer | Video Recording | Committee of the Whole March 9, 2026 | Toad River Community Energy Plan and Community Hall Energy Audit The Sustainable Projects Group presented the Toad River Community Energy Plan and a Community Hall audit, recommending measures to reduce heating demand (insulation, triple‑pane windows, cold‑climate heat pumps) and exploring cleaner generation options—run‑of‑river hydro and solar were identified as the most viable ways to reduce reliance on diesel. The presentation also flagged potential economic benefits and local jobs from implementing measures, noted challenges with heat pump installation and servicing due to limited local expertise, and suggested re‑analysis could consider alternatives like green diesel. -
The study was completed through the Community Diesel Reduction Program, which unlocks additional funding opportunities. -
Energy audit findings do not automatically go to BC Hydro; while council is welcome to provide to them. -
Council asked about funding options, local servicing capacity, and whether green diesel should be included; the plan indicates those topics can be revisited in further analysis. Community Energy Audit Presentation | Video Recording | Aboriginal Housing Management Association on UBCM Housing James Bourque from the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA) gave Council an overview of AHMA and presented a call to action. AHMA, which reports to BC Housing, is asking municipalities to support a UBCM resolution to create an Indigenous-led, cross-sector Housing Alliance; Council asked how local governments would be involved and how funding would increase housing supply. AHMA has prepared a 10-year urban plan for the provincial government and committed to sharing it. Mr. Bourque noted the resolution is already sponsored by the City of Prince George. Municipal Collaboration Presentation | AHMA's UBCM Resolution | Video Recording | Northern Regional Energy Dialogues NRRM staff are partnering with the Northern Energy Dialogues (NRED) team (a University of Victoria / UNBC ACET initiative) during NRED’s planned April 2026 visits to Fort Nelson and nearby communities. NRED will facilitate community-led conversations about local energy systems, produce community-specific reports, and help identify near-term actions and longer-term energy transformation pathways. This collaboration will feed directly into the NRRM’s Greenhouse Gas and Energy Planning 2025 Project, which updates and consolidates the municipality’s outdated 2010 GHG Action Plan and 2015 Community Energy Management Plan. Benefits: -
Broad, accessible engagement across Fort Nelson and neighbouring communities (including local First Nations and remote settlements). -
Shared logistics and resources to reduce duplication and maximize staff capacity. -
Community-driven, data-informed input tailored to northern realities to guide an integrated energy and emissions strategy. The Environmental Advisory Committee supports continuing coordination with NRED. Findings from the April engagements will inform NRRM’s policy update and next steps toward a low-carbon, economically resilient future. COTW Report #07/26 | Video Recording | Regional Council Code of Conduct Regional Council was presented with a draft Code of Conduct. Council provided detailed feedback and asked staff to return a revised draft that adds the requested items. Key points to be added to the next draft: -
Complaint process: keep the six‑step model; keep a short filing window (30 days) but confirm; set clear timelines for acknowledgement, screening and investigation. -
Conflict of interest: strengthen guidance on declaration and remedies; clarify pecuniary vs non‑pecuniary conflicts; explain what to do if many members are conflicted and quorum is affected; cross‑reference or move detailed rules to the Procedure Bylaw or a separate policy. -
Remedies: keep options (apology, training, censure, removal, referral); research legal ability to limit or suspend remuneration and propose alternatives if not possible; clarify whether remedies/debate occur in open meeting or in‑camera. -
Portfolios and roles: provide clear portfolio descriptions or recommend where they should be defined (Procedure Bylaw, Remuneration Policy, or standalone policy). -
Policy clarity: integrate or reference existing NRRM policies (Communications, Procedure Bylaw, IT use); tighten definitions. -
Review & training: confirm review within six months of each term, orientation for new members, and ongoing training at least once per term. Staff will prepare and return a revised draft incorporating these changes and an admin report highlighting any outstanding legal issues and items needing Council direction. COTW Report #08/26 | DRAFT Council Code of Conduct Policy | Video Recording | Regional Council March 9, 2026 | Age-Friendly Communities Grant Program Approval fwas provided or Northern Rockies Regional Municipality to apply for a $25,000 BC Healthy Communities Age-friendly grant to fund an assessment and action plan for seniors’ housing. Seniors’ housing is an urgent and growing concern: many homes are aging and ill-suited to older residents, and the 80+ population is projected to rise 218% by 2044. Private developers are unlikely to fill the gap, so coordinated municipal and provincial action is needed. If awarded, the grant will fund a seniors’ housing working group, a current-state analysis, stakeholder workshops with BC Healthy Communities, and an action plan. There is no immediate cost to NRRM; longer-term costs are unknown. The project will improve seniors’ quality of life, strengthen local services, and foster stakeholder collaboration. The Seniors Advocate (Dan Leavitt) will be invited to be involved and most funds will pay a consultant to manage the work. Admin Report #13/26 | Video Recording | Investment of Reserve Funds Policy As the NRRM has been successfully building reserve funds to pay for future asset renewals without borrowing, the region needs clear options for investing that money to ensure security and good productivity. Council reviewed the updated Draft Investment of Reserve Funds Policy at the February 23, 2026 Committee of the Whole and adopted the Investment of Reserve Funds policy. This policy allows use of Municipal Finance Authority (MFA) pooled funds, which are managed by professional asset managers and permitted by law. It notes that MFA provides guidance but that NRRM must decide and approve the portfolio and make any changes. The policy prioritizes preserving capital, diversifying investments, earning a reasonable return, and keeping funds liquid. It also establishes internal controls to reduce risks from fraud, employee mistakes, third-party misrepresentation. Admin Report #14/26 | Investment of Reserve Funds Policy | Video Recording | Grant Application to the Local Government Development Approvals Program Regional Council approved applying to the Union of BC Municipalities' Local Government Development Approvals program for $100,000 to update NRRM’s Development Applications Procedure and prepare development permitting guides. Although the project would be new in the 2026 budget, it is considered valuable because of the recently adopted OCP, an upcoming Building Bylaw update, and the 2024 BCBC requirements. Admin Report #15/26 | Video Recording | Town Hall Transformer Renewal Regional Council received an update confirming a projected 50% cost share with BC Housing and a net NRRM cost of approximately $1.0M. Detailed engineering and a Class A pre‑tender estimate increased the project scope from the original $800K to a recommended budget of $2.2M to fully deliver transformer replacement, electrical distribution upgrades, civil/site works and a backup generator to serve Town Hall and Grace Manor. BC Housing has been consulted, indicated no concern about the higher estimate, and the project’s 2026 budget has been updated accordingly. Admin Report #16/26 | Video Recording | North Central Local Government Association Annual General Meeting & Convention Council considered hosting the 2027 AGM but raised concerns about the timing alongside local elections and upcoming senior staff changes. Staff provided outline of the proposal process, the resources required to host the AGM.
The community has hosted the AGM twice: in 2004 and 2018. The 2004 event resulted in a significant financial loss, partly because travel to the community is difficult without commercial transportation. Planning for the 2018 event began in 2016–2017 and was handled by a small internal committee. Regional Council agreed to add the matter as an action item for newly elected officials in Spring 2027 as part of a potential proposal for hosting the 2028 conference. Regional Council passed a motion directing staff to prepare information for a potential 2028 bid and to request clarification from the association about why NRRM’s membership fee is significantly more than local governments of similar size. Admin Report #17/26 | Video Recording | For Discussion
Letter from Carmen Willims, Legislative Services Clerk, PRRD
Safety Risk at Highway Entrance Serving Pink Mountain Campground Correspondence
Letter from Francine Freeman, Executive Director of the Northern Rockies Arts Council Letter of Support for the Street Festival 2026 Correspondence | For Information
Letter from Stuart McLean, Chair of the Regional District of Nanaimo Sustainable Funding for BC Search and Rescue Organizations Correspondence
Email from Philip Perras, Student at Camosun College In the Wake of the Tumbler Ridge Tragedy, A Call for Unity Around Democratic Principles Correspondence
Letter from Michele Mitchell, Executive Director Northern Rockies Seniors Society Northern Rockies Seniors Busing Service Correspondence
Letter from Northern Development Initiative Trust NRRM Labour Market Study Project No. IA0000012631 Correspondence
NRRM Letter to Nicole Doucette, and Dawn Murphy, BCHPS Fort Nelson Community Literacy Society Proposal Correspondence
Letter from Jennifer McCracken, Lands Manager Doig River First Nation and Leigh-Ann Fenwick, Director Regional Initiatives Northeast Region Province of BC Delegation on February 20, 2026 regarding the Doig river First Nation Land Use Planning Correspondence
NRRM Letter to Jennifer McCracken , Lands Manager Doig River First Nation Presentation of the Doig River First Nation Land Use Panning Process Correspondence
NRRM Letter to Dennis Thomson BC Hydro Planned Outages Correspondence
Letter from Ross Siemens, Mayor of Abbotsford Request for Support - 2026 Proposed UBCM Resolutions Request Correspondence
Valuation Changes Correspondence | Career Opportunities at the NRRM | northernrockies.ca/careers | northernrockies.ca/notices | Draft Budget Open House - Save the Date - March 31st The draft municipal budget process is underway.
A Budget Open House will be held March 31 at the Recreation Centre—stay tuned for more details and ways to get involved.
View the Draft Budget here | Council reported on the meetings, activites and appointments to Committees/Boards related to their roles on Council. March 9 Video Recording | | Interested in all things Recreation!? Check out NRRM’s Leisure Guide. We publish three guides each year:
Winter, Spring/Summer, Fall northernrockies.ca/Leisure | | | | | |
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