Town of Oliver seeking funds for emergency preparedness

The Town of Oliver is going to apply for up to $150,000 in available emergency preparedness funding to try and find a permanent solution to prevent flooding at the Fairview Mountain Golf Course.

If successful, the funding would also allow for the town to complete a flood risk assessment, mapping and flood mitigation planning report for the entire community.

Following a presentation by corporate officer Diane Vaykovich at Monday’s regular meeting, Oliver council voted unanimously in favour of a staff recommendation to apply for funding through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund in 2019.

The funding is offered through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.

Council also approved staff to submit a second and separate application from the same fund for $25,000 in funding for the Town’s emergency operations centre.

Proceeding with the two projects would likely not occur without 100 per cent funding through the UBCM, said Vaykovich.

The Community Emergency Preparedness Fund grant opportunities are intended to enhance the resiliency of local governments and their residents in responding to emergencies, she said.

The intent of the Emergency Operations Centre and Training Program funding stream is to support the purchase of equipment and supplies required to maintain the centre, while also enhancing EOC capacity through training and exercises, she said.

Last year, the Town of Oliver received a successful grant for $25,000 that was used to purchase equipment to enable the town to open an EOC in the event of an emergency, she said.

The Oliver Fire Department supports establishment of an EOC at the local fire hall and the equipment purchased last year is now located at the fire hall, but needs to be unpackaged and set up, she said.

The intent of this new grant is to undertake the assessment and preparatory work for the town and stakeholders in a “mock EOC exercise,” she said.

The risk assessments would identify the social, economic and environmental impacts that flood events will have on the community, including identifying specific flood hazards, compounding hazards, community and infrastructure vulnerabilities and overall flood risk profile for the community, Vaykovich explained, while flood mapping would also allow the community to more accurately determine its vulnerabilities in relation to identified flood risks.

The intent of the grant application would be to prepare a plan for a design for a permanent repair to the channel that runs through Fairview Mountain Golf Course, she added.