In the last regular meeting before the election, on Nov. 8 Creston town council narrowly approved a motion to proceed with bylaw amendments to strengthen the Bear Aware program.
The issue of whether to amend the waste management regulations bylaw has been a controversial one, with a divided council refusing to make amendments in other meetings since the summer.
“I’m using my mayor’s prerogative to vote yes,” Mayor Ron Toyota said after council members were deadlocked on whether to give staff the go-ahead to proceed with the bylaw amendment procedure. Couns. Judy Gadicke, Tanya Ducharme and Joanna Wilson voted in favour, with Wesly Graham, Len Folkman and Jerry Schmalz opposing.
Most changes to the current bylaw involve discouraging residents from activities that can attract bears to residential areas. A tagging program would be introduced to identify residents who place garbage containers on the street before pickup day. A sticker would be placed on the barrels to remind residents of the Bear Aware issue.
Also, fallen tree fruit would have to be cleared at least every three days and open bird feeders (excluding hummingbird feeders) would be banned between April 15 and Dec. 1.
The bylaw amendment will be presented to a new town council this winter.