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We&#39;re listening!&nbsp;The City of Fernie is committed to full, inclusive public consultation and community engagement and we want to make it easy for you to participate. Help shape the projects that impact you by signing up on this site and contributing your ideas and questions. We will listen to what you say, take your opinions into account, and report back to you on how community input contributes to City projects.

Let's Talk Fernie

The City of Fernie is expanding its curbside garbage and recycling program to include organic waste collection. This new service is the first step towards the City&rsquo;s goal of redirecting all organics from the landfill, which will extend the lifespan of our landfill, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the compost produced will reduce the need to import topsoil into the valley for City projects. Use this site to check what types of materials are accepted in your new organics cart (and what items should stay out of your bin!), stay on top of the curbside organic program debut and changes to curbside garbage collection, and learn some tips to maintain your new curbside cart and kitchen bin. If you have a question, check out the Q &amp; A section below for previously answered questions, or send us your own!<h2>Organics Collection Program</h2>All residents who currently receive curbside collection will also receive weekly pickup of organic waste beginning September 23rd (for Area 2) and September 24th (for Area 1), as per the updated collection calendar.On collection day, simply put out your new City-supplied organics cart for pickup. Until the first week of December, your curbside garbage collection service will remain the same. Once you&rsquo;ve gotten comfortable using your organics cart, garbage collection will change to every other week, just like recycling.<h2>Organics Program Timeline</h2>August 2024 Residents will receive a delivery of curbside organics cart, kitchen catcher bin, collection schedule and information package through household delivery starting August 19. If you believe you have been missed, please contact City Hall 250-423-6817.September 2024First curbside organics collection to begin:Area 1: September 24thArea 2: September 23rdTo accommodate our growing City, the boundaries of Area 1 and 2 have shifted to include Alpine Trails and Parkland Terrace neighborhoods to Area 1 collection days. These neighbourhoods will be part of Area 1 starting with the first organics collection on September 23rd. December 2024Garbage collection will move to every other week, starting December 5th for Area 1. Area 2 will have their first bi-weekly collection on December 12th.<h2>Items Accepted in the Organic Bins</h2>You&rsquo;ll be able to put a range of items in your organics bin, from yard waste and food scraps to pizza boxes, kitty litter, and chopsticks! Organic waste will be converted into Class B compost soil that will stay in the Elk Valley and be used for City/municipal landscaping projects. To ensure the quality of the soil produced, only put things in your organics bin that are on the list of acceptable items.<img src="https://s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/ehq-production-canada/585f09328236ef9104671d166dd636d1a585712b/original/1720710388/0634632dfe20e0da2f3c5865130eecfa_Acceptable_Waste.png?1720710388" style="width: 485px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Prohibited Items:Please do not compost ashes, pet waste (other than kitty litter), fruit and vegetable stickers, plastics bin liners, rubber bands, twist ties. If you can&#39;t determine if an item is compostable, you can do any of the following: 1) Review acceptable items at fernie.ca/organics2) Email <a href="mailto:operations@fernie.ca">operations@fernie.ca</a> for clarification3) Put it in your garbage bin<h2>Cleaning Your Carts</h2>In addition to regular cleaning, sprinkling a small amount of baking soda, garden lime, or vinegar in your curbside bin and kitchen catcher will help to reduce odours. Commercial bin cleaning services are also available in the valley. A clean bin will reduce the chance for wildlife interactions. <h2>What About Wildlife? </h2>Although the carts are bear resistant (bear-resistant carts are only certified to withstand a bear for one hour), wildlife will be attracted to any accessible cart, bear-resistant or not. Things you can do to prevent bear and other wildlife temptations: <ul><li>Between collection days, store your curbside bins in a secure location that is inaccessible to wildlife.</li><li> Do not bring your carts to the curb until 5 am on collection days.</li><li> Pick ripe fruit and collect any fallen fruit around your property. This can go in your organics cart!</li><li> Manage attractants such as BBQs, pet food and bird feeders by keeping them clean or out of reach.</li></ul><h2>Waste Regulation Bylaw &amp; Fines</h2>The City of Fernie&rsquo;s Waste Regulation Bylaw No. 1845, requires that all wildlife attractants such as garbage, organic waste, and carts be safely stored so it is not accessible by wildlife. Carts should be brought to the curb only on the morning of your designated pickup day and no earlier than 5:00 am. Carts must be out by 7:00 am to ensure collection. If a cart is damaged either willfully or accidentally by the actions of a homeowner, such as leaving a garbage cart in an accessible location and it being damaged by a bear, homeowners are responsible for the cost to repair or replace the cart. A ticket may also be levied against the homeowner for having wildlife attractants accessible. The first offense ticket is $250, and a second or subsequent offense per year is $500.Have questions? We&#39;re here! Submit a question, email us at <a href="mailto:operations@fernie.ca">operations@fernie.ca</a> or visit fernie.ca/organics for more information on waste, recycling and organics collection.

Curbside Organics

BackgroundThe City provides clean drinking water to our more than 6300 permanent residents and our seasonal and visiting populations. Our primary drinking water supply source is Fairy Creek. We also maintain James White Park Wells as a secondary drinking water source that we can draw from when Fairy Creek is not available, typically during periods of turbidity associated with freshet.Despite our backup source, the City has faced capacity issues due mainly to excessive water use by residents and businesses during the summer months. This, combined with the impacts of climate change and the prolonged periods of drought experienced in our region are impacting our primary source, and we are seeing an increase in turbidity events related to heat.Ensuring the Future Health of our Water SystemFollowing industry best practices and standards widely adopted by municipalities across the province, staff have drafted two bylaws to help regulate, govern and protect our municipal water system and ensure that we can provide the high-quality drinking water our community relies on long into the future. At the July 16, 2024, Regular Council Meeting Council adopted the Water Works Bylaw (a bylaw to govern and protect the waterworks system) and a Water Conservation and Regulation Bylaw (a bylaw to regulate outdoor water use during periods of drought and high demand) that will operate in tandem to ensure the health of our municipal water system.These Bylaws will support the existing Consolidated Water Connection and User Charge Bylaw No. 1594., and the recent Provincially issued orders on our drinking water operating license require that the City enhance regulation of our water system and prioritize bylaw and policy-driven water conservation initiatives.Water Conservation and Regulation BylawThe Water Conservation and Regulation Bylaw is a vital tool for the City to ensure that we are operating within the capacity of our drinking water system and required water flows for fire suppression. Key features of the new bylaw include:<ul><li>The bylaw introduces staged outdoor watering restrictions designed to be adaptable and responsive to changing conditions. These restrictions limit watering to certain days and times and become stricter as conditions become more serious. This approach allows the City to adapt to varying circumstances, ensuring that water is used efficiently and effectively. <ul><li>This starts with Stage 1 (automatically in effect from March 1 - October 15 each year) and escalates depending on reservoir levels, flows in creeks that feed the source, demand exceeding capacity, and Provincial area drought declarations.</li></ul></li><li>Provisions against wasting water are enforceable through fines as required.<ul><li>This allows the City to address runoff, leaks, non-recirculating devices, and irrigation of impermeable surfaces, such as driveways and sidewalks.</li></ul></li></ul>Exemptions will be in place for food-producing gardens, and permits will be available in stages 1 and 2 for daily watering of new turf, grass seed, shrubs, and trees. The bylaw does not apply to water residents collect through rain barrels or other means.Outdoor Watering Restriction Stages<img src="https://s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/ehq-production-canada/07c6ba7f55e4e7765536fcd5fc35dfde1e314a08/original/1721234186/42ba4ec982f5d4ac2faae871115627b1_3.png?1721234186" style="width: 726px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Water Works BylawThe City has adopted a Water Works Bylaw to regulate, govern and protect our municipal water system from tampering, contamination, or misuse.The health of our municipal water system is critical to our ability to provide the quality drinking water our community relies on. This new Bylaw will provide staff with the tools to effectively regulate this essential community service.Key benefits to the new bylaw are that it will allow the City to protect our water system by providing the tools to act on the following areas:<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;margin-left:undefined;"><li>Un-Authorized Water Use and Connection</li><li>Damage to Public Infrastructure</li><li>Water Leakage on Private Property</li></ol>The Bylaw gives the City the recourses to deal with tampering with City Infrastructure (which includes unauthorized connection to the City&rsquo;s water infrastructure like hydrants) through fines, cost recovery mechanisms for work done by the City, and the ability to recoup these costs by applying the fees to tax roll.

Water Conservation and Regulation

The Fernie Fire and Emergency Services Department provides an essential service, ensuring the safety and well-being of the community. The first Fernie Fire Department was established in 1904 with a contingent of 100% volunteer members. Since that time, the department has grown to include over 40 paid on call members, a full time Fire Chief, a Deputy Chief, and eight full-time career firefighters. The current Fernie Fire &amp; Emergency Services Department (FFESD) responds to over 400 emergency calls per year and serves over 10,000 residents in the City of Fernie and surrounding areas.BackgroundFrom 1979 to 2022 the Fire and Emergency Services department operated out of fire hall located at 692 3rd Ave. The building, originally designed in 1970 as a automotive service garage, was decommissioned due to significant issues with the facility structure and function and the inability of the site and structure to meet current requirements for a fire hall. The Fire Department has been temporarily relocated to operate out of the City&#39;s old Public Works office, adjacent to the Operations Facility at 1492b Railway Ave. A leased Atco trailer is onsite to house turnout gear, and the Operations Facility is utilized for fleet storage.The City of Fernie is now looking to select a site for a new multi-generational fire hall to serve the community for the next 50+ years and is considering partnership with other users to maximize the community benefit of the site.Site Selected: 1500 5th Ave. On January 23rd at the Regular Council Meeting, Council selected 1500 5th Ave (a portion of Prentice Park) as the site for the City&#39;s replacement Fire Hall. This site was chosen as the preferred location as it provides a number of advantages including opportunities for co-use partnerships, adaptability for further growth, and a flexible site layout.Next phases of the project will include detailed site testing, facility concept design, project costing, and exploration of co-use partnerships as we work towards a new operational Fire Hall in 2026.Opportunities to Get InvolvedPrevious site selection studies have been completed however, this is the first time the City has put out a public call for partners, and provided an opportunity for public input, to ensure a transparent and inclusive analysis of all current opportunities.The planning process to select the new site for the fire hall has offered multiple opportunities for community involvement:<ul><li>A Request for <a href="https://www.fernie.ca/EN/main/business/bid-opportunities/fire-hall-replacement-partnership-opportunity.html">Expression of Interest </a>was issued to explore opportunities for facility co-use partnerships, or potential private sites for the fire hall. CLOSED August 25, 2023.</li><li>A Community Working Group (CWG) was formed with diverse community voices to provide guidance to the City&#39;s Project Team. <a href="https://www.fernie.ca/EN/meta/whats-new/news-archives/2023-archive/volunteer-opportunity-fire-hall-replacement-community-working-group.html">Volunteer Opportunity</a> CLOSED August 11, 2023.</li><li>We hosted a Public Open House on October 26, and an online Engagement Survey. CLOSED midnight November 6, 2023.</li></ul>Check back here for opportunities to participate in the process.

Fire Hall Replacement

Snow and Ice Management for the City of FernieIn 2019 the City of Fernie began a review of it&#39;s snow management services. After identifying areas for improving our service, we launched a Snow Pilot Program in February 2020.Throughout the pilot we trialed a prioritization approach to snow clearing, providing consistent access to critical infrastructure and emergency services. We listened to your feedback, took notes, and gathered critical data to make informed, defensible, and transparent decisions around resources and snow management budgeting.We&#39;ve taken what we learned and observed from the Operational Pilot, and on November 22, 2021 brought forward options for Council to consider based on the pilot and best-practices from other communities.Thank you to everyone who took part in providing input into this service area. We&#39;re now formalizing the program and moving forward based on what we learned from you, our operators, and research across snow communities in Western Canada.

Winter Snow

The City of Fernie is creating an Active transportation Master Plan (ATMP) that addresses the city-wide multi-modal transportation needs for the next generation. The ATMP will function as a long-range strategic plan that guides transportation and investment. The plan will define the role and function of the transportation system in Fernie, and guide the City in designing and implementing an improved multi-modal transportation network over the next 25 years. Ensuring a robust transportation network that safely and comfortably incorporates all modes will be important to the City&#39;s continued economic growth, livability, and success.The plan will prioritize and encourage walking as the first choice for short trips, as well as cycling/wheeled access to schools, local businesses, recreation facilities, and employment centres while also accommodating growth in vehicle traffic as required for economic sustainability and community development patterns. The plan will establish simplified street classification, provide guidance on complete street design, and incorporate information about road speeds and safety to enhance neighbourhood environments and minimize conflicts between street users.The key benefits of the completed plan will include more desirable and varied transportation options for the public, a transportation system that is sustainable over time, and the provisioning of mobility options that will benefit both the health of citizens and the natural environment.The project is currently entering Phase 2 of engagement, where we will gauge community support for a pedestrian, rolling, and cycling network comprised of separated and shared routes, suggested changes to road cross-sections, possible improvements to rail crossings, and overall public sentiment regarding future improvements to the Highway 3 corridor (MOTI responsibility).The final plan will be the City&#39;s overall vision for the future. Implementation will be staged based on assessed need, funding availability, and overall support.Please complete the survey below to have your say. Let&#39;s Talk Fernie!

Active Transportation Master Plan

Phase 1 engagement: Active Transportation Master Plan - survey