Homeless Overnights, Snow Removal, and Dealing with the Anxious Public - Yesterday's Council Mtg

From yesterday (Jan 13 meeting) , three interesting takeaways which highlight council's perpetual balancing act:

1. Homeless allowed to erect overnight shelters on certain public lands: Prompted by a BC Supreme Court ruling, Council adopted a policy that will allow homeless individuals to erect overnight shelters in non landscaped public lands. I understand there was a lot of negative public feedback when the public perception was that the policy would be more permissive. I'm not exactly sure what non landscaped public lands entail (not parks obviously), but Council and city staff have so far navigated these waters well.
2. Snow Removal Response Times: With the incredible snow fall in Kamloops as of late, phone lines at the public works department have been lighting up with concerns about snow removal response times. Council has to balance these concerns with the added costs of providing better response times or a higher level of service offered in other BC communities. Bus stops fall at the bottom of the local snow removal priority list for example, and rough public works figures indicate a $120 000 added cost to move bus stops up the list.
3. Westsyde Resident's Flood Erosion Concerns: Council heard a delegation from a very anxious group of Westsyde residents with homes on the North Thompson river. This group wants city assistance in applying for funds from the provincial and federal government. These homes face significant riverbank erosion bank issues. Mayor Milobar handled this well. The residents wanted action now, but city hall needs to put this in context of other flood erosion risks in the city, and also has to set expectations in terms of timelines for responses. Frustrating from the folks from Westsyde, but good public process. I can very much see a positive answer for the delegation, and hopefully soon, but it would have been imprudent to give them an answer either way at the meeting yesterday.