Free-roaming horses have once again become a cause for concern in the Pemberton Valley, and the problem is now falling on the village’s plate.

During Tuesday’s (Oct. 18) meeting, multiple members of Pemberton council reported close calls with horses while driving on Highway 99 recently, while Mayor Jordan Sturdy said he believed there was a motor vehicle accident involving a horse on the weekend.

Sturdy, who raised the issue on Tuesday, called for the village to take action.

“It’s important that we have some council support for a fairly aggressive approach to resolving this problem,” said Sturdy.

While free-running horses have been a longstanding problem in the area, the animals are now a concern for the village since they’re roaming on land recently incorporated through the boundary extension.

Sturdy said “that’s something we should have anticipated” because “we knew this particular property was attractive to the horses.”

A meeting between representatives of the RCMP, St’at’imx Tribal Police, Mount Currie band, Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, the Province and the B.C. SPCA is scheduled for Oct. 24 with the hope of finding a solution to the problem, Sturdy said. Council members all agreed it’s important for the village to have a voice at that table as well, though Coun. Ted Craddock said he wished this kind of meeting bringing all stakeholders together would have come much sooner.

“Why wasn’t it back in May?” asked Craddock. “We’ve been dealing with this for years, but by the time we have the damn meeting and get anything resolved, the horses will be gone again.”

One option that Sturdy brought up was a pound where horses could be transferred and held until owners retrieve them, while the animals could also go to auction if unclaimed.

The village currently has no bylaw in place to deal with free-roaming horses. Chief Administrative Officer Daniel Sailland said that a draft bylaw is in the works that he hasn’t yet been able to review.

At least four horses were killed in traffic collisions on the highway around Pemberton in 2010.

Chamber seeks assistance

The Pemberton and District Chamber of Commerce says it doesn’t have the financial capacity to undertake a building code analysis and projected upgrades required by the village for the Pemberton Visitor Information Centre.

In correspondence received by council Tuesday from chamber secretary-treasurer Shirley Henry, the chamber requested that the village help fund the necessary upgrades, which could cost up to $20,000.

“We are respectfully requesting that the Village of Pemberton make available the funding to upgrade our existing temporary facility for the seasonal operation of the Pemberton Visitor Centre,” wrote Henry.

The building, which is operated by chamber subsidiary Tourism Pemberton, sits on land owned by Mount Currie near the intersection of Highway 99 and Portage Road. A sprinkler system and tie-downs were among the necessary upgrades required when council learned in February that the building did not meet code.

The original recommendation from staff was for the chamber to look at other options such as relocating the temporary structure.

Councillors Craddock and Al LeBlanc both said they felt more information about terms of the lease with Mount Currie would be important before any decision could be made. Craddock said he wasn’t interested in spending $20,000 on the centre if there was potential for the building to be forced to move with termination of the lease.

Sailland said it’s his understanding that the band is “favourable” to keeping the chamber as tenants on the land, but he wasn’t 100 per cent sure.

Council resolved to remove the relocation recommendation and directed staff to meet with the chamber and Mount Currie to provide more info