This is the question that will be on the ballot:

“Are you in favour of the Regional District of East Kootenay adopting Bylaw No. 3379 and Bylaw No. 3380 to:

• establish the “Edgewater Commercial Space Service” for the purpose of constructing, leasing, operating, and maintaining space which will be leased to entities such as public authorities, societies, corporations, or individuals, or used by the RDEK, for the provision of services that benefit the community in the Edgewater area; and
• borrow up to $450,000 amortized over a maximum of 15 years for the construction of a space for the purposes of the Edgewater Commercial Space Service; and
• annually requisition a maximum of $0.33 per $1,000 of the net taxable value of land and improvements to pay for the service?”

The proposed service would provide a space:

• to lease to Canada Post and its employees to operate a postal service.
• to construct a modular stand-alone building on the “teacherage lot” located kitty corner to Pip's Country Market.
• secondary to the post office lease, to lease to other entities such as public authorities, societies, corporations, or individuals, or used by the RDEK, for the provision of services that benefit the community.

The service will pay for the annual debenture payments to fund the following capital costs associated with the building:

• Property zoning and OCP amendments
• Legal and subdivision
• Building permit fees
• Site works, including site preparation, parking lot development, landscaping, and other works
• Site servicing, including water, sewer, and hydro
• Procurement of 800 sq. ft. modular building, including design, construction, delivery, and installation
• Basic fixtures, and equipment

The service will pay for the following operating costs associated with the building:

• Snow removal/sanding, lawn maintenance
• Interior and exterior building maintenance
• Water and sewer fees
• Property and liability insurance (for owner)
• Administrative salaries and Overhead costs

Costs for the proposed Edgewater Commercial Space Service would be recovered by a property tax on assessed value of land and improvements within the Service Area. The maximum that can be charged under the proposed bylaw is $0.33 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value.

The 2025 assessed value of land and improvements for the proposed service area is $237,488,582. Based on the estimated budget, the mill rate and cost per average residential property valued at $303,000 would be:

*including the 5.25% Province of BC collection fee

• INFO MEETING: A public information session will be held on October 28, 2025 at 7:00pm at Edgewater Community Hall to provide information and answer questions in advance of the vote. The meeting is open to all.
  
  
• INFO PACKAGE: An information package is in the process of being prepared. If regular postal service resumes, it will be direct mailed to all property owners within the proposed service area and posted on this project page. If the postal dispute continues, electronic copies will be distributed via the Edgewater Email Group and hard copies placed at various locations within Edgewater.
  
  
• EMAILS & OTHER NOTIFICATIONS: There will be emails sent via the RDEK's Edgewater & Spur Valley Email Group, social media reminders, radio spots and newspaper ads in the Columbia Valley Pioneer.

The RDEK Board decided to seek elector approval through an assent vote.

Assent voting day will be November 22, 2025 and there will be an advance voting day on November 12, 2025. Both voting days will be held from 8:00am to 8:00pm at the Edgewater Community Hall (4818 Selkirk Ave).

IF THE ASSENT VOTE IS IN FAVOUR OF THE NEW SERVICE:

If the assent vote results are in favour of the proposed service establishment and loan authorization, the bylaws will be brought forward to the December 12, 2025 Board meeting for adoption.

The RDEK would then proceed with the procurement process and construction of the building (estimated to take 7 months) and a lease agreement would be drafted between the RDEK and Canada Post (or their agent) for use of the space.

IF THE ASSENT VOTE IS NOT IN FAVOUR OF THE NEW SERVICE:

The service would not proceed.

Volunteering to be a scrutineer is a way to be involved in the assent vote process. Scrutineers play a role to help protect the integrity of the assent vote for their community. Scrutineers observe voting procedures and scrutinize the ballot-counting process. In general local elections or by-election, candidates appoint their scrutineers. In the case of assent voting, people apply to the Chief Election Officer to be appointed as scrutineers.

Scrutineers for and against the question must be appointed if applications are received from persons who wish to volunteer for the positions. Only persons entitled to vote as electors in this assent voting opportunity are entitled to act as scrutineers. If sufficient applications are received, one scrutineer for and one scrutineer against the question will be appointed for each voting place. One scrutineer for the question and one scrutineer against the question will also be appointed to be present at the determination of the official results and, if necessary, at a judicial recount.

Application Details

The period to apply to act as a scrutineer is October 29, @ 9:00am – November 7, @ 4:00pm.

Application forms can be dropped off at the RDEK office or emailed to elections@rdek.bc.ca.

Application Form

• CLICK HERE to open application form

Links to Sections of the Local Government Act related to Apply as a Scrutineer:

Resident and Non-Resident Electors

• Section 65 & 66 Local Government Act
• Section 175(1) Local Government Act

Scrutineers for Assent Vote

• Section 181 Local Government Act

Due to postal service disruptions from the ongoing labour dispute, mail ballot voting is unavailable.

When the Edgewater Improvement District was dissolved in 2005, all its assets, including the building that houses the current post office, were transferred to the RDEK.

At that time, a Recreation Service was created to help fund and manage community recreation activities and facilities. For many years, only a small amount of funding from that service was used to cover basic maintenance of the post office building.

However, when it became clear that the building was no longer a viable option to house the post office and borrowing money for the construction of a new space was needed, it was determined that a post office doesn't fit within the legal or intended purpose of a recreation service. Because of this, a new service had to be established.

The RDEK does not have authority to operate or administer a postal service, however, the RDEK can lease space to Canada Post to operate a postal service. The bylaw is written for flexibility to lease space not only to Canada Post but to other organizations in the chance that Canada Post will no longer require a space for lease.

Decisions on other uses of the space would require consultation with the Electoral Area Director and may be forwarded to the RDEK Board of Directors for consideration.

The proposed service area was determined by matching the north and south service boundaries of Canada Post.

Anyone who lives in the house can vote if they meet the eligible criteria.

Both the size and scope of the building were determined through consultation with the Edgewater Redevelopment Planning Committee, Postmistress, and Electoral Area Director.

A person is a resident property elector if they live within the voting area. A resident does not have to own property. A resident may be a renter.

According to Section 67 of the Local Government Act, these rules help decide which area a person is considered to live in:

(a) A person is considered to live in the place where they usually stay and plan to return to when they’re away.

(b) A person can only be considered a resident of one area at a time.

(c) A person’s place of residence doesn’t change until they start living somewhere else and meet the conditions to be a resident there.

(d) A person doesn’t stop being a resident of an area just because they leave for a short time (for example, for a vacation, school or temporary work).

To answer the question, "Where do I live?" refer first to the address given on the driver’s license and on Income tax statements. It is also the place where one would register children for school.

No. You must be a Canadian citizen to vote.

Yes, you must be a registered elector to vote. Advance registration is available until 4:00 pm on November 7, 2025. If you missed the advance registration, you may register to be on the list of electors when you go to vote. You must have two pieces of identification:

• one piece with a signature, proving your identity; and
• one piece proving your identity and residency.

One advance voting opportunity is available on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at the Edgewater Community Hall.

Due to postal service disruptions from the ongoing labour dispute, mail ballot voting is unavailable.

No. You must either vote in person on advance or general voting days.

To vote as a resident elector, you must meet ALL of the following requirements:

• 18 years of age or older on the day of registration; and
• a Canadian citizen; and
• a resident of British Columbia for at least 6 months immediately before the day of registration; and
• a resident of the Edgewater Commercial Space Service voting area; and
• not disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or assent voting and not otherwise disqualified by law.

You may not vote in a British Columbia local government election or assent voting if you:

• have been convicted of an indictable offence and are in custody; or
• have been found guilty of an election offence.

A person is a non-resident property elector if they do not live in the voting area but instead own property in the voting area.

You are NOT eligible to vote as a non-resident property elector if the property is registered in a company’s name, or if you are holding the property in trust for a corporation or another trust.

Only one non-resident property elector may vote with respect to each property. In other words, if two or more individuals own a single piece of property, the majority of the owners must designate, in writing, one owner as the non-resident property elector for that property.

A completed Non-Resident Property Elector Consent Form must be submitted before registration can take place. If you own property along with a corporation, then none of the owners of the property are eligible to vote.

The person living on the property may qualify as a resident elector because he or she is a resident of the proposed service area. As a non-resident property elector, you are also eligible to vote for that property, but you may still need the written consent of the other owner, by completing a Non-Resident Property Elector Consent Form.

No matter how many properties you own, you may only vote once in an election or assent voting in the voting area. You may, however, vote in elections in different municipalities or regional district electoral areas if you own property there.

No. You must be a Canadian citizen to vote.

Yes, you must be a registered elector to vote. Advance registration is available until 4:00 pm on November 7, 2025. If you missed the advance registration, you may register to be on the list of electors when you go to vote. You must have two pieces of identification:

• one piece with a signature, proving your identity; and
• one piece proving proof of ownership of the property for which you are registering to vote (Certificate of Title, Property Tax Notice, Property Assessment Notice),
• and if applicable, provide the written consent from the other registered owners of the real property (Non-Resident Property Elector Consent Form).

One advance voting opportunity is available on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at the Edgewater Community Hall.

Due to postal service disruptions from the ongoing labour dispute, mail ballot voting is unavailable.

No. You must either vote in person on advance or general voting days.

To vote as a non-resident property elector, you must meet ALL of the following requirements:

• 18 years of age or older on the day of registration; and
• a Canadian citizen; and
• a resident of British Columbia for at least 6 months immediately before the day of registration; and
• a registered owner of real property in the Edgewater Commercial Space Service Area for at least 30 days immediately before the day of registration; and
• not entitled to register as a resident elector; and
• not disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or assent voting and not otherwise disqualified by law; and
• the only persons who are registered owners of the real property are individuals who are not holding the property in trust for a corporation or any other trust; and
• if there is more than one registered owner of the property, only one of those individuals may, with the written consent of the majority of the owners, register as a non-resident property elector.

According to Section 66(4) of the Local Government Act, the "registered owner of real property" is the person who has the main legal interest in the property. Depending on the situation, this could be:

(a) The person who fully owns the property (called "fee simple"), unless someone else has a stronger legal interest listed below.

(b) If the property is being bought through a registered sale agreement, the person buying it (the last registered buyer), unless someone has a stronger interest listed below.

(c) If someone has a legal right to live on the property for life (a registered life interest), that person—unless someone has a stronger interest listed below.

(d) The person who holds a registered lease on the property for 99 years or more.

You may not vote in a British Columbia local government election or assent voting if you:

• have been convicted of an indictable offence and are in custody; or
• have been found guilty of an election offence.

The Edgewater Post Office is not owned or leased by Canada Post directly. Instead, Postmasters must provide their own space, for which Canada Post provides a monthly leasing allowance to the Postmaster. Leasing allowances are collectively bargained between Canada Post and the Canada Postmasters and Assistance Association. The RDEK currently collects $120/month. The draft budget estimates lease revenue of $165/month.