The District of Invermere saw progress in several areas throughout 2025 and plans to continue the momentum into the new year.
Invermere Mayor Al Miller expresses the importance of the arrival of new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Dean McKinley in early 2025.
“Obviously having a great team is very important for a community. Our CAO has brought the wherewithal to create a good team atmosphere. Our accomplishments are many now, and we are seeing great things happening in the community.” said Miller.
In addition to the staffing change, the district has also made a small land purchase.
“We’ve recently purchased a small piece of land on Panorama Drive. The future vision for the land is possibly doing a circle, or realignment in the road a little bit, to help with our traffic in the industrial park area”. Miller said.
In connection to the industrial park area, the recent hire of a new bylaw officer has brought positive changes to the growing accumulation of old cars and wrecks in the space.
“We had good talks with those involved and are clearing a lot of the vehicles out. Through good discussion and good partnerships with our business people who are involved directly, we are making good progress on that issue.” said Miller.
On the flip side, Miller acknowledged housing and short-term rental regulations as one of the district’s biggest challenges.
Miller states there is no doubt they have a housing issue, but Columbia Valley, specifically Invermere in this case, is in a tourism industry.
“We’ve had issues but I think we’ve come to the right bylaw now, but it was a challenge. We’ve had accommodation rentals on a short term basis for many years, but it grew with the new digital platforms coming into play. So just trying to mix tourism with residential concerns, making sure that we’ve got a balance.” said Miller.
Looking ahead to 2026, Miller said he is eager to begin discussions with council on the year’s top priorities.
“I’m certainly excited to hear from our council what those ideas are so that we can move ahead and really do some great planning for 2026.” Miller stated.
