Community Consultation – Trail Area Health and Environment Program

Community Consultation

The Trail Area Health & Environment Committee has held broad community consultations in 2000, 2010 and 2016. The consultations involved outreach to residents and forums for residents to learn about issues, discuss proposed changes to program activities, and give input on the future direction of THE Program.

Results from the 2016 consultation are available to view here; or click the link below. We know that over 200 people completed surveys to tell us their views. Thank you to everyone who participated!

The 2010 public consultation provided useful feedback to us, which we have incorporated into our program over the past 6 years. This included increased program promotion so more people would be aware of the free services available to them; more contact with families; more information on lead safe renovation; a stronger connection with the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary building permits department; and more active links with community groups that support young families.

Yard improvement is a voluntary service offered to Trail residents who qualify through the Trail Area Health & Environment Program (THEP) Soil Management Program. The THEP recommends that families maintain quality ground cover on the lawn and play areas for young children, and cover areas of bare soil in the yard. This program aims to support residents in improving grass quality and ground cover and to provide education that promotes the upkeep of healthy lawns and yards in the long-term.

This agreement outlines the terms of yard improvement services to clearly define each party’s responsibility and ensure the best outcome.

Other details:

The yard improvement service is provided for one season and will be evaluated to determine if it will be continued the following year.
These services are offered FREE of charge.
The yard improvement contractor for 2020: Weed Man West Kootenay p. (250-) 365-5296 and will be managed by the THEP Home & Garden Program (SNC-Lavalin Inc.).
- Weed Man is in good standing with WCB and has commercial liability insurance coverage.
- Weed Man will respect the security of your home and promptly communicate any issues or concerns with you.
Lawn care treatments and/or ground cover improvements are specific to each yard and are determined in consultation with you, the contractor and H&G representative.
The date and times of the prescribed services will be arranged between you and the contractor.

Resident’s Responsibilities

There are a few important things you are responsible for as part of the service agreement:

Follow the specific instructions communicated by the yard improvement contractor after each lawn care treatment or site visit.
Regularly water and mow lawn between lawn care treatments.
Comply with any other requested preparations (i.e. limit pets access to lawn areas, move non-permanent play structures) that are specific to your home.

Participation in the yard improvement service is voluntary and you are under no obligation to participate if you wish to stop for any reason. In the event that you need to cancel or reschedule a service, please provide 24 hour’s notice to the Home & Garden Program (SNC-Lavalin Inc.) or the yard improvement contractor. A failure to follow the provided instructions or consecutive cancellations of scheduled treatments will initiate a review of the service offering.

Additional services such as weed control are not provided through this program and must be arranged between yourself and the contractor. Payment for extra services is your responsibility.