In the same meeting that a 5.6 percent tax increase was approved, Quesnel City Council unanimously endorsed spending up to 5 thousand dollars to transport a metal moose to the city from Victoria.
Mayor Ron Paull says the moose was made by a Quesnel artist.
“While enrolled at Camosun College more than 50 years ago longtime Quesnel resident/artist Bert DeVink fabricated a life size bull moose in his metal arts class. Bert’s moose has been on display on Camosun College grounds ever since. Fast forward to last fall when I received a call from Nate Bello, who was Councillor from 1992 to 2001 and Mayor from 2002 to 2008, pitching me with his idea to ask Camosun College if Bert’s moose could come home.”
Paull liked the idea so much he is even going to get it.
Councillor Laurey-Anne Roodenburg didn’t question spending the money, but she did question the process.
“So I am just kind of curious, is this the way we do business, that we get this all organized and then we come to Council ? Or do we actually ask Council, Because this would be really embarrassing if Council turned around and said no thank you we don’t want it. All this work that’s been done and everything that’s been arranged so it’s about the process how this unfolded, and I would like to see that cleared up for the next time we have an opportunity to bring something like this back to the city.”
Paull said it would have been very difficult to come to Council and ask what they thought of the idea.
“Certainly we had to get some background. And also, you have to remember that Camosun is donating the moose back to Burt and Burt has agreed to donate it to the city, so it is a bit of a chicken and an egg thing.”
Paull was also asked how much it would cost to install it.
“The cost to install it isn’t going to be a lot, I mean it sits on a concrete pad in Camosun College now that measures approximately 6 feet by 8 feet, and I think the concrete is maybe 6 or 8 inches thick so it’s not a huge expense. We’re not going to know the answers to these questions until we actually get the moose here.”
Council will also still have to decide where to put it.
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