August/September 2019 RDN Director update - published September 18 2019

I hope everyone had an enjoyable summer!

The Committee of the Whole (CoW) met in early September and considered a number of issues, which will be referred for consideration to the Board meeting held this week (on September 17). All of these reports are available on the RDN website.

• The CoW received a Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) 2018 annual report which evaluates progress in advancing eleven Regional Growth Strategy goals. As the Board moves into a targeted and then full Growth Strategy review, these metrics will be useful in setting new targets and identifying new approaches. Although Area B is not included in the RGS, regional interests such as water quality, housing affordability, climate change, and waste reduction are of interest to all residents of the RDN. 

• The CoW supported the RDN entering into an agreement with Island Health to administer a contract for a Coordinator for the new Nanaimo Community Health Network which will include Gabriola, Mudge, and DeCourcy. The Coordinator position will be combined with the existing Oceanside Health and Wellness Network. This issue will come before the Board on September 17th.

• The CoW received a staff report outlining potential changes to the administration of Community Works Funds. Because the funds being considered are restricted to the electoral areas, the committee voted to refer the report to the Electoral Area Services Committee (EACSC) for consideration.

• The CoW considered a request from the BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative (CAI) to partner on developing a Vancouver Island Agricultural Adaptation Strategy to address agricultural issues specific to the Island. The CoW supported the idea and recommended that the Board appoint a Director to serve on the committee.

• The Drinking Water and Watershed Protection (DWWP) Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) met to discuss the draft DWWP updated action plan as well as the new draft guidelines for using rainwater harvesting for potable water in multiple families. The TAC is comprised of knowledgeable individuals representing a range of groups with an interest in drinking water and watershed protection, including the Islands Trust; Ministry of Environment; Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development; Department of Fisheries and Oceans; Mosaic; Island Health; public representatives; RDN staff; and the Board steering committee, of which I am a member. The updated plan will build on the base and success of the previous action plan.

I will be attending the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) conference in Vancouver next week. The conference is an opportunity to meet and discuss issues of relevance to local government across the province, and also an opportunity to meet with Ministers and government staff to discuss areas of concern.

Upcoming:

• The next Parks and Open Spaces Advisory Committee (POSAC) meeting, which considers issues and make recommendations to the Board about community parks in Area B, will be held October 7th, starting at 10:30 am at the Gabriola Arts & Heritage Centre. Meetings are open to the public.

• The RDN Board meeting for September was September 17th. The October meeting is scheduled for October 22nd. A reminder that all Board, EASC and CoW meetings are now broadcast live online and are available through the agenda function of the RDN calendar after the meetings.

• The next Electoral Area Services Committee and Committee of the Whole meetings will be held October 8th.

July RDN Director Update - published July 31st 2019

As we head into the August long weekend I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable August! We have been fortunate so far this summer to have cooler temperatures and some rain, but the forests remain dry. A reminder to all to follow the Fire Department’s rules about fires and equipment use, to avoid smoking in our forests, and to practice safe and responsible disposal of cigarette butts.

To summer visitors – in recognition of our limited water please practice water conservation during your visit. There are wonderful activities coming up in August – some examples include the Cultivate Theatre, Music & Arts Festival; the Community Hall Salmon BBQ; the Concert on the Green; tours of Gabriola sponsored by the Museum; as well as numerous markets. Check out the Events tab on hellogabriola.ca for more. Summer camps for kids? Check out gabriolarecreationsociety.org. A new service offered at Descanso Bay Regional Park is kayak, canoe, and stand-up paddleboard rentals - descansobaypark.com.

We’re continuing to make progress on the Village Way Path. The Board recently approved a Memorandum of Understanding for Active Transportation Infrastructure (ATI) between the RDN and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. This has been a collaborative effort with other Regional Districts who are also interested in developing infrastructure in rights-of-way. The next step is completion of an ATI Planning and Approvals and Guidelines Document. Once that’s approved there will be individual agreements for each project. The Village Way Path is planned to be the first project undertaken once these agreements have been finalised.

In April I reported that the RDN was the lead applicant to the CleanBC Communities Fund for funding to build up to 10, level-2 electric vehicle charging stations. RDN staff conducted a gap analysis of the region to identify areas not currently serviced with a charging station, with the goal to encourage tourists to further explore our beautiful region. I’m pleased to report that Gabriola has been selected as a location for one of the 10 charging stations. If we receive the grant, a charging station will be installed at Descanso Bay Regional Park.

A strong focus of mine has been the importance of accessible and transparent governance. With that in mind I was pleased to support the Board in moving to webcasting RDN Board meetings. As of the July 23rd Board meeting, RDN Board meetings as well as Committee of the Whole and the Electoral Area Services Committee meetings will be webcast live. These recordings will also be available online after the meeting. For more information see: rdn.bc.ca/agendas-minutes-webcasting

Did you participate in the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection survey or are you interested in the results? At 23% of all responses received, Area B was well represented and formed the highest proportion of results for an area within the RDN. You can download the summary report of responses here: https://www.getinvolved.rdn.ca/dwwp-action-plan-update-2019

RDN staff is currently conducting a comprehensive review of bylaws for the electoral areas. The report to the Electoral Area Services Committee, expected in late 2019-early 2020, will include an analysis of bylaws and suggestions for changes, as well as suggestions for assigning penalties.

You also might be interested to hear that a transit service expansion starting in 2020 was approved that will include bus service from downtown Nanaimo to the Nanaimo airport, as well increased service to VIU, among other changes. Initial service to the airport is proposed to be 3 days/week (Mon/Wed/Fri) every 2 hours between 8 am and 6 pm. 

Upcoming:

• The RDN Board does not meet in August

• September 3rd starting 1:30 pm at the RDN Building (or online): Electoral Area Services Committee and Committee of the Whole meetings

• September 17th starting at 7 pm at the RDN Building (or online): Board meeting

  If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at vanessa.craig@rdn.bc.ca.

June RDN Director update - published July 10 2019

On July 5th I attended the memorial service for Clarke Gourlay, who was the elected RDN representative for Area G (French Creek). Clarke was also co-owner of Little Qualicum Cheeseworks. Clarke died the previous weekend in a mountaineering accident. As newly elected representatives, Clarke and I did quite a bit of ‘comparing notes’ as we learned on the job and I enjoyed working with him as he led the RDN’s Regional Parks and Trails committee with his ambitious plans for parks. Always thoughtful, friendly, curious, and motivated, he was a wonderful representative for the RDN, and a valued colleague. Clarke’s Alternate Director, Joe Stanhope, will fulfill the duties as the Area G representative until a by-election is held.

The Parks and Open Spaces Committee (POSAC) met June 17th. To promote information exchange about island parks, the Gabriola Recreation Society and Gabriola Land and Trails Trust provided updates on their activities. In addition to discussions about a delegation’s request for funding support and items of correspondence, the committee reviewed and approved the 5-year project plan for Community Parks in Area B. Agendas and Minutes for RDN meetings (including Board meetings) are available through the RDN calendar: www.rdn.bc.ca/events. The next POSAC meeting will be held October 7th, 10:30 am at the Gabriola Arts & Heritage Centre.

At its second structured-decision-making workshop, the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Action Plan committee identified and prioritized actions. We also reviewed responses to the public input survey, where Area B residents had the highest number of responses for an area across the RDN at 23% of total responses! Thanks to everyone who filled out the survey and contributed their thoughts. In September we will review a draft Action Plan developed by Econics, which is the company contracted to assist with this process.

I attended the Gabriola Recreation Society (GRS) and Economic Development Advisory Group (EDAG) meetings. GRS has a lot of fun activities for kids this summer – see the options at www.gabriolarecreation.org. Heading into its 2-year anniversary, the EDAG is conducting a governance review to ensure it’s well set for the future. Julie Sperber, the Community Economic Development Officer, has been hard at work creating an integrated set of websites for our area – check them out at the www.hellogabriola.ca portal. 

Some items discussed at the Board meeting on June 25th:

·       The Board adopted the 2018 annual financial report and statement of financial information. The RDN’s financial reports are available at www.rdn.bc.ca/financial-reports.
·       The Board will review the parcel tax for the Regional Parks and Trails capital funds for the 2020 budget ·       The Board referred the issue of cannabis regulation to the RDN’s Agricultural Advisory Committee for review and recommendations to the Board. The Board also requested that Chair Thorpe write a letter to Minister Donaldson outlining concerns about cannabis regulation and requesting that government consider a moratorium on non-soil bound cannabis production until local governments can create or amend bylaws to address the issue.
·       The Board approved the expansion of Nanaimo transit services to include New Year’s Day, Good Friday, and Christmas Day.

Upcoming:
·       July 9th starting 1:30 pm at the RDN Building: Electoral Area Services Committee and Committee of the Whole meetings
·       July 23rd starting 7 pm at the RDN Building: Board meeting
·       September 3rd starting 1:30 pm at the RDN Building: Electoral Area Services Committee and Committee of the Whole meetings

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at vanessa.craig@rdn.bc.ca.

May RDN Director update - June 12 2019 Sounder

I attended the grade 7 climate change action strike and heard their anger and worry about climate change. As Mia, in her powerful speech, said - we need to get away from the “vicious cycle of more”. A timely reminder of just what’s at stake.

The Drinking Water and Watershed Protection (DWWP) Action Plan committee, which includes Islands Trust freshwater specialist Will Shuba, had its first structured decision-making workshop where we prioritized focal areas. Next week we’ll meet to identify and prioritize specific actions.

An ongoing concern of Fire Chief Rick Jackson is how to dispose of land-clearing debris to minimize fire risk. When a site is cleared, provincial and RDN regulations govern if/when to burn debris, prohibit moving debris between properties for burning, and control waste management. Alternatives to burning such as piling or burying debris create fire risk or land instability. Rick and I were joined by Larry Gardner, RDN Manager of Solid Waste; Luc Lachance, Ministry of Environment Section Head for Solid Waste; Doug Gardiner, RDN Fire Services Coordinator; and Dion Klassen, RDNBylaw enforcement representative. We toured example properties identified by Chief Jackson, and came to a better understanding of potential solutions. See pic of some of the group at a stop on our site visits below.

Islands Trustees Scott Colbourne and Kees Langereis and I met with Stefan Yancey, Operations Manager for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) for a discussion/tour. Topics included road condition/potholes, intersection safety at Barrett and North Road, the Village Way Path and issues of pedestrian and cyclist safety, potential ferry lineup signage at Ivory Way, the issue of parking at El Verano, public accesses on Mudge, and the issue of developing secondary accesses to isolated neighbourhoods for use in an emergency. I am confident that MOTI understands our issues and is interested in working with us to address them. The RDN Board will also meet with MOTI representatives later in June where I will follow up.

I attended the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Quebec City, where over 2100 representatives from municipalities across Canada met to discuss issues of common interest. It’s clear that many of the issues here, including housing, reducing plastic use, concern about climate change, and the issue of funding for municipalities from the federal/provincial governments, is of concern across Canada. We passed several resolutions calling on the FCM Board to advocate at the federal level on a variety of issues. I attended several excellent workshops and have a list of ideas to follow up.

Board Updates:
• The Board approved our 2019-2022 Strategic Plan which identifies 8 focus areas: climate change, environmental stewardship, housing, growth management, transportation and transit, economic coordination, people and partnerships, and social well-being. You can find it and other long-term planning documents at https://www.rdn.bc.ca/long-term-plans.
• The RDN Board approved a pilot project to live-stream meetings, so you’ll be able to watch RDN Board meetings online. I’ll let you know when we’re going live online!
• The Board agreed to explore the idea of Development Cost Charges to fund parks acquisition and infrastructure expansion. The Sounder had a good overview of the issue last week. http://www.soundernews.com/…/rdn-considering-development-co… 
Upcoming:
• June 11th starting 1:30 pm at the RDN Building: Electoral Area Services Committee and Committee of the Whole meetings
• June 17th starting 6 pm at the GAC Building: Parks and Open Spaces Advisory Committee meeting 
• June 18th starting 6 pm at the RDN Building: Public Hearing for Bylaw 500.426
• June 25th starting 7 pm at the RDN Building: Board meeting
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at vanessa.craig@rdn.bc.ca.

For RDN meetings you can find agendas for upcoming meetings and see Minutes from past ones here: https://www.rdn.bc.ca/regular-meeting-schedule

April RDN Director update

Did you miss my April update in the Sounder? Here it is:

Thank you to all our amazing volunteers on Gabriola, Mudge, and DeCourcy! At the RDN volunteer thank you luncheon our Chair, Ian Thorpe, said – the RDN could not do what we do, without you! From emergency services, stream stewards, parks and trails groups, advisory groups and others, the RDN counts over 1000 people as volunteers.

RDN staff member Melissa and I participated in the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department’s Open House. Melissa gave a presentation on emergency preparedness and had pamphlets and booklets. Representatives from Emergency Support Services, Pets and Livestock Services, and Emergency Communications groups were also present. Thanks to everyone who came by.

At the Commons I chatted with a group gathered for a 2-day Community Bus Forum organized by the GERTIE team. This Forum drew in-person and online participants from various locations around the coast. Congratulations for such a successful event!

Julie Sperber, our Community Economic Development (CED) Officer provided updates at the monthly Economic Development Advisory Group (EDAG) meeting. She is fostering a collaborative network on our islands, and is actively supporting both new and established businesses. Exciting things are happening! For more information check out the CED tab on the Chamber website.

The four days I spent at the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities (AVICC) conference were full of invigorating discussions. Happy to see MLA Sheila Malcolmson there as well! I was honoured to be elected to the Executive as the Electoral Area Director representative. Delegates debated and voted on over 50 Motions of common interest to our coastal communities. Motions that received support will be discussed at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in the fall, with the goal of elevating the issues to a provincial discussion. If you’d like to know more about AVICC, see www.avicc.ca

The inaugural meeting between the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection (DWWP) Action Plan Steering Committee and the RDN’s Technical Advisory Committee began the process of updating the Action Plan. I was happy to see Trustee Scott Colbourne in the audience. We’re still gathering your input on drinking water and watershed protection through an online survey until May 27th. Take the survey and be entered to win a rain barrel! https://www.rdn.bc.ca/get-involved-rdn

The comments received on the draft Strategic Plan will be considered as the plan is revised. The eight focal areas of the plan are: climate change, environmental stewardship, housing, growth management, transportation and transit, economic coordination, people and partnerships, and social well-being.

Upcoming:

·  At the end of May I will be meeting MOTI personnel on Gabriola to discuss issues of concern. Feel free to email me info/pictures of problem areas.
·  I will be holding drop-in office hours between 2-4 pm at the Islands Trust office on May 6th and May 27th
· May 14th  1:30~5 pm at the RDN Building: Electoral Area Services committee and Committee of the Whole
·  May 23rd  7 pm at the RDN building: Board meeting

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at vanessa.craig@rdn.bc.ca.

GVFD Open House

The Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department Open House on Saturday April 6 was fun - and because we were inside, we were warm and cozy! Lots of fun activities for the kids who got to try blasting safety cones off a table with a fire nozzle, climb into a fire truck, and try CPR on a dummy. Emergency Support Services, PALS (animals and livestock) and emergency communications also had tables with information about emergency preparedness, and Melissa from the RDN provided a presentation on emergency preparedness. Thanks for coming out!

March update

We want to hear from you! The RDN Board has launched several public engagement initiatives, most recently our draft Strategic Plan and an update of the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection (DWWP) Action Plan. Additional projects include the Nanaimo Airport planning bylaw update, and a Regional Growth Strategy review, among others. Find links to these and other documents and opportunities to provide input at https://www.rdn.bc.ca/get-involved-rdn.

The draft Strategic Plan (RDN Talks: Priorities on the above website) identifies 8 focus areas for the Board: climate change, environmental stewardship, housing, growth management, transportation and transit, economic coordination, people and partnerships, and social well-being. Under each focal area we identify several actions – each of which will require several steps. The timelines identified will give us momentum on some very important issues. What do you think of these priorities? Are there actions we’ve missed? Please provide feedback on the page above, or directly to me.

The DWWP Action Plan is undergoing a 10-year refresh. After a review of the plan and associated activities, we’re setting the priorities for the next 10 years. I am pleased to have been appointed to the Steering Committee. The website above links to the documents and a survey about your thoughts on watershed protection – if you answer the survey you have a chance to win a rain barrell! I know islanders are extremely interested in water – I’d love to see great participation by Area B in the survey!

Here are a few additional recent initiatives the Board/staff has undertaken:

• we continue to discuss the opportunity to develop non-vehicular use in a road right-of-way with MOTI;

• an asset management review and implementation staff report was brought forward at the March 12th Committee of the Whole meeting (all reports are available on the RDN website). This thorough report allows better management of our built assets, and it’s worth a read. We’ve also discussed the idea of doing a natural assets review (eg parks) as well;

• the RDN was recently the lead applicant to the CleanBC Communities Fund along with surrounding municipalities. If received, the grant will allow the RDN to build up to 10, level-2 electric vehicle charging stations. I’ve got my hand up for a Gabriola station.

• review of funding options for regional and community parks initiatives (eg Development Cost Charges) – next step: staff report;

• review existing bylaws in each electoral area, recommend ways to address gaps, and identify cost-recovery options – next step: staff report;

• review the cost of webcasting Board/committee meetings – next step: staff report;

Upcoming (all open to the public):

• April 6th 10-2 pm at the North Fire Hall: Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department Open House – RDN staff and I will be there to promote emergency preparedness

• April 9th 1:30~5 pm at the RDN Building: Electoral Area Services committee and Committee of the Whole

• April 23rd 7~11 pm at the RDN building: Board meeting

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at vanessa.craig@rdn.bc.ca.

Skatepark fundraising

I was privileged to be invited to attend a ceremony today where Ride Free representatives Gaye Smith and Gray Switzer donated funds raised with the goal of building a skatepark on Gabriola, to the Keep on Pushin’ fundraising group. The funds were raised in honour of Gaye Smith’s son Stephen Smith, who was killed in Nanaimo in 2003. The funds have been added to the growing total that the Keep on Pushin’ group has raised so far.

Village Trail

I enjoyed getting to discuss the history of the Village Trail with Steve Earle, Laura-Jean Kelly, Cameron Murray, and Jim Ramsay. I’m meeting with MOTI and Parks RDN staff this week and look forward to being able to provide an update!