Over the last year I’ve been privileged to represent you as the Area B Director at the Regional District of Nanaimo. At the end of the year it’s a good time to look back at some of the highlights of 2019. Many thanks to the Sounder for publishing my monthly updates. And congratulations to the Sarah Holmes from The Sounder (U40 Entrepreneur), Salt & Co. (New Business), and Arbutus Home Building Centre (Business of the Year) for winning awards from the Chamber of Commerce!
We began and ended 2019 as islanders dealing with the aftermath of different kinds of disasters – the wind storm which struck at the end of 2018, and the plane crash on December 10th. For both of these disasters our emergency responders were activated – huge thanks to all of our emergency personnel – including the GVFID, ambulance, Emergency Support Services volunteers, RDN Emergency Management staff, and volunteers on Mudge Island and DeCourcy Island for all they did helping out our fellow islanders during these and other events during the year. We are truly fortunate to have such committed people on our islands.
We have made significant progress in some long-term projects this year. A few highlights:
The Village Way path project drawings have gone through several iterations this year and are awaiting final approval from MOTI.
In early 2019 two grant proposals were submitted for development of Phase 2 of Huxley Park, which includes a skatepark. We expect to hear the results very soon.
A long-standing concern of past Fire Chief Rick Jackson was around debris management from land-clearing activities. To clarify options I organized an on-island tour with Chief Jackson, RDN Manager of Solid Waste Larry Garner, MoE Section Head for Solid Waste Luc Lachance, RDN Fire Services Coordinator Doug Gardiner, and RDN bylaw enforcement officer Dion Klassen.
I am working with RDN emergency staff and the Community Hall with the goal of having the Hall identified as an emergency reception centre for the south island
An important Board initiative this year was the development of our Strategic Plan, which will guide our activities for the next few years. The Board identified eight focus areas: 1. To become leaders in climate change and adaption and become net zero by 2032, 2. To protect and enhance the natural environment, 3. To promote affordable housing, 4. To provide effective land use planning and responsible asset management, 5. To provide opportunities for effective movement throughout the region, 6. To “set the table” to promote diverse economic opportunities, 7. To improve the governance and awareness of the RDN, and 8. To make the region a safe and vibrant place for all.
The Board and staff have been very busy in 2019 – I’ll highlight just some activities I feel might be of interest:
Communications/Accessibility/Transparency. In 2019 we:
initiated webcasting of our Board meetings to improve accessibility and transparency
had numerous opportunities for public input on RDN strategic documents through the Get Involved RDN page
expanded communications to residents through ads in the Sounder
In addition to these Board/staff initiatives, I:
held numerous drop-in office hours through the year
wrote monthly updates published in the Sounder
submitted a Regional Director’s report at each local Islands Trust meeting and attended IT meetings as much as possible
regularly provided RDN-related information through my RDN Facebook page
Environment – an important focus of the Board’s Strategic Plan. Some of our activities included:
requesting staff develop a Corporate Carbon Neutral 2032 Plan
creating a Climate Action Technical Advisory Committee
applying for grants and investigating creating an electric vehicle charging network
continuing with a sea level rise mapping and adaption program and expanding to riverine mapping in 2020
updating the 10-year Action Plan for the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection program
Social – activities included:
increased funding to GERTIE and the Gabriola Museum
partnering with neighbouring municipalities on a childcare needs assessment (ongoing)
anticipating a report on regional housing capacity and gap analysis
Some other highlights included:
renewing the funding agreement with the Gabriola Chamber of Commerce for 1 year
initiating a regional economic development review
initiating a review of funding for regional and community park acquisition and development
undertaking a comprehensive review of bylaws for the electoral areas
evacuation route planning for Area E, Lantzville, and the Snaw-Naw-As First Nation
expanded transit hours including the initiation of bus service to the airport during the week
Waste Management staff were awarded the Northwest Biosolids ‘Excellence in Biosolids’ Award
staff received a Canadian Award for Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association for its 2017 financial report
Through our work in 2019 I believe the Board and staff are well positioned to make even more progress in our strategic priorities in 2020. I will continue to look for opportunities to make improvements in communications and emergency planning this year. If you have any thoughts about these topics or any other, please contact me.
Upcoming:
The next RDN Board meetings are on January 28th and February 25th at the RDN Building in Nanaimo/online starting 7 pm.
The Electoral Area Services Committee (starting 1:30 pm) and Committee of the Whole (starting 3 pm) upcoming meetings are on February 11th and March 10th at the RDN Building in Nanaimo/online.
The next Parks and Open Spaces Committee (POSAC) meeting is at the GAC Hall on February 10th starting at 6 pm.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at Vanessa.Craig@rdn.bc.ca