The RDN Board held its inaugural meeting for the year (the first meeting in November is the anniversary of the inaugural Board meeting after the election). At that meeting we elect our Board Chair and Vice Chair. Congratulations to Ian Thorpe, who was re-elected Chair of the Board. I was honoured to be elected as Vice Chair of the Board for the coming year.
The Regional Parks Strategic Plan Open House is today at the GAC Hall between 5:30-7:30 pm – I hope to see you there! We’re asking for input on priorities for land acquisition or trail development, as well as your vision for the parks. There is also an online survey to fill out if you can’t make it to an open house. You can find it and other opportunities to provide input here: https://www.rdn.bc.ca/get-involved-rdn
No news to report on the success of our Huxley Park grant applications, unfortunately. We’re still very hopeful we will hear of a positive result by the end of the year.
As you know, the RDN is moving to automated waste/recycling/green collection starting October 2020. The different cart choices will remain on display at GIRO through December. You can go online (through the link above) to register your choices of cart sizes. If you do so by the end of the year you will be entered to win a prize! You’ll receive the default cart sizes if you miss filling out the survey.
The RDN is revising its parks bylaws to address issues such as homeless camping, smoking and the use of cannabis, off-road vehicle use, and e-bike use in parks; as well as updating the schedule of fees. I will be meeting with staff to further discuss the draft Homeless Camping Regulations.
The RDN Community Grants Committee awarded over $19,000 in grants to Gabriola community groups. This represented a relatively large amount relative to the funds available for the electoral areas, which reflects the large number of committed community groups on the islands. Congratulations to the successful groups!
A major item in the Board’s new strategic plan is addressing climate change. As a step in implementing the Board’s strategic plan, the Board approved funding to develop a Corporate Carbon Neutral 2032 Plan. In addition, the Board approved the creation of a Climate Action Technical Advisory Committee.
As reported earlier, the RDN was the lead applicant on a CleanBC grant application to support the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. If the grant is received, Gabriola will receive one of the stations. Because the provision of electric vehicle charging stations is not currently an RDN service, the RDN will proceed with an alternative approval process for the establishment of this new service.
I’m in the process of planning an emergency preparedness fair at the community hall, hopefully in January. I’m speaking with our various community groups to determine a date that works for all. If you have any suggestions of individuals or groups that would be a good addition to the fair, please feel free to contact me.
Upcoming:
The last Board meeting for the year is on December 10th. Please remember that you can watch meetings through a live webcast, or online after the meeting if you can’t make it in person.
I will be holding office hours at the Islands Trust office on December 16th from 2-4 pm. Thank you to IT staff for allowing me to use this space.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at Vanessa.Craig@rdn.bc.ca.