Approval process for an electric vehicle charging service closes February 15th
The RDN initiated an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) to determine whether residents are in favour of the creation of a new electric vehicle (EV) charging service, as part of a mid-island project to create a charging network. If approved, one of the chargers will be placed on Gabriola. At our recent Board meeting my Motion to move the potential location to Huxley Park was supported, so if the AAP is successful the feasibility of Huxley as a location will be assessed. For the first few months the charger will be free to use, and the Board will receive a report on the use and costs prior to determining whether we should move to a user pay service. The estimated cost of the service for Area B (based on 2020 tax assessments) is $3,870, or $0.231 per $100,000 of assessed value. That means if your home is assessed at $100,000 you would pay $0.23 per year; $500,000 would be $1.15 etc. By contributing to the creation of an EV charging network the RDN is helping to address its climate change goals. There is a lot of information available here: https://www.getinvolved.rdn.ca/evbylaw. If you approve of the RDN offering this service, you do not need to do anything. If you oppose this new EV service, you can sign and submit an official elector response form. The form must be received by the RDN by February 15th 2021 (received, not postmarked). You can get a copy of the form at the link above, or by calling 250-390-4111 or 1-877-607-4111.
2021 budget
The 2021 budget is nearing completion. As has been reported in the Sounder, the Board has been discussing how we can minimize tax increases while still maintaining our services and progressing in our strategic priorities. I have recently made a couple of adjustments to the draft budget by increasing the funding to the Gabriola Arts Council from $5000 to $7500 per year, and increasing the funding to our essential service provider GERTIE to provide a 2% cost-of-living adjustment and to also fund their increased rent costs incurred by moving to the old firehall as their home base. Primary budget drivers for our area in 2021 include our community parks, which is the largest amount in our budget. This line item includes the costs of maintaining our parks, our debt payments for acquiring new parks, and projects for 2021 including a fire risk assessment for part of the 707 Community Park. The second largest line item is for our participation in the Vancouver Island Regional Library service. The RDN collects those funds on VIRL’s behalf. The VIRL budget is not set by the RDN -it’s set by the VIRL Board, which has representatives from all the various municipalities and regional districts that participate. The next biggest budget drivers include GERTIE, the Gabriola Recreation Society, and Southern Community Recreation (the amount we pay to the City of Nanaimo for our use of arenas and swimming pools). We will be receiving an updated draft budget at the Committee of the Whole meeting on February 9th. More information on the budget is available here https://www.getinvolved.rdn.ca/rdn-budget-talks
Village Way Path update
Windley Contracting has demobilized for the winter and expects to return to working on the Village Way project in March when the asphalt plant starts back up. Currently we have temporary fencing in place for safety. The railings are in production and installation of the railings is expected to continue through the winter. This project is being paid for through Community Works Funds.
Huxley Park update
The long-awaited Phase 2 of Huxley Park development is scheduled to occur this year, including a revised parking area and new skatepark. This project is supported by community fundraising, a substantial grant from the provincial and federal governments, as well as Area B taxation. The tender documents will be released shortly with a desired completion in 2021. Actual timing of the project start will be dependent on the tender responses.
New projects
· the RDN submitted a grant application to the province which would cover 100% of the cost of replacing the existing portable at Rollo McClay community park (which is currently scheduled for removal this year) with a new portable. The grant results should be known by spring, with a grant condition that all projects be completed by the end of the year.
· A fire risk assessment and mitigation plan for the 707 Community Park will begin this year. In addition to being included in the Area B tax budget, RDN staff have also applied for FireSmart funding. The funding will determine the size of the area that can be assessed.
· RDN staff applied for funding to do evacuation route planning for our area in 2021. We should hear about the grant results soon.
Other updates
· The RDN received COVID relief funding from the provincial government. This funding is meant to offset funding shortfalls and expenses incurred as a result of COVID. Much of the funding will go to addressing RDN administration costs associated with the pandemic. I was successful in having a portion of the funding go to GERTIE to offset their revenue shortfall in 2021, and to the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Improvement District to cover their 2020 actual and 2021 potential costs for PPE.
· Congratulations to GIRO for receiving a $103,000 grant from the RDN to support their project on textile recovery through a circular economy.
· The Board approved next steps in development of an interregional transit connection between Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley with the objective of starting the service in 2022.
· You might be aware that Area A in the RDN is currently undergoing an OCP and bylaw amendment to address the Nanaimo Airport land use plan. Two associated bylaws have passed second reading and there is currently a public engagement process in place for a Regional Growth Strategy Amendment. At the recent Board meeting the Islands Trust were added as a stakeholder for consultation purposes. See https://www.getinvolved.rdn.ca/airport for more information.
Upcoming:
The Electoral Area Services Committee meetings are on February 4th and March 4th (1 pm start)
Committee of the Whole (1 pm) upcoming meetings are on February 9th and March 9th
The next RDN Board meetings are on February 23rd and March 23rd (1 pm start)
The next Parks and Open Spaces Committee meeting is on February 22nd (10 am start)
If you have any thoughts or questions about this update or anything else RDN related, please click the big Contact button in the top right of my website to send me a message.