AREA B TOWN HALL MEETING - PARKLAND ELEMENTARY, Feb. 5, 2012

Yesterday, the CRD Staff and myself hosted the 2012 Area B TOWNHALL MEETING at Parkland Elementary School north of Quesnel in the 10 Mile Lake area.  As it was my first Town Hall Meeting as a CRD Director, I feel it went well.  25 people attended and there was a good cross section of people from the Electoral Area.  Always nice to see more but a VERY big THANK YOU to all that attended and made my "inaugural Town Hall Meeting" a welcoming and good experience.  I hope those that attended left feeling more informed about the services that the CRD provides.  There were people I recognised from the Bouchie Lake / Milburn Lake area, Ten Mile Lake, and Quesnel - Hixon areas.  The meeting was a great way to meet some new faces.  Also in attendance were Director John Massier (CRD Electoral Area C / Barlow Creek to Barkerville) and Chair Art Kaehn of Fraser Ft. George Regional District & Director of Electoral Area "E" (Woodpecker - Hixon).  It was great having the support of these 2 more "seasoned" Directors!  As it is Director Massier's 2nd term (4th year as a Director) he was able to fill in the gaps on decisions that were made prior to my term.

 

 

 The Meeting began with myself providing an introduction and an overview of the meeting and the CRD.  Following my wee spiel,  Janis Bell, CAO and Shelly Burich, Manager of Communications (both of the CRD) did a GREAT presentation, with power point, which provided an overview of the CRD and 2012 5-Year Financial Plan. Thanks ladies!!! This presentation can be viewed at http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/WhatsNew/TownHallMeetings.aspx  I highly recommend that ALL CRD RESIDENTS review this presentation. 

 

A few points of interest to be noted is that the CRD MUST balance its budget and there is no source of general revenue.  All budgets have "fire walls" between them so money cannot be moved from one function to another.  As such, funds collected through taxation for recreation cannot be used to manage waste.

 

Janis also provided an update on some of the projects that are underway or nearing their close.  To summarise, they are as follows:

 

(i) The Solid Waste Management Plan: now complete.  With the information collected, the Solid Waste Management Committee will now prepare a plan which will be presented to the CRD Board in the spring, 2012.  For additional information on the Solid Waste Management Plan Review, check out  http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/Services/SolidWasteManagement/SWMReview.aspx;

 

(ii) North Cariboo Recreation Boundary Review: This coming year, the City of Quesnel and CRD will be reviewing the current taxation boundary for North Cariboo Parks & Recreation and will make recommendations for any appropriate changes.  The existing boundary is ~ 30 years old and does not reflect property development occuring on the outside edge of the taxation area.  Funding has been allocated in the 2012 budget for consulting services as required to complete this goal.  Extensive consultation will be undertaken as part of the review process.  The proposed boundary is the "Handy Dart Taxation Boundary";

 

(iii) Emergency Planning Open Houses: these are being scheduled throughout the CRD to collect important information that will be used by the CRD during an emergency.  The 1st meeting of this type held in Area B was on Feb. 1st at Bouchie Lake Hall.  Another meeting was held at Parkland School immediately following the Town Hall Meeting.  More information is available at http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/Services/ProtectiveServices/EmergencyOperationsCentreEOC.aspx

 

Following the CRD Presentation, there was an opportunity for open discussion and residents to voice their concners / comments / opinions and recommendations on any issue they so chose.  It was great to hear people speak to issues that are of importance.  I am hoping to expand on the concerns / comments brough forward over the next few weeks as I look into things and learn more.  Three issues were brought forward and they are summarised here:

 

(i) In the spring of 2011 there were several houses that were destroyed because there was concern, due to the flooding of the Cottonwood River, that these houses would end up in the river. The property on which houses were located are now "vacant Crown land" and plans include ensuring that they are rehabilitated to their "natural state".  For additional information on the flooding, refer to this BC Government online site http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2011/05/safety-concerns-cease-flood-mitigation-work-cottonwood.html
A concern was also brought forward regarding the use of these aforementioned properties by people that use them for "partying" during the summer.  They drink alcohol and are reported to leave garbage on-site.  It was also requested to have Fishey signage posted and that there was also concern regarding the status of the main road when there is another large flood.  I plan to report more on the status of this situation as time progresses. My plan also includes doing a "road trip" out this way to better familiarise myself with the sites, issues and concerns.  To view on satellite imagery or maps the geographic location of the Cottonwood River, please click on this link: http://maps.google.com/?q=Cottonwood River Provincial Park, British Columbia

 

(ii) An Area B based volunteer fire fighter enquired about a "LODD" / Line of Duty Death fund / policy being set up so local volunteer fire fighters are able to have some of their expenses covered to attend the memorial services of fire fighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.  Volunteer fire fighters give of their time and they consider themselves to be a "family". 

(iii) Another Area B based volunteer fire fighter discussed the proposed plan of the Quesnel Firemans's Association to erect a monument at Lebourdais Park (downtown Quesnel) which honours all volunteer fire fighers. There was a discussion as to whether the CRD had funds to assist in the installation and creation of this said monument and whether it could be cost shared with the City of Quesnel.  The option to research available funds / grants was discussed along with the Association doing a delegration to the Joint Planning Committee.  As the CRD does not have a source of general revenue, any CRD funds allocated towards such a monument would have to be included in taxation and a budget.  A brief discussion ensued regarding the possibility of accessing funds through Quesnel Community Foundation (http://www.quesnelfoundation.ca/)

 

My goal is to research these three concerns / issues brought forward and provide some information, and perhaps an answer, to them.  Watch here for additional information!