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Director’s Report May 2018- Sierra Acton CVRD Director Area B
The values and priorities of our community were highlighted this month with the Watershed Protection initiative, the Illegal Garbage Dumping campaign and a reminder to the Province to remove the contaminated soil. The theme of protecting our piece of paradise came shining through as this community continues to build bonds and connections thus further strengthening our sense of community. I think we can all agree, “We love this place!” Love it! The CVRD Board agrees with the people that water is our most important asset. The Board is asking the citizens of the Cowichan Valley if we want a regional function to manage and protect water (estimated at $7/$100K assessed value.) The first step is collecting input from residents on how we would like to see this new service managed and then agreeing to the initiative through a referendum during the October Municipal Elections. If passed, it will be up to the new CVRD Board to determine what exactly the CVRD will deliver. Lately I have been getting complaints about unsightly premises (e.g. dead cars, junk spread around, etc.) I delivered a report to the Board highlighting what we invest in Tourism, Economic Development and Parks, yet we allow these premises to remain even though they are usually near the gateways to our communities. I was told that not many people complain about these issues. Unfortunately, bylaw at the CVRD is complaint driven. If you would like to see a focus on cleaning this up, I suggest you write about your concerns to rconway@cvrd.bc.ca and cc myself, Sacton@cvrd.bc.ca. This will document the issue and enable the Board to determine it as a priority for 2019. Share it! Area B’s Illegal Garbage Campaign had a spectacular kick off with a litter clean up rally for Earth Day (over 2000lbs of garbage were collected in Shawnigan alone!) The event would not have been a success without the organization of Kim Barnard and the sponsorship of the South Cowichan Rotary... THANK YOU! In addition, the CVRD is starting its Illegal Garbage Campaign that will be targeting dumping hot spots here in Shawnigan. You can expect roadside signage, radio ads, newspaper ads and more bylaw presence. Keeping our parks and trails garbage free depends on all of us: if you see any illegal dumping please call RAPP (Report All Poachers & Polluters) at #7277 or 1-877-952-7277. This month I also attended AVICC (Association Vancouver Island Coastal Communities) and it was a huge eye opener for me. It was really great to see municipal elected officials come together to influence change at the provincial and federal level. I’m very excited by the potential impacts that could come from this association and the Province wide equivalent. In addition, I attended a presentation by Justin Langlois who presented on the topic of Making Art in Public: Exploring Creativity and Participatory Placemaking. It was really exciting to see so many creative ideas that were inexpensive, but could add so much to our sense of community. I know we have a creative and engaging community, so do not hesitate if you have an idea; I’m your “YES” person and I will help in any way that I can. Protect it! Well done Shawnigan!!! It has been a while since we stood along the road waving signs, but you certainly didn’t forget how it’s done. The Shawnigan Residents Association set out to organize the community in an effort to let the Province know it’s time for REMOVAL of the 100k tonnes of contaminated soil at the SIA site. I was deeply grateful to all of those who showed up at 7:30am on a Friday to support this effort. It was great to see more than a hundred concerned community members waving their Save Shawnigan Water signs. The next step is a letter writing campaign. We are currently looking for 6-8 people to lead this campaign, so if you are interested please get in touch. If you don’t want to wait until we are organized, please write the following Ministers (pen and paper is best); Minister George Heyman 642 West Broadway Vancouver, BC V5Z 1G1 george.heyman.MLA@leg.bc.ca Phone: (604) 775-2453 Minister Michelle Mungall 433 Josephine Street, Nelson, BC V1L 1W4 Michelle.Mungall.MLA@leg.bc.ca Phone: 250-354-5944 Premier John Horgan 122 – 2806 Jacklin Road Victoria, BC V9B 5A4 premier@gov.bc.ca Phone: 1-250-387-1715 If there’s anything I can help with do not hesitate to contact me: Sierra Acton Sacton@cvrd.bc.ca FB: Sierra Acton Area B www.iloveshawnigan.com
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