Shovels ready for start on CV water treatment plant

Shovels ready for start on CV water treatment plant

Shovels ready for start on CV water treatment plant

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Cionstruction of the new Comox Valley Water Treatment Project will begin in a few weeks by contractor AECON Water Infrastructure. 

A kick-off meeting last month between AECON, Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) staff and K’ómoks First Nation (KFN) paved the way for shovels to hit the ground this October. The official start of construction will be marked by a ceremony with KFN at the site of the new pump station on Comox Lake.

“The plan for the overall site is to draw inspiration from the forest environment and from KFN traditions,” said Charlie Gore, Manager of Capital Projects. “We look forward to working together on making this both the modern operational facility we need, as well as a meaningful one in terms of design and detail.”

The water use agreement with BC Hydro was signed in early-September confirming the long-term supply of water to the system and checking off another key milestone in preparation for work this fall.

“We’ll be hosting an open house in early 2020 to keep the community informed about the construction work, and design of the new system,” said Gore. “Updates on the plan for the trail head, which includes features highlighted in our public engagement process, like a graveled parking area and an accessible outhouse washroom, will be available at this event.”

To learn more about the Comox Valley Water Treatment Project read the latest project update newsletter that is now available online.

 

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Comox Valley local government elections ramping up for Oct. 15 vote

Comox Valley voters will elect new councilors, mayors, regional district representatives, school board members and Island Trust reps on Oct. 15. Find out who’s running for what … and why. Decafnation returns to shine more light on local government issues and candidates

Major changes coming to Courtenay-Comox sewage commission

Major changes coming to Courtenay-Comox sewage commission

George Le Masurier photo

Major changes coming to Courtenay-Comox sewage commission

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This article has been updated to include comments from Jenny Steel, spokesperson for the Curtis Road Residents Association

Major changes may be coming to the Courtenay-Comox Sewage Commission after directors unanimously approved five staff recommendations on Sept. 17 emanating from a year-old report on utilities governance.

Commissioners approved development of a policy to allow the Area B director to attend meetings and engage in discussions involving infrastructure and operations located in the electoral area. It would be a non-voting position.

Area B representation has been a contentious issue for years.

Croteau Beach residents raised the issue about five years ago during proposals to construct a new sewage pump station in the neighborhood. And more recently, Curtis Road residents who are still complaining about noxious odour from the sewage treatment plant have lobbied to have an Area B representative on the commission.

Commissioners also voted to invite the K’omoks First Nation to appoint an observer to the commission, also in a non-voting capacity.

Those recommendations may add two new positions on the commission, but another recommendation will consider whether to drop the Department of National Defense representative in lieu of an agreement to provide the DND with certainty over rates and system capacity to handle CFB Comox effluent.

That recommendation concerned Courtenay Commissioner Doug Hillian who pointed out that eliminating one voting member on a commision of seven leaves an even number of commissioners. That makes tie votes more likely.

The three Courtenay commissioners and the three Comox commissioners often vote in blocks and frequently on opposite sides of an issue. By legislative rules, any motion receiving a tie vote is defeated.

James Warren, the CVRD’s general manager of corporate services, who presented the governance report summary and staff recommendations, said the potential even number of commissioners was an issue for they would have to consider.

Warren said the staff will need two months to develop policies and agreements around the recommendations.

Major Delta Guerard said consultations on the DND recommendations would have to go through her chain of command all the way to Ottawa, which might take even longer.

One of the other recommendations included a list of staff-based actions to improve communications, and the possibility of adding a new technical professional dedicated to the sewage commission. At present, one professional handles both sewerage and drinking water responsibilities.

The final recommendation approved direct staff to develop a review board policy for large-scale projects, such as the new water treatment plant, to minimize the potential for political interference.

Responding to a question about future large projects, Senior Engineer Marc Ruten said the current system is 40 years old and some parts might need replacement rather than upgrading, especially because there are new provincial requirements today.

“It was okay to put sewer pipes on the foreshore at one time, which we’re realizing now is not an option,” Ruten said. “Many of the options of the old days are not with us now.”

Most of the recommendations require development of policies, agreements or other staff actions before they will be implemented. But the approvals set that process in motion.

Jenny Steel, spokesperson for the Curtis Road Residents Association, said her group would wait to see the policy staff recommends to assess whether Area B’s request for a permanent non-voting seat on the sewage commission will be effective.

“Our elected representative was not involved in any of the discussions and the level of detail in today’s staff report was not enough for us to understand what exactly was being proposed or how it would work.” she told Decafnation. “We do find it a slap in the face and undemocratic that other small constituencies (DND and KFN) appear to be welcomed without hesitation to permanent membership on the sewage commission. Meanwhile, Comox Commissioners treat Area B, the host community for a huge part of sewer service infrastructure, as a pariah.”

 

 

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New approach to mental health, substance issues to benefit SD71 students

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New approach to mental health, substance issues to benefit SD71 students

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Comox Valley students with mental health or substance use issues will have a new and more easily accessible pathway for help starting sometime in December.

The province has chosen School District 71 as the second of five districts to pilot a project linking health care and school resources to create a “one-care-plan” approach that will provide help when and where students need it.

BC Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy made the announcement at GP Vanier High School today. The province has allocated $22.1 million over three years to implement the project in five districts. Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows was the first.

Tom Demeo, Superintendent of Schools, Comox Valley School District praised the new concept.

“We are extremely fortunate to be part of this great initiative,” he said. “Student mental health is one of our district’s strategic focuses and through this partnership, we will be able to work collaboratively with our community partners to provide our students with resources that will strengthen and improve their mental health.”

In making the announcement, Darcy said estimated 84,000 BC children aged four to 17 years experience mental health disorders at any given time. From 2009 to 2017, there was an 86 percent increase in hospitalizations in B.C. for mental health issues among youth under 25 years of age.

She said promoting wellness, preventing mental health and addictions challenges, and intervening early in life can reduce problems as people grow and develop. She estimated that 70 percent of mental health and substance use problems have their onset during childhood or adolescence.

Ronna-Rae Leonard, Courtenay-Comox MLA, welcomed the news.

“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in enrolment over the past few years so added supports – especially in the areas of mental health and overall wellness for students – could not have come at a better time,” she said.

According to a ministry press release “integrated teams will work closely with school and team-based primary care and specialized services providers to offer wraparound care to children, youth and their families.

This means individuals experiencing mental health and substance use challenges and their families will no longer need to retell their stories to different care providers or search on their own for the supports they need.”

“For far too long, families have had to knock on door after door to get the help they need for their children,” Darcy said. “These integrated child and youth teams will make it so much easier to connect young people to the help they need, where and when they need it.”

Darcy and Leonard were in the Comox Valley today for the announcement.

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Who’s monitoring water quality at Island beaches?

Who’s monitoring water quality at Island beaches?

Island Health wants municipalities to monitor water quality at beachs like Comox Lake  /  George Le Masurier photo

Who’s monitoring water quality at Island beaches?

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The Vancouver Island Health Authority announced last month that it planned to drop a public health responsibility and dump it onto BC municipalities, but it apparently forgot to inform municipal officials.

The health authority said it has already stopped monitoring water quality at popular public beaches, and that it had told municipalities last summer that the responsibility would shift to them.

Courtenay CAO David Allen says he hasn’t seen anything in writing from Island Health.

“The City of Courtenay has reached out to Island Health to request further information and documentation about this change in their policy,” Allen told Decafnation. “City staff are also in discussions with other regional local governments to identify roles and responsibilities.”

Shelley Ashfield, the Town of Comox’s chief engineer said the Town has not received any directive from VIHA regarding sampling of any public beaches at this time.

Rob Crisfield, manager of operations for the Village of Cumberland told Decafnation with possibly a hint of irony that “The village is not currently monitoring any beaches.”

And there was no response from the Comox Valley Regional District.

Regardless of where the communications went awry, no water quality testing has apparently occurred this summer at popular north Island beaches.

An Island Health officer said some municipalities in the south Island, such as Saanich and the Capital Regional District have taken on the task, while most have not.

Island Health has a long list of north Island beaches that should be monitored. They include beaches at Goose Spit, Kin Beach, Kitty Coleman, Kye Bay, Tribune Bay, Little Tribune Bay and Whaling Station Bay on Hornby Island, Miracle Beach, Point Holmes, Puntledge Park and Puntledge River swimming areas and Saratoga Beach.

Island Health says that environmental Health Officers have reviewed water quality results from samples at popular beach areas every summer and posted advisories where swimming was not recommended.

But, a VIHA spokesperson said, they were transferring the task of taking samples and providing oversight to municipalities as all the other BC health authorities have done. Island Health will pay the cost of analysis and courier fees to testing laboratories and will continue to post the results and advisories on their website.

Water quality tests for indicator bacteria identify whether fecal contamination exists and to what degree. A “no swimming” advisory would be posted if the average of several samples exceeds 200 E. coli or 35 Enterococci, or a single sample exceeds 400 E. Coli or 70 Enterococci per sample.

 

 

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Heritage BC joins fight to save Shakesides, warns AG of dangerous precedent

Heritage BC joins fight to save Shakesides, warns AG of dangerous precedent

Is this the future of Shakesides? Photo shows the site of Mack Laing’s original home, Baybrook  /  George Le Masurier photo

Heritage BC joins fight to save Shakesides, warns AG of dangerous precedent

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Demolition of the famous naturalist Mack Laing’s heritage home could have reverberations throughout British Columbia for heritage conservation.

That’s the message from the province’s leading heritage conservation organization, which has thrown its weight behind the Mack Laing Heritage Society’s effort to stop the Town of Comox from demolishing the house, known as Shakesides.

Paul Gravett, executive director of Heritage BC, has urged BC Attorney General David Eby not to condone the “demolition by neglect” practice being used by the Town of Comox.

“If the court allows the terms of Mr. Laing’s trust to be altered, a precedent could be established that would discourage future donors, who fear their wishes could be altered or ignored, from making important gifts of real property. This poses a threat to the conservation of B.C.’s heritage,” Gravett wrote in a letter to the attorney general.

“The current state of Shakesides is a form of ‘demolition by neglect.’ this is a wholly unacceptable and irresponsible practice that results in the slow degradation of our historic environment. It should not be condoned,” he wrote.

Gravett has also filed an affidavit in the BC Supreme Court case that will decide Shakesides’ fate. The Town of Comox has petitioned the court to alter the terms of their trust agreement with Mack Laing, which would allow them to demolish the house and spend the sizable monetary trust Laing left the town in other ways.

The Mack Laing Heritage Society has opposed the town’s petition and will be a party to the case when it is heard. No court date has been set, but the case will likely go to trial this fall.

Gravett said the building, which still stands on its original site, is restorable.

“The proposal (by Comox) to demolish the structure is antithetical to heritage conservation and environmental conservation,” he wrote to AG Eby. “Shakesides should not be allowed to become landfill.”

In his affidavit, Gravett notes that he urged the town two years ago to reconsider its pursuit of court permission to demolish Shakesides. At the same time, he offered the town his organization’s “advice, capacity building training and assistance with conservation planning” to save the building.

Gravett also offered financial assistance through grants from the Heritage Legacy Fund program.

The Town of Comox rejected both offers.

“The replacement of Shakesides with the proposed viewing platform is inappropriate,” Gravett wrote to AG Eby. “The viewing platform would not stand as a memorial to Mr. Laing or the values of a community, but as the neglect of our history and heritage and the disregard of a philanthropist’s wishes.”

The BC Association of Heritage Professionals has also written to the attorney general in opposition to the Town of Comox petition.

 

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DeMarzo takes on expanded community role at CVRD

DeMarzo takes on expanded community role at CVRD

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The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) announced today that Doug DeMarzo will be their new General Manager of Community Services. He will oversee the CVRD’s parks, recreation, fire protection, emergency management divisions.

Doug comes to the role with over 10 years’ experience leading teams in both Victoria and here at the CVRD in the parks and community services setting. Since 2014, he has been managing the parks system and promoting environmental protection and outdoor recreation within the region. 

“Doug has been acting within the role since last spring and demonstrated excellent leadership and strategic value within the role,” CVRD Chief Administrative Officer Russell Dyson said. “We are excited to see Doug within this role and the new ideas he will bring to the organization.”

 

 

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