NORTH ISLAND
Port Hardy’s Highland Manor, a 41-year-old, 50-unit building, has been purchased by Greg Vance and his business partners, the same team who previously bought Creekside Apartments. The sale closed for $1.6 million.
Seven Mile Landfill is seeking funds via Clean BC’s organic infrastructure and collection program to improve its composting system, which would consist of using silage bag composting for food waste. The landfill handles about 5,000 tons of organic waste a year. The Regional District of Mount Waddington has applied for funding for the project, estimated at $500,000, with Clean BC potentially picking up two-thirds of the cost.
Dennis Dugas, Mayor of Port Hardy
Kwakiutl First Nation Hereditary Chief David Knox, Chief Councillor Ross Hunt Jr. and Mayor Dennis Dugas met at the District of Port Hardy’s municipal hall to sign a relationship agreement to work together to support and promote the wellbeing of the First Nation, the district, and the North Island as a whole. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action will underlie their work together, with the First Nation and district agreeing to share information from the federal government, Province of British Columbia, Regional District of Mount Waddington and other bodies directly or indirectly impacting this agreement and/or shared interests.
Port McNeill council has agreed to fund one-third of the cost for a new battery back-up power system for the Chilton Regional Arena. Total cost for the project is estimated at $48,000 and the town’s contribution is capped at $16,000, included in the 2021 budget, with the Regional District of Mount Waddington paying the remaining $32,000.
Port McNeill council voted unanimously to approve a 2.3 per cent increase in the 2021 utility fees covering water, solid waste and sewage. Annual increases are determined through a formula established in 2018, when the previous council passed three bylaws allowing for annual increases based on net change in the consumer price index (CPI) of the previous year plus one. For residential property owners, that 2.3 per cent increase will add an additional $14.40 to their annual utility bill.
CAMPBELL RIVER
Construction has finished on Q’waxsem Place, a 50-unit supportive housing development in Campbell River, that will be managed by the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society. The Province provided approximately $10.4 million for the project and will provide approximately $962,000 in annual operating funding. The City of Campbell River provided the land, as well as $550,000 in equity contributions and waivers.
The Campbell River Rotary clubs raised $16,011 for the Campbell River Hospital Foundation through their March for Children project. The donation will be used to purchase a Vascular Imaging Machine for the maternity department.
Tlowitsis First Nation is set to develop a wastewater treatment facility for its new 635-acre Nenagwas reserve, south of Campbell River. The project is in early stages, with the permit application for the wastewater treatment plant having recently been made with regulatory bodies. The application includes a request for a Statutory Right of Way (SRW) for crown seabed for the installation of a marine wastewater outfall 14 km south of Campbell River at Oyster Bay. The project is estimated to begin in two years.
The City of Campbell River is looking to implement curbside collection of organic waste once the new regional composting facility is operational. Council submitted an application to the CleanBC Organics Infrastructure and Collection Program that would see up to two-thirds the cost of such a program picked up by the provincial government, with the remaining third funded by the city.
Tlowitsis First Nation intends to develop a wastewater treatment facility for its 635-acre Nenagwas reserve, south of Campbell River. A permit application for the wastewater treatment plant has been made with regulatory bodies, requesting a Statutory Right of Way (SRW) for crown seabed for the installation of a marine wastewater outfall at Oyster Bay. The First Nation has hired Nanaimo’s Chatwin Engineering to handle the project.
The City of Campbell River is looking to add the Haig-Brown House at the north end of town and Sybil Andrews Cottage in the south to the city’s Community Heritage Register to strengthen the protection of the two heritage properties.
COMOX VALLEY
The K’ómoks First Nation and the Comox Valley Regional District Sewage Commission have ratified a Community Benefits Agreement committing both parties to collaborate on a regional solution for sewage. The agreement will provide upgrades for Comox and Courtenay sewer infrastructure while supporting the growth and economic development plans of the K’ómoks community. The partnership recognizes existing sewer lines through reserve land was expropriated without adequate consultation, and provides compensation for past and future impacts of sewer infrastructure within the reserve.
The provincial government has announced that K’omoks First Nation will receive $472,000 for a project to protect against erosion impacting the community. The funding has been approved through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund’s structural flood mitigation stream, targeting projects to prevent, eliminate or reduce the impacts of flood hazards.
A pedestrian crossing is being installed at Ryan Road and Cowichan Avenue at the turn-off to North Island College. Raylec Power will conduct the work, which is expected to begin February 22nd.
The Comox Valley Community Foundation has launched its 2021 COVID-19 Emergency Response Grants, available to local charities and not-for-profit organizations. The CVRD has contributed $100,000 from its Provincial Safe Restart Funds to the foundation to support the 2021 COVID-19 Emergency Response. The CVCF has also committed $60,000 from the Robert & Florence Filberg Funds for child welfare and religious organizations. To find out more, visit www.cvcfoundation.org or call 250-338-8444.
The province is providing the Comox Valley Transition Society with $300,000 to convert two beds at the Amethyst House, a women’s residential recovery centre in Courtenay, from private to publicly funded, making treatment more accessible to a greater number of people. The CVTS partners with Island Health to provide the service.