From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney

Hello,
This report is stacked with news on wharves and the recycling depot, plus a Friends of Area C petition accepted by the Board. Let’s get to it…

Wharves

There’s big news about the Surge Narrows and Owen Bay wharves of Area C: the Board has approved a contract to repair the wharves, and the work will begin in the 2025 ‘fall fish window’. This seemingly simple statement has been more than a decade coming, and will be welcome news to many wharf users, especially folks in the Outer Discovery Islands.

The repairs support continued access, improved safety, and long-term operational viability to the wharves which are critical infrastructure for the remote communities they support and provide residents access to their properties. The wharves also facilitate marine tourism and offer safe harbour during storms.

Wharves have been an ongoing topic for years. Indeed, the wharves were divested by Transport Canada to the SRD eleven years ago. The divestment came with federal funding to do necessary works, a deadline, and a requirement that the funds weren’t used till the wharves were part of a regional district service. Now, the wharves of Surge Narrows and Owen Bay have joined three other wharves in the Area C Parks Service, and the SRD and Tlowitsis First Nation have a binding agreement for the divestment of the Port Neville Wharf, with final transfer of ownership proceeding once the funded repairs are complete.

As you can likely imagine, construction costs have escalated considerably since 2014 when the wharves were divested. SRD staff have made concerted efforts to reflect local input, however, the constraints of the funding agreements and available budgets required design concessions at all three sites.

At the May meeting, the Board authorized a contract with Pacific Industrial and Marine for $2,149,590 to repair the wharf facilities at Surge Narrows, Owen Bay and Port Neville. The Community Works/gas tax allocation for Owen Bay has been increased from $117k to $120k to meet the lowest project bid. In 2024 the project agreement with Transport Canada was extended to November 2026. Big gratitude to the SRD engineering team who continue to move this project forward.

Quadra Recycle Depot

A new Recycle BC depot for Quadra Island is highly anticipated by many islanders and has been in the works for years. I’m excited to share that progress is being made, and a needed budget addition of $198,000 for completion of the depot was approved at the May meeting of the Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) Board.

Additional funding was required to complete the project due to construction cost increases and higher costs for site prep & building foundation due to conditions identified during geotechnical investigations. The recycle depot will be housed in a prefabricated steel building on a leased parcel of land on West Road (maybe you’ve noticed the sign announcing the depot is coming soon).

Many steps of the recycle depot project are complete: a long-term lease for the land is in place; geotechnical investigations are complete; a contract for a facility operator has been awarded; a Quadra Island engineer is providing structural engineering services for the project; and a prefabricated steel building package has been ordered. Due to tariff uncertainty, CSWM chose a Canadian-made building which will be ready and delivered in four months. The depot is anticipated to open Fall 2025. Keep up to date on the latest recycle depot news here: cswm.ca/quadradepotconversion

Strathcona Gardens Petition presented

The May SRD Board meeting featured a delegation presentation from two Quadra Islanders, Mike Gall & Bob Hartley, representing Friends of Area C. They presented a petition with a total of 1,226 names, each signatory ‘respectfully requesting a formal Area C exclusive referendum prior to any future vote of inclusion in the Strathcona Gardens Service’. The boardroom gallery seating was filled with their supporters, some holding banners.

I very much appreciate the concern with which many folks view Area C being included in the Strathcona Gardens Service and the additional tax burden this could create. Currently I have no new updates to report: the Kelsey Centre Review Committee, which will be presenting its findings to the board, continues its journey of learning & discovery; these learnings will be included in the ‘additional recreation participation’ report. Want a refresher on the details? Check out my February 7 Report, available at robynmawhinney.ca/directors-reports.

May Day success

Huge thanks to the Quadra Community Centre for all the organizing and work they do to make Quadra’s annual May Day celebration a reality, and massive gratitude to all the volunteers who invest their time & energy, ensuring this heartwarming community tradition continues.

Connect

Thank you for reading, and thank you for the opportunity to serve our community. You’re welcome to connect with me with questions or concerns: you can email RMawhinney@srd.ca, or call 250.203.2468. If you’d like to chat in person, you can book a meeting at calendly.com/robynmawhinney… my next office date is June 20th.

Until next time,
Respectfully,
Director Robyn Mawhinney