The inaugural meeting of the new Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board occurs today. All of the incoming and re-elected Directors will be sworn in. Both of the two new Directors from our broadcast area, Mark Vonesch and Robyn Mawhinney, will be among them. Cortes Currents spoke to Mawhinney about her preparations to take office.  

“My days have been very full since the election. I had a seven hour orientation session at the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) office, and I learned from the many different departments what they’re working on and how they intersect and can support Area C and Quadra Island. I’ve had other meetings with other staff members as well, including Tommy Yates, the corporate officer. I’ve been learning about the options and considerations as I work on how best to achieve the community advisory council that I spoke about during my campaign,” she explained.

“There are issues, of course, which continue from one director to the next, and I’m really grateful for Jim Abrams commitment to a smooth and informed transition. He and I have had several long conversations.”

She’s also been getting emails and phone calls from her constituents.

 One of the ideas that Mawhinney found particularly intriguing was trying to come to a strategic alignment with the other Regional Directors, on the issues they want to prioritize over the next four years.

“Many staff decisions are filtered through these strategic priorities and initiatives. I understand that the board will be working together on these in spring 2023, setting the direction for the next four years, and I am looking forward to that,” she said. 

“It feels to me like each director really has the best interests of their community at heart, and each of the electoral area communities have very different needs and priorities within them.”

Gerald Whalley gave the other rural Directors a tour of the Sayward Valley and village last week. 

Mawhinney said she is enjoying getting to know the other Directors, and listed their top priorities:

• Gerald Whalley (Area A: Sayward to Kyuquot/Nootka) – keeping taxes low and people as unfettered as possible by any sort of regulation.
• John Rice (Area D: South of Campbell River to Oyster Bay, from the Strait of Georgia to Buttle Lake) – water is important to the whole community
• Mark Vonesch (Area B: Cortes Island) – who has been working with the Cortes Housing Society on a plan to impose a 3% tax on all the short term rentals on Cortes Island.

Mawhinney was impressed by the fact Vonesch is ready to ask the SRD for a letter of support. If he gets it, the next step will be to send an application in to the provincial government.

“It was great hearing how far Cortes has come in their work towards affordable housing. I think that here on Quadra we have a lot to learn from Cortes,” she said. 

Mawhinney also spoke about Jim Abram’s assistance dealing with the Outer Islands. The SRD has completed a fire brigade study for the Surge Narrows Community Association. They are currently assessing whether it meets their needs, or if there’s some other option which might meet their needs better. 

The SRD is also about to install water pumps on the wharfs at Owen Bay (Sonora Island), Evans Bay (Read Island), Surge Narrows (Read Island) and Port Neville (on the B.C. Mainland). Mawhinney learned about the plan to install water pumps at her orientation meeting and the SRD engineer has agreed to let her come along when they do the installation. 

“I’m really excited to see Owens Bay and Evans Bay. I visited Surge Narrows four times during my candidacy, but I haven’t had a chance to explore further,” she said. “I believe that visiting and experiencing a location expands one’s understanding and respect for a place, and that I’m really looking forward to it.”

Other first things she wants to do as a director: 

• Quadra Islanders have a number of long standing priorities  
• Once she is given her official SRD email address, Mawhinney plans to introduce herself to the local highways contractor and various provincial ministries.
• Mawhinney intends to jump right into the budget process, studying past financial plans and delving into the planning and discussion of the next budget cycle with SRD staff. 
• She also wants to find the best way to move forward with an advisory council

Top image credit: Bridge over the Salmon River, Sayward – Photo by Tim Gage via Wikimedia (CC BY Sa, 2.0 License)

Sign-up for Cortes Currents email-out:

To receive an emailed catalogue of articles on Cortes Currents, send a (blank) email to subscribe to your desired frequency:

• Daily, (articles posted during the last 24 hours) – cortescurrents-daily+subscribe@cortes.groups.io
• Weekly Digest cortescurrents – cortescurrents-weekly+subscribe@cortes.groups.io