Tag Archives: Read Island

Community, Politics

Rural Directors opposed to their residents paying for Strathcona Garden renovations

The Directors of Cortes Island (Area B), Areas A and C are opposed to the idea that their ratepayers should help finance renovations to the Strathcona Gardens facility in Campbell River. The Strathcona Regional District’s portion of financing the new aquatic and wellness centre is expected to be around $73 million. Last April the SRD Board approved a bylaw allowing them to borrow $64,670.000. This debt is currently the responsibility of property owners in the City of Campbell River and Electoral Area D, where most of the facility’s users reside. At the June 28 SRD Board meeting, Directors John Rice of Area D and Susan Sinnott of Campbell River brought forward a motion that staff look into the option that ratepayers in Areas A, B, and C pick up part of the tab.

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Arts

Willow: New Beginnings

It has been more than three years since I interviewed Willow about the release of their EP ‘The Southend.’

Maureen Fox explained, “it was right before COVID when we spoke.  We’ve had a bit of an adventure and then about a year later, Noel had to move to Gold River to be with  her family. So we asked the beautiful Kelly Beamish to join us. Kelly brings this fabulous voice into the mix that has been really fun because her voice blends so well with ours.” 

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Community

2023 Cortes Social Profit Gathering

Originally published by the Cortes Foundation

A woven tray of fresh flowers is making its way around the circle of 50 or so participants in the Social Profit Gathering held mid-June on Cortes Island, BC. Co-organizer Manda Aufochs Gillespie (Cortes Island Community Foundation, Folk U), has kicked off the day with an address to this land that has continued to provide for human communities since time immemorial. Everyone is invited to take a colorful bloom and connect to this place by holding a piece of it. The other invitation is to co-create the day ahead, building onto the scheduled agenda with collective knowledge, ideas and experience.

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Fire

An Open Burning Bylaw for Cortes Island

SRD staff is preparinig an open Burning Bylaw for Cortes Island. 

This is in response to Coastal Fire Centre’s decision to allow campfires, on June 20: ‘due to cooler conditions and rainfall, which has reduced the fire danger rating in these areas.’ However appropriate this may have been in other areas under the Centre’s control, it was not on Cortes Island. As Nancy Kendel wrote in the Tideline, “We have had basically NO RAIN since beginning of May, and our forests are tinder dry!”

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Community, Politics

Approved: Area C’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan

Quadra Island’s Community Plan was drawn up in 2007 and some of the Outer Discovery have land use plans dating back to the 1990s, but Area C needed an overall comprehensive vision. The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) started the consultation process leading to an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan in 2019. Then COVID arrived, and everything was put on hold. Last year the SRD recruited a community focus group, hired a facilitator and proceeded to finish the job. On Friday, June 16, The SRD Board announced the approval of the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan for Electoral Area C (The Discovery Islands & Mainland Inlets).

“Anytime we do any sort of comprehensive planning process, one of the biggest challenges that we have is finding common ground amongst all  the disparate ideas, visions, goals and challenges of people living in different areas – and with being diverse people themselves.  In this case because it is a vision for the entire region, it was much more important that we were able to come together, find that common ground and that shared vision.  That required a lot of intense discussion and a lot of work together,” explained Meredith Starkey. SRD Manager of parks and planning.  

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