Tag Archives: Robyn Mawhinney

Politics

Strathcona Gardens: Still in the Deep End

Originally published in the Bird’s Eye

On March 25, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) board voted 7–6 to move forward with drafting a bylaw that would add Quadra Island — not all of Area C — to the Strathcona Gardens recreation service area. Although that vote was a blow to many residents, it’s not the end of the road by any means. In our third article on the unfolding situation, we look at what options are legally on the table, how they can be navigated, who is involved, and how you can still have a say.

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Politics

Campbell River’s Acropolis: Power, Politics and the Price of Strathcona Gardens

The Acropolis is now perceived as a pinnacle of human achievement, yet 2,500 years ago many Greek city-states viewed it as a monument to tyranny. The funding for monuments like the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike came from the Delian League—a coalition originally formed to resist the expanding Persian Empire. However there came a point when the Persian campaigns were more about the Athenian Empire than liberty. The traditional date for this transition is 454 BC, when the great Athenian statesman Pericles transferred the Delian League’s treasury from Delos to Athens. Plutarch described this as the moment the city lost its integrity and reputation. The funds raised to free Greek cities were instead used to adorn Athens with ‘costly statues and temples worth their millions.’ (Plutarch, Life of Pericles, 12.)   

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Community, Politics

A $943,000 Question: Quadra and the Strathcona Gardens Vote

Originally published in the Bird’s Eye

Did I set out to write a two-page article this week? Nope. Did I anyway? Yup. This is a big deal for our island — and it’s still early in the series. So yes, I’m running the longest two pages in Bird’s Eye history. Sorry, not sorry. Enjoy!

By Melissa McKinney, editor/owner of the Bird’s Eye.

On March 25, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) board voted on whether to add Quadra Island to the Strathcona Gardens recreation service area. Around 80 Area C residents showed up to watch — enough to fill the boardroom, spill out through the open double doors into the lobby, where even standing room was tight. The SRD livestreams their board meetings on YouTube, so small groups of residents huddled around phones watching their own local government meeting from the parking lot outside. Inside the lobby, the meeting’s audio played from multiple phones on a slight delay, making it difficult to follow unless you were actually in the boardroom. 

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Politics

Cortes, Quadra and Read Island items at the March 25th SRD Board Meeting

At its March 25 SRD Board meeting, Campbell River and its allies passed a resolution to draft a bylaw making the average Quadra Island homeowner pay an additional $588 in property taxes to help fund Campbell River’s Recreate Strathcona Gardens project. (This fight is not over yet.) Whether the proposed bylaw will pass remains to be seen, but a large number of noncontroversial Cortes, Quadra and Read Island items were passed at the same board meeting. They pertained to: 

  • A Quadra Island Right of Way
  • Vacancies in Advisory Planning Commissions for Areas C & D
  • Squirrel Cove Aquaculture 
  • Who Pays Administrative Costs for the Electoral Areas Services Committee
  • Cortes Island’s Active Transportation Plan
  • Funding Opportunities for Active Transportation in Areas B & C
  • Legacy Gifts in Regional District Parks
  • Residency Requirement for Short Term Rentals
  • Proposed Electoral Areas Grant in Aid Service 
  • Waste Pick-up Contract on Cortes Island
  • Renewal of Post Office contract for Read Island
  • Grants-in-Aid for Quadra Island 

As these are all short items, Cortes Currents decided to use them as examples of how the SRD conducts board meetings.

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Housing, Politics, Waste

Area C Director’s Report: positive sewer momentum; rural housing; OCP meeting dates

Hello,
Recent rains remind me of winters which trundled from rainstorm to deluge to showers… here’s hoping a deluge of spring blooms isn’t far off. This report has news about collaborative work on wastewater (sewer), learnings from the recent Campbell River Housing Symposium, and dates & topics for upcoming Official Community Plan discussions.

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