Tag Archives: SRD Board

Housing, Politics

BC Government approves 3% tax on Cortes Island short term rentals

On May 16, Mark Vonesch, Regional Director for Cortes Island issued a press release stating, “I’m excited to let you know that the provincial government has approved Cortes Island’s short term rental tax application. Starting on July 1st, tourists will pay an extra 3% on their short term rental bookings and the funds will be collected by the provincial government and sent to the Cortes Housing Society on a monthly basis to contribute to the development of Rainbow Ridge rental housing.”

“This is the first time in BC history that a community is using the tax entirely for housing and the provincial government had to amend their legislation to make it possible.”

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Fire

SRD recommends Eli Mckenty be appointed ‘Local Assistant to the Fire Commissioner’ for Cortes Island

British Columbia’s British Columbia’s Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) is the Provincial government office tasked with providing support to BC’s fire services through fire investigation, collecting statistics, fire prevention and establishing standards for fire service training. It is based in Saanichton and operates through numerous Local Assistants. At the request of the Cortes Island Fire Department, the Strathcona Regional District Board is recommending that Fire Chief Eli McKenty be appointed Local Assistant to the Fire Commissioner for Cortes Island.

Continue reading SRD recommends Eli Mckenty be appointed ‘Local Assistant to the Fire Commissioner’ for Cortes Island →
Fire

SRD moving forward with Regional Fire Service

The Strathcona Regional District is moving forward with adoption of a regional fire administration support service that would provide assistance to the various fire departments in the Regional District. 

There was little discussion and no opposing votes at the May 10th SRD Board meeting. 

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Fire

Cortes Fire Department meeting with the SRD

Last week, Sadhu Johnston, President of the Cortes Island Fire Fighters Association met with David Leitch, Chief Administrative Officer of the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) and two of his staff.

“There was  a lot of smoke and not a lot of fire in there. We ended up having a very productive conversation and we’ll be entering into contract negotiations for another five year contract for firefighting on Cortes. It was very productive and they were really willing to work with us and address the unique needs of Cortes and find ways to address concerns in working together,” said Johnston.  

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Fire

Mark Vonesch: Why a shared fire service could save us money

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) centralized fire service, unveiled at last week’s board meeting, was not what many feared. It seemed to compliment, rather than replace, the District’s seven volunteer fire departments. Cortes Currents reached out to Mark Vonesch (MV), the Regional Director for our area, for a more in depth perspective.  

MV: “The size of this service is quite small and it’s really just funding two full-time jobs to provide some general administration support around the things that rural fire departments  and the regional district need to coordinate more on. I think it makes sense both for rural fire departments in the Strathcona Regional District and the regional district itself to have some shared administration.”

Continue reading Mark Vonesch: Why a shared fire service could save us money →