I also want to encourage everyone to have a look at the new and definitely improved SLRD website. www.slrd.bc.ca There are some very cool features and it is much easier to navigate. One of my favorites is the map which is very useable!
Over the summer I've done a couple of blogs on wildfire issues. You can read them by continuing to scroll down.
BC Hydro Payment in
Lieu of Taxes – Agreement reached on redistribution
Over the last couple of
years I noticed that the BC Hydro Payment in Lieu of taxes went up about 4% each year. The northern SLRD portion of these payments is approx. $800,000 and it has long been a bone of contention that more of this PILT money is not allocated directly to the impacted areas - ours, Area B and Lillooet.
This spring during
budget discussions I proposed that that small yearly increase be allocated each year
to Area A, Area B and
Lillooet (40%/40%/20%) until the total PILT amount was redistributed to a new
formula which more fairly recognizes the impact of the BC Hydro system on Area
A, Area B & Lillooet.
In the end Area A will directly receive 15% of the
total allocation of approx. $800k (today’s dollars) as well as continuing the
indirect benefit we receive from the General Government and Planning services.
The municipalities
bought into this because it is a gradual, incremental way to do the
redistribution that will not cause them to have to increase taxes to make up
the difference. It will take a number of
years
To get up to the full
15%, however we will start this year with approx. an extra $7,000 and in the end,
some 5 years from now we will be at (give or take) $200,000 per year directly
coming into Area A.
The grant-in-aide
funding (Select Funds) will continue and the new extra funds will be required
to go to actual regional district services, capital projects or special
projects. In this way I would hope to
stabilize
the taxes/user fees
required for some troubled services such as the Gold Bridge Water and Bralorne
Sewer as well as contribute to new or changed needs (potentially such as Fire
Services).
This will support the area
while we work at getting our population and economic activity back to a
sustainable level for a community.
This
has been a long time coming and I must thank my SLRD colleagues for recognizing
the need to do this and buying into this idea that really doesn’t hurt any
particular area of the SLRD and will help ours tremendously over the long term.
Roof Sprinkler Program now in Place
The SLRD Roofline Sprinkler Program is now live. SLRD staff is working on the downloadable
instruction guide, but this will be available by the time our first sprinklers
are ready for pick up. Go to : Information and to order
Gun Lake Community Watershed Application
This application has been shuffled about government for close to 20 years. With over 70 individual water licences and many more non-registered users of the lake water on Gun Lake, the protection of this watershed is critical. The long and short of it is that almost everyone that owns property on Gun Lake drinks the water. There is absolutely no better reason to call this a Community Watershed. Its pretty clear. It does not appear that the Provincial Government does seem to see or want to see what is pretty clear (no pun intended) - this lake and its water is a community watershed.
I took the history to the SLRD board and requested that we as a board request meetings with the Minister at UBCM (FLNRO or Environment) to request as the Regional District that this long standing issue be addressed.
Link to History
Asset Preservation Bylaw
At the request of many
area residents and community groups the SLRD is moving forward with an asset
preservation bylaw. With the extreme
drop in full time population it is becoming more and more difficult for
volunteers to maintain or raise funds to maintain many of our community assets.
This new service will (in this order):
*have one bear proof
garbage/recycling container per year and related garbage pickup. This will start in Gold Bridge to take the
pressure of costs of garbage disposal off of businesses such as the Valley
Hardware and Grocery Store as they requested. Each year we will expand until
the Valley is appropriate covered by receptacles and removal. Most containers will be locked in the
winter.
*provide basic yard
maintenance on a pooled basis to many community amenities
*provide basic handyman
services on a pooled basis to many community amenities
*provide funding for
basic trail maintenance
*provide insurance
relief for community organizations on an application and as needed basis
A list of amenities to be supported could include (but don't have to): Bralorne Pioneer Museum, the Bralorne Fire Hall, the Bralorne Hall, the Bralorne Ball Diamond, Sunshine Mtn Recreational Area, Gold Bridge Community Hall/Golf Course, the Gateway Entry Kiosks, the Gold Bridge Sign Area, the Haylmore Heritage Site, the Bridge River Valley Cemetery, the Community Resource Building, and many more. Definitely not included are the School, the Post Office Building and the Transfer Station (looked after by other taxation sources).
A list of amenities to be supported could include (but don't have to): Bralorne Pioneer Museum, the Bralorne Fire Hall, the Bralorne Hall, the Bralorne Ball Diamond, Sunshine Mtn Recreational Area, Gold Bridge Community Hall/Golf Course, the Gateway Entry Kiosks, the Gold Bridge Sign Area, the Haylmore Heritage Site, the Bridge River Valley Cemetery, the Community Resource Building, and many more. Definitely not included are the School, the Post Office Building and the Transfer Station (looked after by other taxation sources).
This approach has been
partially tested out and funded through Select Funds for the past two
years. One can see the difference of
consistent yard maintenance throughout the community by looking at the Gold
Bridge Sign area, the Bralorne Church or the Community Resource Building. The contractor has sub contracted on some
amenities and on others has organized volunteer efforts (Haylmore Heritage Site
is a good example). The funding being raised by this Bylaw is
$25,000 and will come from the entire Area A tax base and in this way the overall
cost to any one property will be very minimal (.14C/$1000 net taxable value).
Why do this you
ask? In 2010/2011 I drove by the Gold
Bridge sign all summer. The grass was
2-3 ft high. Noone mowed it, no one
raked it, no one cared for it. That
situation is repeated over and over again in our community. Noone is to blame, we have 224 full time
residents and a lot of stuff to do. If we leave it go the economic hubs of this
area will appear to be falling apart.
Ask yourself, will someone want to buy an $800,000 second property on
Gun Lake or a commercial building in Bralorne when the basic community
infrastructure is falling apart and unkempt.
Nope. Then all of our property
values decline as they will be less sought after, less valuable. None of us want to see that happen. Time to recognize reality, do things
differently and for a small cost have our communities looking the best it
can. It is an investment in our own
property values and in our community as a whole.
All residents can have
their say on this via the Alternate Approval Process. Link to Information
Piles of Decked Wood left at the North end of Gun Lake
As many of you know a number of piles of decked and other wood was left at the north end of Gun Lake following the 2009 Tyaughton Lake Fire. I have continuously followed up with FLNRO regarding these piles to have them removed.
Piles of Decked Wood left at the North end of Gun Lake
As many of you know a number of piles of decked and other wood was left at the north end of Gun Lake following the 2009 Tyaughton Lake Fire. I have continuously followed up with FLNRO regarding these piles to have them removed.
FLNRO re-issued a
decked wood sale to AFK trucking ( a local contractor) for the old debris piles in the Gunn Lake area. This was to be completed by August 15 and this will enable the protection crews time this fall to plan and burn the remaining debris piles.
Regional Districts are switching who operates 911
This will happen this fall. Information at the links:
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