I would like to thank the communities of Bralorne and Gold Bridge, and the neighborhoods of Marshall Lake, Tyaughton Lake and Gun Lake for your support and encouragement for the last 3 years.
On Friday, October 10, the nominations for local government and in particular, Area A of the SLRD closed at 4 pm .
I have been elected to the position of Electoral Area A Director for the SLRD by acclamation. (all those who have a contest election is on Nov. 15)
I love the Bridge River Valley and I will continue to work flat out for this area for the next four years.
Thank you again for your support, it is truly appreciated and it does give me energy when I get tired. I love emails and phone calls, they keep me motivated. I even like it when you don't agree with me because it makes me think. So away we go for another four years!
Our favorite topic......Results: Hurley River Rd. Survey
The link below contains the rough results of the Hurley River Rd. survey. The survey is now closed.
Entire Survey: Hurley River Rd. Rough Results
Here is a snippet on the question that really inflamed debate this past spring:
I wanted to share this information with the property owners in the area first.
Please note in the last question regarding additional funding through various Regional District sources 28% skipped the question, meaning they vote "no" to any further forms of funding. This means 72% voted for some form of non-Provincial government additional funding.
I will be going through the individual responses and the rest of the survey to determine trends in responses.
My task is to provide the MLAs and Ministry officials with a consensus view within the current budget. I welcome any and all of your reflections on what this survey communicates to you in that context. I may be doing some follow ups with the community via surveys etc. Email is fine, demare87@gmail.com for your thoughts/comments.
Fire Services Review
I would encourage everyone to follow along on this topic as the community will be involved in discussions and decisions (including financial) regarding fire services in the BRV going forward.
(Just a note, that stuff from the Civic Web loads slowly, be patient).
 |
| GLFPS Storage Shed |
Darren Oike, the new SLRD Fire Services Coordinator gave the Electoral Area Directors a report/update after his first month:
Fire Services Coordinator Month 1 Update
My last months post on the topic: Previous Post on this topic
Fire Services Review (I'd read the front part and then scroll through to the sections on recommendations and specific sections on the Bralorne Fire Department & Gun Lake Fire Protection Society). Fire Services Review Final
Bralorne Sewer
This past month the SLRD Utilities Department had to do an emergency repair. The funds for this (approx. $50k) came from the Capital Reserve in that service (Bralorne Sewer) that Bralorne Residents have been paying into.
Here is the letter that the Utilities Dept. has prepared about the sewer system in Bralorne:
Letter to Bralorne Residents from SLRD - October 2014
As you know the SLRD has twice applied for Infrastructure funds to fix this very old system and has not been successful either time.
Here is a link to the original engineering study:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/95506532/Bralorne-Community-Sewer-System-Assesment-Study-Update2
It is my commitment to ensure that property owners in Bralorne are kept fully informed and involved as we go forward. We will be working very hard to figure out how to access funding through the Build Canada funds, the new redistributed BC Hydro Grant In Lieu of Taxes, etc. I have had an email from a resident blasting the SLRD staff and board. We all understand the concern both financially and from a health standpoint. The potential impact of the worst case scenario (borrowing) is not good. Please give those trying to work for Bralorne the benefit of the doubt, work with us, give us your input, be involved , that's the best way to ensure a Best Case Scenario and the long term sustainability of the Bralorne community!
B.C. Hydro Power Outages: October 8 & 9 Gold Bridge
On October 8 & 9 there were lengthy power outages in Gold Bridge as crews replaced power poles and transformers in the community. Unfortunately, these outages affected an important piece of communications infrastructure in the entire valley belonging to Minto Communications Society. As a result the entire valley suffered significant internet outages on these two days.
BC Hydro has been very good lately in advising the SLRD (and they advise the community) of planned power outages. Unfortunately, we did not rceive notice of this one. I called the BC Hydro community relations fellow (good guy), Jerry Muir and he did some investigation. Here is an excerpt from his response:
Bralorne Sewer
This past month the SLRD Utilities Department had to do an emergency repair. The funds for this (approx. $50k) came from the Capital Reserve in that service (Bralorne Sewer) that Bralorne Residents have been paying into.
Here is the letter that the Utilities Dept. has prepared about the sewer system in Bralorne:
Letter to Bralorne Residents from SLRD - October 2014
As you know the SLRD has twice applied for Infrastructure funds to fix this very old system and has not been successful either time.
Here is a link to the original engineering study:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/95506532/Bralorne-Community-Sewer-System-Assesment-Study-Update2
It is my commitment to ensure that property owners in Bralorne are kept fully informed and involved as we go forward. We will be working very hard to figure out how to access funding through the Build Canada funds, the new redistributed BC Hydro Grant In Lieu of Taxes, etc. I have had an email from a resident blasting the SLRD staff and board. We all understand the concern both financially and from a health standpoint. The potential impact of the worst case scenario (borrowing) is not good. Please give those trying to work for Bralorne the benefit of the doubt, work with us, give us your input, be involved , that's the best way to ensure a Best Case Scenario and the long term sustainability of the Bralorne community!
B.C. Hydro Power Outages: October 8 & 9 Gold Bridge
On October 8 & 9 there were lengthy power outages in Gold Bridge as crews replaced power poles and transformers in the community. Unfortunately, these outages affected an important piece of communications infrastructure in the entire valley belonging to Minto Communications Society. As a result the entire valley suffered significant internet outages on these two days.
"In respect to the outages in in Gold Bridge on Oct 8th
and 9th, unfortunately our contractor missed a critical step in
planning this outage and did not provide proper notification to customers. I
also understand that the outage on Oct 9th was prolonged when the
crews identified a transformer that needed to be replaced. As this was not part
of the original job, a replacement needed to be sourced and transported to site
from Cache Creek.
Since this was brought to our attention last week, BCH has
followed-up with the contractor to ensure that, moving forward, they are operating
in accordance with our planned outage notification requirements. I can assure
you that they will work to improve their notification efforts in the future."
Jerry's followup is much appreciated and hopefully we will not have a repeat of this problem.
Keir Rezoning Public Hearing
Thursday, October 23 @ 4 pm - Gold Bridge Community Club
Link to Info on SLRD page. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page after you hit this link there is a specific link to the Keir rezoning information.
BRVCA Community Advisory Notices
You may have noticed you are not receiving Community Advisory notices from BRVCA. The Community Advisory notices often included information on road closures, emergency situations, redistribute SLRD notices, events in the community and so on. With the new Anti-Spam legislation you need to expressly give your consent to receive these. BRVCA will be rebuilding their contact lists in the new month or so. If you wish to receive the Community Advisory notices please email bridgerivervalley@gmail.com and advise them so.
Interesting Links.
Imagine BC Imagine BC is an annual opportunity for residents of British Columbia to pitch an excellent, innovative and possibly untraditional idea to our jury. Successful pitches receive funding of up to $7,000. Winning ideas are those that address identified community needs or interests, such as volunteerism, small business development, digital literacy, community engagement, cultural programming, or local history.
Take a peek! www.imaginebc.ca If you have an idea get in touch with me!!!
Thought provoking articles on rural community challenges:
Love of Place over Quality of Life
Seeking solutions for communities like Hedley, BC
Keir Rezoning Public Hearing
Thursday, October 23 @ 4 pm - Gold Bridge Community Club
Link to Info on SLRD page. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page after you hit this link there is a specific link to the Keir rezoning information.
BRVCA Community Advisory Notices
You may have noticed you are not receiving Community Advisory notices from BRVCA. The Community Advisory notices often included information on road closures, emergency situations, redistribute SLRD notices, events in the community and so on. With the new Anti-Spam legislation you need to expressly give your consent to receive these. BRVCA will be rebuilding their contact lists in the new month or so. If you wish to receive the Community Advisory notices please email bridgerivervalley@gmail.com and advise them so.
Interesting Links.
Imagine BC Imagine BC is an annual opportunity for residents of British Columbia to pitch an excellent, innovative and possibly untraditional idea to our jury. Successful pitches receive funding of up to $7,000. Winning ideas are those that address identified community needs or interests, such as volunteerism, small business development, digital literacy, community engagement, cultural programming, or local history.
Take a peek! www.imaginebc.ca If you have an idea get in touch with me!!!
Thought provoking articles on rural community challenges:
Love of Place over Quality of Life
Seeking solutions for communities like Hedley, BC
Posts
