Ambulance situation better, but far from fixed
Chief administrative officer Liam Edwards said the municipality had a “quite positive and very productive” meeting with the BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) on Monday, including the director for the North Shore region, regarding the vacant shifts on Bowen.
While still not fully staffed, communication mix-ups meant Bowen was not absent as many shifts as first thought. Reports earlier this month said nearly 30 shifts would be missed, but Edwards said some of them were filled after receiving this information.
“So the good news is that the amount of days that Bowen has been without service or reduced service is far fewer than what we had been led to believe,” he explained. “The challenging bit is that we still need to improve communications, so that when we get a glimpse of gaps in their shifts, that we are then informed that those gaps have actually been filled.”
The search to fill the two full-time roles continues, though Edwards hinted there may be some local leads. “I want to be clear that we’re not fully staffed and fully serviced yet. But they (BCAS) were abundantly aware and keen to do what they can to try and help rectify the situation,” he says.
“They’ve got real big problems they’re dealing with too, and I think they’re doing the best they can to get through them. But it doesn’t mean we’re going to ease off them at all,” added Mayor Gary Ander.
Society seeking sewage
Snug Cove House Society (SCHS) wrote a letter to council expressing the urgency of finding a sewage solution to continue work on their namesake house.
An application to BC HousingHub for a construction mortgage hinges on proof of a fully serviced lot, including sewage. With a connection to the Snug Cove Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) out of the question anytime soon, “the society is extremely concerned that this will quite possibly fatally compromise its application,” wrote chair of the SCHS board Graham Ritchie.
SCHS requested they be allowed to inspect the municipally owned land north of 1082 Miller Road to see if it’s suitable for a septic field until they can be hooked up to the WWTP in the future. This was unanimously agreed to.
A related motion from Coun. Alison Morse asked that, following the original inspection, any additional septic field space be considered for the unserviced lots on Foxglove Lane. “We’ve just offered to pay for the fixing up of the sewer so that the other lots in Foxglove can hook up. So we’ve got to treat the other ones equally,” said Morse.
Coun. Sue Ellen Fast joined the rest of council in voting ‘yes’, but wanted to make sure Snug Cove House remained the focus. “Priority wise, council’s priority has been the supported seniors housing and that’s what SCHS is all about,” she said.
Mayor Gary Ander reinforced the house is the priority. “We’ll be very conscious of the priorities there… If there isn’t enough of a field there, you know who’s going to get it first."
