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What have we achieved over this council term?

In the second part of the mayor's report (part 1 was in last week's Undercurrent) I will highlight what has been accomplished over the past three years by council and staff.

In the second part of the mayor's report (part 1 was in last week's Undercurrent) I will highlight what has been accomplished over the past three years by council and staff.

The current council has been a pleasure to work with we have been hard working, collegial and productive. Our diverse opinions have tested ideas through critical debate, and we never shied away from making tough decisions in a timely fashion. Working together with staff, we have achieved the largest acquisition in community-owned infrastructure in the last 20 years, a new community-designed OCP to guide future development, and a fully staffed and effective municipal team.

Community Services: A number of key community services have been taken on based on clear benefit to the community. Municipal staff took over our snow clearing from contractors and provided more cost-effective and responsive service to islanders. BIM took over management of water systems from a contractor based on advice from staff and support from the majority of water districts. The community recreation department continues to deliver quality programs while finding efficiencies: Family Place and the Youth Centre now share space, and the community leisure guide now combines recreation, arts, and continuing education programs. Council supported staffing a youth coordinator position to meet community needs. Council accepted the request of the library board and staff to make the library a municipal library to strengthen this key community asset. Recreation programming, using a cost-recovery model for program delivery, has continued to improve services.

This council set as its top priority an updated Official Community Plan with an investment of $206,000. Our old 1996 OCP, though a solid foundation, was outdated in key areas. Extensive community input, one the island should be proud of, created a new OCP in line with community values and aspirations. The new OCP focuses future island growth in Snug Cove and Seymour Bay and away from rural areas. Among many things, it champions affordable housing, Belterra lands for co-housing, and provides an acre of community-owned lands for affordable housing. With the OCP in place, the community can move forward with a clear vision for its future development.

The improvement of ferry marshalling in Snug Cove has vexed our community for two decades and produced many ideas but little action. Council committed to a decision on a design for ferry marshalling that would lead to revitalization of Snug Cove. This process is nearing completion. Using the talents of James Tuer, all previous designs for the cove were reviewed, design options created, and community input solicited. Council will decide on a plan for roads and adjacent development areas in Snug Cove by the end of term, to allow the next council to advance infrastructure improvements in the cove.

Council created an opportunity to consider a national park on Bowen Island by inviting Parks Canada to conduct a feasibility study. With the help of an active group of volunteers, we conducted an extensive consultation process to inform the community of the costs and benefits, and created a process that allows the community to decide this question. Municipal costs associated with this initiative were funded by Parks Canada. The community will decide this question through a community opinion vote on November 19.

The development proposal for Cape Roger Curtis lands, inherited from the previous council, was highly controversial. In the end, and simply put, the vast majority of islanders, in every way that council could measure (petitions, letters, speakers at public meetings) were opposed to the proposal. In line with public opinion, council unanimously opposed the proposal. Following that decision, the owners declined a request from council to submit a plan that conformed to our Official Community Plan. The subsequent subdivision of the lands, handled by staff as required by law, acquired a kilometre of shoreline trail along the west coast (in lieu of public access every 200 metres along the shoreline), and provides public access to this well-loved land and seascape.

This council has a track record of sound fiscal management. We have held to modest tax increases (4.3 per cent, 3.7 per cent, and 3 per cent). We inherited accumulated capital reserves, but an associated infrastructure deficit. There is good reason for this: for the first six years as a new municipality, we lacked the staff to fully plan and manage infrastructure projects, and taxes collected were in excess of project spending. In other words, tax moneys accumulated, but required work was not getting done. This council used a portion of these accumulated capital reserves wisely, on key priorities. The reserves now need to be rebuilt. We have instituted additional savings, starting in 2009 by an increase in property taxes of 1.5 per cent each year. At the same time we have recognized that operating costs are not in line with our community's long-term ability to pay. We implemented a corporate review in 2010, well underway in the 2012 budget, to ensure sustainable levels of operations.

As a community in close proximity to urban municipalities, we have high expectations for services. Yet unlike those communities, we lack significant commercial and industrial tax bases. Spread out across the island, our infrastructure costs are high. For example, staff estimate that we spend at least twice per capita on roads compared to nearby communities, yet our spending per kilometre of road is only a third. Going forward we will need to cut costs/services or find new sources of funding. The proposed commitment by Parks Canada to spend $10 million on capital projects within the park area over five years if a national park reserve were to be established on Bowen, deserves careful consideration by our community.

Building staff: The municipality has been challenged over the past three years by turnover and vacancy in key senior management positions. However, we now are fully staffed and Chief Administrative Officer Brent Mahood has built a strong senior management team. Our staff is the core strength of the municipality and will be an asset to the incoming council.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge municipal council, staff, and the many volunteers on this island for their contributions to all of the above projects and activities described in this week's and last week's Undercurrent. This is truly a remarkable community that works together to make good things happen. If you have any questions, I can be reached on my cell phone at 604 785 3096.

BOB TURNER

Mayor