Keeping the A Licence: the Ferry Advisory Committee had their biannual meeting with B.C. Ferries representatives Oct. 25. Chair Susanna Braund reports that B.C. Ferries’ representatives said more than once that the recent Licence A crew level increase (which sees the passenger capacity go from 392 passengers to 432 passengers) will remain in place until they can find a solution that meets community needs. Braund reports that Captain Lance Lomax says that he’s talking with Transport Canada to see if the licence numbers have any flexibility.
Among Braund’s highlights:
• The committee brought up the inconsistencies with loading patterns and passenger counts among the four ferry watches and asked for some consistency.
• B.C. Ferries and the municipality will work at getting a parking space near the front of the ferry lineup for passengers with disabilities who need to be parked near the ferry elevators.
• The digital display at the Horseshoe Bay terminal’s vehicle booth for Bowen now reads “return fare included” (for the tourists). However, B.C. Ferries maintains that it’s not possible for vehicle tickets to read “lanes 65-72” (rather than listing only one lane.)
• BC Ferries expects the new Snug Cove terminal building to be operational in 2021.
• The committee asked for better communication from B.C. Ferries, which the representatives said they’d try to remedy.
It’s finally over: defeated mayoral candidate Melanie Mason, who lost to mayor-elect Gary Ander by a mere two votes, wrote up a concession post on Facebook last Friday. Election night, Mason formally requested a recount which happened the following Tuesday and came out exactly the same as the first count.
“My thanks to everyone for helping to carry out the recount,” reads Mason’s statement. “It is a testament to the Municipality that the recount was literally identical to the preliminary count.
“My thanks also to everyone who supported me on the trail. I really enjoyed talking to everyone about our beautiful island so thank you so much. My heart was so warmed by the island-wide commitment to building a diverse, inclusive and vibrant community and I know that Gary and the rest of council will work hard to achieve this for the community.”
Mason and mayor Murray Skeels are the only members of the current council who will not be returning to chambers in November.
Conservation development in action: In a special council meeting Monday morning (their really final one), council unanimously approved a covenant for the Grafton Lakes development. The covenant will see a portion of the property transferred to the municipality (for use as a water treatment plant), another portion designated park land, trail and path construction and provisions for rental and affordable housing.
The 350 acre parcel of land near the centre of the island is to have no more than 120 units, not including affordable housing and caretaker residences.
