Newly elected Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) chair Bruce Milne says water was one of the first issues he raised in his inaugural meeting with the SCRD’s chief administrative officer.
Milne, the mayor of Sechelt and one of two Sechelt representatives on the SCRD board, was chosen as chair over Pender Harbour director Frank Mauro in a secret-ballot vote at the Nov. 9 board meeting.
Ian Winn of West Howe Sound was acclaimed as vice chair.
Milne, who was nominated by Gibsons alternate director Silas White, joined the SCRD board Nov. 1 after Sechelt was awarded a second director because its population crossed the 10,000 threshold in the last census.
Milne said he does not view the role of SCRD chair as political.
“I know that we come from various areas and represent those areas, but we need to find ways that we coincide or reconcile the interests that we have with the regional Coast overall,” he said.
“I really do want to stress that I think this board has worked well in the past and can work well in the future if we listen carefully to each other.”
Milne added during the question period after the meeting that he felt it was important to have a municipal director in one of the SCRD board’s top jobs.
Winn also made some remarks about how he sees the board working together in the final year before the election.
“I look forward to working with our new chair in my role as vice chair, and I also look forward to the continued good teamwork we’ve had this term,” Winn said. “We face some very regional challenges on the Sunshine Coast and I think that this team we have here is up for those challenges.”
During his regular director’s report, Mauro added, “I think it’s good, strong leadership and it can certainly work with this board. This board has shown the ability to collaborate and move forward on many, many issues.”
The directors also took time to thank Mauro, who had been vice chair, and outgoing chair Garry Nohr for their contributions to the SCRD. Elphinstone’s Lorne Lewis said he often hears people from off-Coast comment that the SCRD punches above its weight, and Nohr and Mauro deserved a lot of the credit for that.
Nohr has already announced he will not seek re-election. Mauro has not revealed his plans.
Speaking with Coast Reporter this week, Milne, who also sat on the SCRD board at the beginning of the term, said he did not expect to return.
“Circumstances change. Community requirements change. So your choice about how to serve and what to serve and how to serve that well changes,” he said.
“I’m a little surprised to be here in the fourth year [of the term], both on the board and as chair, but it’s not about ticking off boxes; it’s about encouraging things to move forward and continue to move forward and making sure there’s an appropriate transition in 2018 and 2019.”
Milne said any of the current board members would have made a good chair.
“We all bring different skill sets and at this particular juncture, the majority of the board thought that my skill sets would work better than others,” he said. “I think it’s primarily about experience and maybe some inclusion, making sure that the balance of things is right and everyone is heard the way they should be heard.”
As well as moving ahead, and perhaps accelerating the pace, when it comes to the SCRD’s water plan, Milne said he’d like to see the regional district and the municipalities take steps toward a regional growth strategy.
“I’m not intending to somehow change the direction of the RD or somehow change the strategic plan. I’m quite happy with the way things are going and the majority of the board simply wants me to tweak things a little bit with the skills that I have so that we can go through some of the bigger issues that are facing us right now.”
Milne will chair his first SCRD meeting on Nov. 23.
