The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) will be working with a new schedule and a new committee structure when directors resume their meetings after an August break.
Starting in September, the number of standing committees will be reduced from four to three: planning and community development (PCD), infrastructure services (ISC), and corporate and administrative services (CAS). One of the reasons behind realigning the committees was to better match the departmental structure at the regional district.
Under a new schedule approved by the SCRD board July 28, all meetings will be held on Thursdays, with the first Thursday of the month left open. PCD will meet on the second Thursday of the month, ISC on the third, and CAS on the fourth. The board will continue to meet on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.
Meetings of the advisory committees on transportation and policing will now be held quarterly, and will be moved from their previous Monday slot to Thursdays as well. The next policing and transportation meetings will be on Oct. 20.
According to a staff report on the changes, leaving the first Thursday of every month free creates an opening for special meetings, public engagement sessions or things like board workshops.
Gibsons Library
SCRD directors got a briefing on the Gibsons Public Library’s (GPL) renovation plans at the July 28 corporate and administrative services committee meeting.
Chief librarian Tracey Therien told the directors GPL is on track to complete the next phase of the reconfiguration between Aug. 12 and 26, and while the work is being done, library patrons will still be able to access the digital collection. Loan periods for printed material are being extended, and late fees are being waived.
The budget for the work is around $165,000, which is being covered by the library’s capital reserve fund, an SCRD grant, the library foundation and community grants.
Therien also said they’re hoping to raise some of the money for the third phase of the project – about $20,000 in upgrades to the children’s section - through crowd funding as part of a program called Wayblaze.
“It’s different from any other crowd sourcing platform, and it’s exclusively for community projects,” she explained. “This is a pilot that we’ve been invited to participate in … we’ll be launching it in September.”
Bio-Blitz funding
SCRD directors have approved a small grant to help cover the costs of May’s Bio-Blitz on South Thormanby Island.
The event was organized by Ruby Lake Lagoon Society, and more than 100 people helped clear the beaches on Simson Provincial Park of discarded foam and plastic. They gathered 1.38 metric tones – enough to fill a dumpster.
The $582.02 in grants will cover the cost of the dumpster rental and the tipping fees. Part of it comes from a Good Samaritan program run through the regional solid waste function. The rest will come from a rural grant-in-aid.
