Acting CFO
Sechelt council appointed Linda Klassen as the District’s interim acting chief financial officer (CFO) during the Sept. 2 regular council meeting.
Former CFO Victor Mema resigned Aug. 28 and the District had to appoint a new CFO under the rules of the community charter, acting CAO Bill Beamish explained at the meeting.
“I’ve talked to Linda Klassen and she’s agreed to take that role. She understands the current policy that there is no additional remuneration for that. I told her that we would be prepared to review that policy with council and with staff,” Beamish said, noting he would bring a recommendation forward after investigating how other districts pay staff taking on interim roles.
All of council was in favour of appointing Klassen, formerly manager of financial services for the District, as the interim acting CFO.
Table SCCF
Council has decided to table approving any more Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) Legacy Fund awards until a meeting can be set up with the SCCF board for discussion.
Council has in the past disagreed on how SCCF Legacy Funds should be doled out, and some wanted to revisit the award criteria and possibly make adjustments.
Coun. Darnelda Siegers was the only councillor to speak against the motion to table on Sept. 2, saying she had “issue with the timing” that would leave some groups waiting to hear if they were approved for funding until after a meeting could be scheduled.
The rest of council voted in favour of tabling and the motion passed 6-1.
Library
In his director’s report, Coun. Mike Shanks said the Sechelt and District Public Library has created a strategic plan that looks at the potential for a future expansion and calls for some movement on that front.
The library is now in the midst of creating a facility development committee to complete an assessment of the current and future needs of the library, outline various cost estimates and prepare recommendations for the library’s potential expansion.
The Sechelt library is one of the busiest in all of B.C. with more than 100,000 visitors a year. The current facility, which is part of the District of Sechelt municipal hall, was built in 1996 and has outgrown its space.
Wastewater review
Council approved a review of the Sechelt Water Resource Centre construction project.
A staff report suggested it will cost up to $100,000 to have a consultant review the work and staff is now putting together a request for proposals. The review was recommended by the Auditor General for Local Government, who said the District should look at “evaluation of construction, project management and costs in completing it, as well as risks, life-cycle costs and its long-term financial sustainability.”
