The board that activated 12 emergency operations centres on the Coast over the past four years wants “building capacity to deal with emergencies” as top priority moving forward.
That recommendation was made Oct. 27, at the final scheduled committee meeting of the 2018-2022 Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board.
New board to decide
It will be up to the incoming board, set to take office on Nov. 10, to endorse that change to the SCRD’s 2019-2023 strategic priorities. The recommendation is slated to be on the agenda when regular business meetings of the new board start Nov. 24.
A report on the annual review of the strategic plan revealed that calls to beef up regional capacity to respond to emergencies and disasters, as well as support for community resilience as an addition to the priority list. "It surfaced as a new board priority and the top priority,” chief administrative officer Dean McKinley said.
He also noted that efforts to make the SCRD’s emergency preparedness program “more a truly regional program” were already in staff’s 2022 workplans. Those included a recent training session for more than 20 staff members of the local governments on the Coast. “Additional initiatives will come forward as part of the 2023 budget process,” McKinley stated.
Progress on priorities reviewed
Items that were long-standing strategic priorities raised discussion. Outgoing Area B director Lori Pratt noted that she viewed the existing strategic plan focus on advocacy with other government agencies as an area of success. In her view the board had “really taken a lead on that."
Development of a growth management plan had topped the “to do” list in 2021 and 2022. Manager of planning Ian Hall clarified to the committee that while “staff have not been directed to initiate a regional growth strategy as framed in provincial legislation” work is being done on a plan framework and a baseline study, with reports on those slated to come forward for consideration later in 2022. “That will lead to some decisions that will need to be taken on where we need to go” he stated.
Implementation of the water metering program by 2022 had also been listed as a “priority” for the past two years. The updated report card shows that project winding up in 2024. Manager of Infrastructure Services Remko Rosenboom said that staff are finalizing the request for purchase for the estimated $7.5 million project to install meters in the Sechelt area and that he anticipated the first of that final phase of metres will be “in the ground” in spring 2023.
Who will set SCRD's upcoming term priorities?
As for the new board’s strategic planning process to set the direction for the local government into 2024 and beyond, McKinley stated that will be “up to the new board” and noted that “staff are willing to take on that work as soon as assigned.”
A new leader of the SCRD’s governing body is to be selected by the incoming board members at their Nov. 10 meeting.
Directors who also served during the last term, Leonard Lee from Area A, Donna McMahon from Area E and Philip Paul from the Sechelt Indian Government District retained seats at the table for the upcoming term.
The other board director positions will be subject to new appointments. Directors for the municipal areas will be chosen by and from those elected to their incoming councils. Gibsons council will send one representative to the regional board. It has two recently elected representatives with board experience; Silas White who is poised to become that community’s mayor and David Croal who was re-elected as a councillor. Sechelt council, with two board seats to fill, has two councillors-elect with past board service: Alton Toth, who was part of the 2018-2022 board and Darren Inkster. In his director’s report at the Oct. 27 board meeting, Toth indicated he was interested in returning to the board, should he be offered that opportunity.
Newcomers to the board will also include Justine Gabias from Area B, Kelly Backs from Area D and Kate-Louise Stamford from Area F.
