Frequent fliers Passenger numbers continue to rise at Nanaimo Airport. Page B1 art show Poet uses writing to help manage symptoms of mental illness. Page B7 Driveway Eco version of top-selling car stingy on gas. Page 3
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Lantzville council votes to reduce size I next steps include bylaw, referendum to cut politicians by two. By Tamara Cunningham The News bulleTiN
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Richard Harding, city director of parks, recreation and environment, checks over artist renditions and architectural diagrams for renovations to the Italian fountain in downtown nanaimo. the restoration project is now awaiting funding to move forward.
Designs return fountain to former glory By Tamara Cunningham The News bulleTiN
After months of waiting, advocates will soon see the city’s plan for restoring the Nanaimo Centennial Fountain. Nanaimo city officials recently received an engineering report with the details and designs to return the downtown fountain to its former glory. The centennial fountain at Port Place Shopping Centre, with its hand-carved salmon and colourful tile work, was crafted by volunteers and given to the city to mark the province’s centennial birthday just over 50 years ago. It has become a heritage site
and Nanaimo’s only community-built fountain, but it’s now falling apart. The concrete wall is starting to crumble, electrical work has corroded and the pumps have begun to fail. The spray is now more of a bubble than an arch and the underwater lighting no longer works. Advocates blamed the city for not properly taking care of the centennial gift but have offered to help raise the money needed to get repairs done. They have been waiting since September for a tenderready scope of work to show potential donors and said the progress has been frustrating. City officials received the report from Read Jones Christ-
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offersen Consulting Engineers last Friday and Richard Harding, the city’s director of parks, recreation and environment, said the package will be taken to those involved with the project “right away.” Staff members are also working on potential costs, based on the latest plan. Early estimates had pegged the facelift at $250,000 – more than double the initial $100,000 the city budgeted for repairs. City staff members have always acknowledged the potential need for community fundraising to help get the fountain on the road to recovery. u See ‘FOUNTAIN’ /11
The decision to downsize Lantzville council could soon be in the hands of voters. Lantzville councillors took the first step toward approving a referendum for this year’s civic election, voting 4-3 in an open meeting to ask the public whether their numbers should be reduced from seven to five. The move was spurred by Coun. Jennifer Millbank, who pointed out that while the municipality is the size of a town that only requires five representatives, its geographic area and designation as a district mandates it to elect seven. According to Millbank, the district has the same representation as an urban centre of 50,000, and she questioned whether it’s necessary when most of the district is undeveloped. By chopping two council seats, there could be an estimated annual savings of between $25,000 and $30,000 and greater competition in elections, she said. While the idea faced support from those who liked the idea of public choice and cost savings, councillors Denise Haime, Brian Dempsey and Graham Savage raised concerns about the loss of broad representation, especially when Lantzville could be on the cusp of growth. “For the first time since I’ve been on council, we might actu-
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ally have some development happening in Lantzville and I don’t think this is the time to start changing direction,” Dempsey said. Haime called the referendum a red herring to get people to the polls. In her opinion “this isn’t about voters, it’s about politics,” she said. The referendum issue is expected to come back to council in March when politicians will be asked to pass three readings of a new bylaw, aimed at changing council representation required under the B.C. Community Charter. If passed, the question will go to referendum. Any changes would take place in 2017. It is unknown how much a referendum will cost. Residents, who were at the open council meeting Monday, were divided about seeing the issue of council size on the ballot. Doug Parkhurst and Dave Scott pointed out that if the district plans on growth it will want seven councillors. They also raised concerns about the quality of decision making and representation if seats are cut. “I think it’s a disservice to the community ... because having seven people represents a broader range of the community and I think you get better decision making,” Scott said. “I think five is too small.” But Hans Larsen calls a smaller council a positive move. Good representation doesn’t have a number attached to it, it’s the people who sit at the table who matter, he said. u See ‘REDUCING’ /4
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