FRIDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2016 VOL. 42, NO. 55
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Merran Smith
Insights from the Paris climate talks
Puppy love
Bird count
The results are in
Photos to warm your heart
Fire hall could go to a vote LOUISE LOIK EDITOR
PUPPY LOVE The creator of Snoopy said “happiness is a warm puppy,” and by the looks of things, Adrienne would agree as she snuggles her two-year-old dog Cassy. The dog is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel who isn’t ready to give up her ball in spite of an afternoon romp chasing balls in Crippen Park. The dog park and trails were busy on Thursday as people came out to enjoy the sunshine and give their dogs a chance to play. Along with people and dogs, there were also bikes and horses. See more photos on Page 10. LOUISE LOIK photo
Business licences would level the playing field LOUISE LOIK EDITOR
You’d think that business owners would be unhappy to hear about a proposed business licence on the island, but Gary Anderson of Metro Blasting on Bowen says he’s been behind the idea for years. Anderson says that if the municipality had charged $150, which is the standard fee, “for every worker who came to work on Bowen to work at Cape Roger Curtis, they could have charged a thousand workers, from the plumbers to the electricians. At $150 each, that would have been pretty good.” Anderson says that in every municipality he works in around the GVRD, he has to pay a business licence fee. “Bowen Island is the only place that doesn’t do it.” He says that it’s a simple payment process that is done online. If he was to be caught without a licence, he would be fined, he says, “$350, and I’d have no choice if I wanted to work. I’d have to
pay it.” Anderson understands that it doesn’t make sense to have a flat rate. “We can make the rules,” he says, “the woman with a pottery wheel in her basement could pay $10. We can decide.” Anderson is frustrated by the fact that the municipality needs money for a variety of projects, and yet they’ve missed out on this economic opportunity particularly as it pertains to the construction industry, which he says can bring in a lot of off-island workers. At municipal hall, the idea is still in the informal discussion stage but one thing that would have to be considered is where the money would go. The concept tabled by the Economic Development Committee is clear that they do not see it as a source of income generation, but more as a way to support business. This would make it a more level playing field for island construction industry workers and it would help establish the legitimacy of a business for owners doing business away from Bowen.
With a decision to replace a fire hall that would be of little use during so much as a minor earthquake, the question facing the municipality is how to pay for the project. With an expected replacement cost of $2 million, the municipality is planning for a possible referendum on the issue in 2016. The referendum would be to determine whether or not to borrow money for the purpose of constructing a replacement fire hall and ambulance station. The referendum is estimated to cost $15,000 and would include consideration for constructing a community centre. The question of acquiring a loan is based on a need for funding upfront costs of new construction. Coun. Alison Morse, chair of the Fire Hall Facilities Steering Committee, says that the projects would be financed over time, but at this point, the projects are very much in the conceptual stages. The need to move ahead on a fire hall is based on expert report tabled to council in 2014, one of which says that the current fire hall was “not suited to be a fire hall,” due to numerous shortcomings. Though Bowen has a new satellite fire hall, the old station, Fire Hall No.1, is not seismically sound, and would, according to a 2002 assessment, fail in even a low to moderate earthquake. The old fire hall is limited in what it can accommodate in an emergency and it is beyond the eight kilometre standards of coverage for all properties for home insurance. Morse notes that there are three major capital cost projects earmarked in the five-year plan: the fire hall, a community centre and a cove bay water initiative. “We are hiring a project manager to help us determine how big, etc. we’ll be going.” Mayne Island is building a new fire hall now and Hornby is starting one in a price similar range.” She says it’s handy having the other islands working out their projects so that Bowen can watch how they manage the projects. The Fire Hall Steering Committee has compiled studies and recommendations, which were presented to council in 2014. The report states that “renovating this building (Fire hall No. 1,) to meet the needs of the Bowen Island Fire Dept. now and in the future do not justify the costs of upgrading the building.” This potential for a referendum is included in the just-released draft of the municipal Five Year Financial Plan. The plan includes an effective tax increase of 2.67 per cent for 2016. It states “the plan presumes that Council will move ahead quickly with planned capital projects, and includes modest planned tax increases in each of the subsequent 4 years which will provide the funding necessary to pay for capital projects, including a
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Howe Sound needs you, to loudly give Voice to this!
...endangered..Orcas.feeding..in.Howe.Sound.at...Woodfibre. .from.video.by.John.Buchanan..Friday afternoon - Feb.12.2016..
Concerned Citizens Bowen.ca
Woodfibre LNG is not a done deal! Let Federal Minister of Environment Catherine McKenna know how you feel about the proposal for an LNG facility and LNG tankers in Howe Sound.
Find out how at www.ccbowen.ca