Bowen Island Undercurrent September 10 2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

VOTING WEEK: Community centre referendum is Saturday PAGE 18 & 19

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A1

$1.50

inc.

GST

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

VIRTUAL RACES

VOL. 46 NO. 36

BIUndercurrent

BowUndercurrent www.bowenislandundercurrent.com

The Handloggers Half and Rotary Run For Rwanda ‘results’ PAGE 8

Addressing the 7:30 crowd during COVID

KIDS ARE BACK TO SCHOOL AND BACK TO THE FERRY COMMUTE

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

PHIL KEMP PHOTO

HAZY DAZE: Bowen has seen some exceptional sunsets over the past week as smoke from fires in Washington waft

North. More smoke has also meant air quality warnings for the region. Phil Kemp captured this sight on the west side of the island last week.

What happens when an employee has COVID

TWO BOWEN BUSINESSES FOUND OUT LAST WEEK BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

It was a stressful leadup to the Labour Day weekend for two Bowen business-

es.

Bowen Island Kayak Shop and Branch on Bowen each had an employee test positive for COVID-19 last week.

While both chose to disclose their situ-

ations to the community, neither was required to by health authorities (a list of public exposures in our region is at vch.ca/covid-19/public-exposures).

So what happens when an employee tells you they have COVID-19?

CONTINUED ON P. 21

Time for a change?

Let's chat.

SHANA RICHMOND SHANA@SHANARICHMOND.COM

604.338.3072

With students returning to school this week, Bowen’s youth are facing a pinch point most B.C. teenagers don’t need to worry about: the ferry commute.

Most of the island’s teenagers (numbering in the 120 to 160 range) get on the 7:30 a.m. ferry, along with a hundred or so other commuters, and then take the bus to Rockridge or West Vancouver Secondary School.

In regular years, seats are already a hot commodity on school runs with groups of students crowded together, sharing seats and sitting on the ground. Today, orange flagging tape blocks off swaths of seats.

In light of COVID and students returning to school, BC Ferries is requesting all vehicle passengers on the 7:30 a.m. Queen of Capilano commuter run remain in their cars. Those sailings are to have announcements to that effect. “This will create space for students travelling as foot passengers who will require access to the lounge and deck areas in order to maintain physical distance,” said a public notice Tuesday. Students will also have priority loading among the foot passengers on that run.

Bowen is one of four routes with school sailings on which BC Ferries expects it could see passenger numbers above COVID-restricted levels in lounge areas.

Earlier in the pandemic Transport Canada restricted vessels’ passenger capacity to 50 per cent of vessel capacity or they could have alternative safety practices and measures in place.

CONTINUED ON P. 20

A2 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

Events September 12, 2020 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Municipal Referendum Voting Day @ BICS

September 14, 2020 6:15 pm Regular Council Meeting All meetings are online via Zoom and

open to the public, unless noted otherwise.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

We’re hiring: Roads Crewperson Bowen Island Municipality seeks a qualified permanent full-time Roads Crewperson. The Roads Crewperson is an outside labour position. This person will primarily be responsible for assisting with the maintenance of the Municipality’s roads and drainage as well as some labour tasks related to other Municipal infrastructure. In addition, winter maintenance requirements would consist of snow clearing from roadways and applying anti-ice material amongst other duties.

This position is full time at 35 hours per week normally from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday; these times may be adjusted to meet specific requirements.

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/jobs

BIM increasing level of BC Energy Step Code to Step 3 Did you hear? Starting October 1, 2020, all new construction and substantial renovations on Bowen will need to meet Step 3 of the BC Energy Step Code.

Help slow the spread of COVID-19:

Stay home if you’re sick

Community Centre Referendum Vote in Person General Voting Day Saturday, September 12, 2020 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Bowen Island Community School 1041 Mt Gardner Rd, Bowen Island, BC Voters can also vote prior to General Voting Day at Municipal Hall during business hours, before 4:00 PM on Friday, September 11, 2020 if they’re not able to vote on General Voting Day. All voters must prove their identity and residential address before voting.

For more information:

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/referendum-2020

Please wear a mask when you come to vote

The BC Energy Step Code is the new provincial standard to reduce building energy use and to prepare for net-zero building energy use. Buildings have already been required to meet Step 1 for the last year.

Step 3 is the third step in the system, and involves modeling and testing the building’s energy use to demonstrate that the design and construction go beyond BC Building Code. To comply with Step 3, builders will need to create and adhere to a whole-building energy model, then test the building enclosure on the ground for air tightness. The building’s performance will need to exceed the Building Code by 20% (or no more than 45 kWh/m2 annual energy use).

bowenislandmunicipality.ca/step-code

Questions? Please email referendum2020@bimbc.ca

Climate Conversation: Transportation Wednesday September 16, 2020, 4 pm to 6 pm.

Join members of the Bowen Island Municipality Environment and Climate Action Advisory Committee and Metro Vancouver staff.

Metro Vancouver has produced a Discussion Paper on Transportation that looks at how to reduce emissions, improve air quality and increase climate resilience for transportation in the Metro Vancouver region.

Clean your hands frequently

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/climate-action-program

2 m or 6 feet

Wear a mask in spaces where you can’t safely distance

Bowen Island Municipality will hold information meetings for water users in each Municipal water system from 14th to 21st September, 2020. All meetings will be held via Zoom. Water system users in their respective neighbourhoods are encouraged to attend. Please join us for this opportunity to learn about your water system and ask any questions you may have about the utility.

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/water-and-sewer

Contact Us Phone: Fax: Email:

604-947-4255 604-947-0193 bim@bimbc.ca

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Keep a safe physical distance

Municipal Water Information Meetings

Find us on Facebook Bowen Island Municipal Hall 981 Artisan Lane Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G2

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday to Friday Closed statutory holidays September 10, 2020

Bowen Island Municipality

Subscribe to our mailing list bowenislandmunicipality.ca/subscribe

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A3

Islanders have to go to North Shore for COVID testing

Cyclist ok after car struck her on Grafton Rd

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor

As of last week, there’s no longer COVID testing on Bowen Island.

While Dr. Susanne Schloegl and Dr. Matthew Blackwood had been offering testing in their Artisan Square clinic, spatial constraints became an issue.

“Because of the increase in office visits recently, we are no longer able to comply with the Ministry of Health instructions for keeping people separate and in a dedicated room,” said Dr. Schloegl. “Our office is too small. We are not willing to take a risk with our patients’ health.

“Also, since we no longer have courier services available, getting specimens to the lab in a timely manner has been difficult.”

Schloegl noted that there are two testing sites on the North Shore: Urgent and Primary Care on Esplanade, and Centennial Theatre on Lonsdale and there are plans to open a testing site in West Vancouver though details are not yet available. (See more information on testing centres at bccdc. ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/ covid-19/testing).

Dr. Blackwood noted that there’s a saliva test that’s been approved with 90 per cent sensitivity that should be soon available.

A cyclist came away with minor injuries after a vehicle struck her on Grafton Rd. last week.

The cyclist was heading toward the Cove when a pickup truck turned left onto Artisan Lane in front of her, said Cpl. Adam Koehle of Bowen RCMP. The cyclist came away with minor injuries said Koehle. The driver involved was issued a ticket for failing to yield on a left turn.

Here are the August RCMP statistics CPL. ADAM KOEHLE

Bowen Island RCMP RAF IZDEBSKI/BOWEN LIFE PHOTO

Raf Izdebski of Bowen Life was treated to a gorgeous view coming home last month.

Masks required at the Ruddy Potato; not mandatory at General Store Six months into the pandemic, local services’ and businesses’ precautions have changed several times.

The ferry and bus services now require non-medical face masks (except for those under two, those with medical conditions preventing them from wearing a mask or those unable to remove a mask on their own).

Local businesses each have their own precautions, but here’s the deal at the

island’s two grocery stores: The General Store: Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. except on Tuesdays when it opens at noon. Masks aren’t mandatory but they prefer customers wear one. One can bring their own bags but please don’t put them on the counter. They’re accepting cash. Line up behind the red line and the cashier can call you over when the previous customer has finished.

TREAT YOURSELF TO A CEDAR DECK. WESTCOASTMICROBUILDS.COM 778-846-8377

The Ruddy Potato: Hours are 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. except on Mondays and Thursdays when it closes at 6 p.m. for restocking. Masks are mandatory. Limited number of people in the store. Follow the arrows on the ground.

While one can bring their own bags, the Ruddy asks one not shop items into the bag or put the bag on the counter and that the bag be clean. Line up behind the line of tape on the floor.

The Bowen Island RCMP responded to 73 calls for service in August of 2020: • 1 of those files was an roadblock; • 1 of those files was a 90 day driving suspension; • 2 of those files were collisions between vessels on the water around Bowen; • 3 of those files were hangup 911 calls; • 2 of those files were false alarms at residences; • 4 of those files were checks of US citizens to ensure that they were lawfully in Canada and following quarantine protocols.

With students heading back to school, police are reminding drivers to use caution when in school and playground zones. The speed limit is reduced to 30km/h, and it is unlawful to pass a school bus that is picking up or dropping off.

A4 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

VIEWPOINTS EDITORIAL

It’s voting time

As we head to the voting booth this weekend, I wish to thank every single person who has written to the Undercurrent with their perspective for or against the community centre proposal.

I’ve talked to many islanders as I’ve tried to gather the story of the community centre. It intrigued me what folks considered substitute centres: Bowen Island Recycling Depot, the ferry, the Snug, the General Store, the Knick Knack Nook. Islanders have a passionate sense of connection to one another, to the way of life and to the spaces that allow us to form our community.

An incredible number of islanders have dedicated hours, days, months and years to this project. For or against the current proposal, the work and spirit that’s gone into this project is a testament to Bowen Islanders’ persistence and love of their communty. In a time of division and separation during COVID-19, please do remember to be kind.

Also, please wear masks.

Bronwyn Beairsto, editor

Thank you, from Snug Cove House

DEAR EDITOR: Snug Cove House Society is most grateful to the authors of the 175 letters written in support of the society’s September 4th application for funding from BC Housing. These were not form letters needing only a signature, but individually composed arguments for a supportive residence for seniors on Bowen. All the letters were thoughtful, many were very moving, with stories of parents or friends distressed by the need to move from the island or by the impossibility of moving to the island to be close to family.

BC Housing is likely to take about two months to make its decision on the society’s 24-unit Miller Road residence.

If the answer is ‘yes’ Snug Cove House has to be ready with a completed plan by December 4th, so the architect and construction team will continue to work hard to meet BC Housing’s demanding ‘shovel-ready’ schedule.

With thanks from the board of Snug Cove House: Graham Ritchie, Susan Munro, John Barr, Pernille Nielsen, Carol MacKinnon, Tamsin Miley, Andy PowellWilliams

The Village Song Circle votes “yes.” – Shasta Martinuk

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Proposal doesn’t offer a community centre

DEAR EDITOR: I am confused and misinformed by facts presented to date, showing variations of municipal halls, performing arts centers but no community centre. How can I vote for something l will not get?

The grants available are for a community centre, but it is apparent they are going to be used for a different purpose, I think the grants should be withdrawn.

In my previous life I was involved as a consultant to Downs Archambault Architects on the Britannia Community Centre, one of the largest and most comprehensive of its

type, and as such I know something of what a community centre should be.

My wife and I have spent the past 20 winters in California and Arizona staying in developments from 2,500 to10,000 residences where community centers are a large part.

We have rented in five or six of these developments where the amenities are similar to what we have come to expect. In view of the above I have only one option to vote on this referendum and that is “no.” If anyone is interested I have designed a community centre for Bowen Island George Hunter

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HERE’S HOW: To submit a letter to the editor, fax 604-947-0148 or mail it to #102, 495 Government Rd., PO Box 130, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0 or email editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com.

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EDITOR BronwynBeairsto editor@bowenisland undercurrent.com

ADVERTISING Tracey Wait ads@bowenisland undercurrent.com

CARTOONIST Ron Woodall

PUBLISHER Peter Kvarnstrom publisher@bowenisland undercurrent.com 2011 CCNA

CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2011

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If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

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Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A5

Reaction to Sept. 3 letter: ‘Proposal doesn’t resonate with current community’ Cynicism is a comfortable chair

DEAR EDITOR: Last week, Steve Rio asked an interesting question. Speaking on behalf of many people new to Bowen, “Is this the community centre we want?”

In particular, he has singled out the “performance hall” as the overly expensive, un-needed asset of the proposal. “I still can’t make sense of how we would use it,” he says. I guess Steve does not attend any live performances by family members, friends or professional artists. He seeks the specific breakdown of costs related to the use of the hall for “the arts” as opposed to “recreation,” suggesting that the costs associated with the performance aspect of the facility are the ones that are not feasible or needed. Instead, he would rather see the focus go to a “skate park” or “climbing wall” (both of which are primarily for able-bodied youth). The performance hall will serve a much broader demographic of our community; from the very young to the elderly, and all in between; from the physically fit to the most vulnerable. The current proposal has a far greater reach than a few specific projects for a narrower demographic, and in my view, the costs have been justified.

A community centre that can accommodate both recreational and cultural activities is common on almost all the small islands and towns in B.C. Bowen Island stands out as a community that has been unable so far to come together around a plan for one here. While not perfect in its current conception, it is the best we have come up with to date. I find it cynical and narrow-minded to once again see recreation pitted against culture. Both are important and necessary. A place where live performance can be shared enables us all to find out more about ourselves and our community. If we truly are a community of people who seeks a higher quality of life for all of us, including the most vulnerable, then this proposal is the closest we have come to creating that.

Cynicism is the most comfortable chair in the house. It is easy to sit on the side, question everything and do nothing. With this approach, nothing will happen. To turn down this proposal and delay, yet again, a community center from happening, because one can’t see what is currently in it for themselves, seems self-focussed and short-sighted.

The cost associated with the performing arts aspect of the project enables the facility to be used as a space where everyone can see and hear properly what is being presented. I will wager that in the future Steve will find himself at the facility, either in the audience or on stage, when a new resident of Bowen (who can be easily seen and heard) complains about not being properly consulted on the proposed skate park or climbing wall being built.

Kim Selody

‘No project on the island has been more exhaustively vetted than this one’

more exhaustively vetted than this one, including at least five municipal committees over 20 years, in-depth community visioning sessions, recreation master plans, cultural master plans, and significant stakeholder and public input.

At every step of the way, “meaningful engagement” has been pursued rigorously. These are not archaic documents with out of date conclusions. They are the building blocks of a careful, comprehensive and responsible process that has refined the vision and capability of such a facility over time.

The current plan distilled the findings of the past and present into a modest but potent design that meets our diverse critical social, recreational, cultural and local government needs, for the short and long term. This called for compromise and cooperation at every turn but the result is a facility that will be widely used, practical and affordable to operate, no matter if you are a newer islander or not.

Is the multi-purpose hall an overly expensive undertaking that only benefits the few? The success of the grant is in large part because this hall is included.

We simply would not have it if a cultural component were not present. This infrastructure grant is, in many ways, an offshoot of the Cultural Spaces Canada granting program that the arts community has been pursuing for years. All that was missing was a shovel-ready proposal that met their criteria of demonstrable public and municipal support. This was achieved through public fundraising, local government reserves, the designation of land, and a practical capital construction and business plan, hence we were found worthy, if it included much-needed cultural space.

Retractable seating and adequate

acoustic and visual capability are key to this room functioning for the greater community beyond the arts. It allows the space to be used in a myriad of ways, far beyond performances, and the seating is an integral and important part of allowing this to be truly multi-purpose.

The grant is basically paying for the seating as part of the Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (FF&E) component, and is not just a luxury, but a necessity, from their point of view. And they are right.

Without the capability of quickly reconfiguring the room for a variety of uses, it would not meet the demands of our community as identified by recent, historic, and ongoing public engagement.

Finally, I will comment on the assertion that this is just an agenda “pushed” by a small percentage of the island. You just have to look at the 148 islanders on the list of supportive people that were willing to put their names publicly forward (published in this paper on Aug. 27) to see that this is not so. Those on that list represent all demographics of this island, no matter what their age, interests, or length of residency. This initiative has broad support, and to reduce it to the old trope of a vocal minority pursuing a narrow, self-interested, and out of date agenda does everyone a disservice. It’s an easy accusation that ignores the exemplary and inclusive provenance of this project.

In the end, this issue should be judged on the greater worth of the design, not on how long people have worked on it, or whether it meets enough of your own personal desires. To my mind, we have never had a better plan, one that will shepherd our young and old into a new and much-needed era of connection and healthy activity.

Paul Hooson

DEAR EDITOR: Steve Rio does a disservice in his Sept.

3 letter. Not because of his opinions, but because of the mischaracterization of the 2600 sq. ft. Performing Arts & Community Space (PACS) as a ‘dream of a very small percentage of the island’.

That space will be far more than a performance hall; it will be the venue for everything from weddings to dances to movies and assemblies. With retractable seating, there is inherent flexibility and room for many indoor uses, and with the adjacent outdoor courtyard, will be high-

ly versatile.

The construction costs of the whole facility are essentially the same, or at least averaged. A big box costs less per square metre than a small one. Granted, the acoustical finishing, sound and light systems etc will bump the price, but they are ‘last in’, so if there are overruns, those furnishings can simply be deferred. The PACS component is not the element that triggers the need to borrow; that is solely because of the municipal hall component which was not eligible for federal/ provincial funding. The cost for that is

about $4 illion, half of which will come from rental savings, the other half from borrowing over 30 years.

I do agree with Mr. Rio that latter day public engagement has been poor, but needs assessments and earlier public process clearly identified each of the components that are now envisioned. It is pretty unlikely that a climbing wall or skate park or courts would trump the mix of uses addressed in the design.

Please get out and vote.

Peter Frinton Past councillor

DEAR EDITOR: I feel compelled to respond to last week’s letter from Steve Rio. His main points are that this plan is out of step with the needs of a newer generation of residents, that it has not met an adequate standard of consultation and “meaningful engagement” with the community, and that a multi-purpose hall with performing arts capability is an expensive and unwarranted element that only benefits “a very small percentage of the island” who have been “pushing this plan for years”, and that it should be scrapped and replaced with “amenities like courts, or an indoor climbing wall , or a skate park, or whatever.”

Nothing could be further from reality on every point. The basic needs of newer residents such as elders, young families, teens and working people have not changed significantly over time, other than becoming more pressing and embracing advanced technology. Many longer-term residents started families here, raised them with similar concerns, and are vitally engaged in their wellbeing.

Our children are now raising their own children here, and as involved grandparents, we have a pretty clear picture of what their lives entail. To suggest otherwise is dismissive of our significant life experience and understanding of what it takes to nurture a healthy island community. I will argue that with a three-fold increase in population since the ‘80s, we need this centre more than ever.

No project on the island has been

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A6 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

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A gift of health

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A7

Hello Bowen We are professional pet care providers who offer a variety of programs and services to fit the needs of all your canine and feline personalities.

THE EIGHT-YEAR-OLD FUNDRAISING FOR THE HEALTH CENTRE FOUNDATION

Some of you may remember Leila from last year on the trails with our dogs or working at the Dog Ranch. This is when we fell in love with the island and chose it to be our home.

Bowen Island Health Centre Foundation

Warm Wags, Gord & Leila

To build a relationship with your pet and insure Bark is a good fit we offer a ‘complementary meet and greet and first walk or drop in’.

STEVE MITCHELL

“You are going to help people – help them get better.”

Eight-year old Graysen Russell says that is why she made one of the more memorable contributions that the Health Centre Foundation has seen in its fundraising campaign to build a new health centre on Bowen Island.

A few weeks ago, Graysen spent all morning putting together her own flower arrangements from her family’s garden here on Bowen. She then spent the rest of the day at a roadside stand on Eagle Cliff Rd. selling the flowers. By the end of the day, Graysen had raised $171. She donated every single dollar to the B.I. Health Centre Foundation.

Graysen’s hard work and generosity were inspirational for the Health Centre Foundation’s board. In the hope that Graysen’s actions might motivate others, we shared her story in last week’s all-island fundraising mailer. “Every family on Bowen will benefit from the new health centre, and to reach our goal, we need everyone’s support” says board member Sheree Johnson.

“This young lady went above and beyond to show what giving can look like,” she added.

“That’s why we are asking everyone to be like Graysen!”

This isn’t the first time Graysen has been

778 898 5950

www.barkpetcare.ca (Strict Covid19 protocols in place)

Dog Walking SUBMITTED PHOTO

Graysen donated the money she made at her roadside flower stand to the health centre. exceptionally generous donating the rewards of her hard work. “She has been doing these sales since she was four years old,” says her mother Jenn Russell. “Right from the start it was her idea to give the money away. Every year we talk about possible recipients but the final choice is always hers.”

“It’s kind of hard to pick,” says Graysen. “I try to pick a very good foundation.”

Graysen’s contribution adds to a fundraising total that has now reached approximately $4.8 million in donations and pledges.

That leaves another $700,000 to be raised to reach the target of $5.5 million – at which point, an anonymous donor has pledged an additional $500,000 donation to take the total to $6 million. “We are so close – 88 per cent of the way there – but we need everyone to help give us that final push to the top,” says Sheree.

Meantime, Graysen is thinking about doing another sale sometime this month.

“We’re pretty proud of her,” says Jenn.

Group Hikes Individual Walks Socialization

In home Pet & House Sitting

Pumpkin

Cat Care Home Visits Litter Maintenance Playtime

Ginger Leila, Gord, & Ike

Professional and Reliable since 2006 Licensed and Insured

The pandemic’s not over: supporting Bowen Islanders Several programs have emerged in recent months to help islanders through COVID. Among these are a slew of programs the result of B.I. Health Centre Foundation, B.I. Community Foundation and several local organizations––BCC, 947 Swim, the library, Caring Circle and Community Recreation–– coming together to direct federal funds to locals affected by COVID-19. See a full list of the programs at bowenhealthcentre.com/ stay-informed/.

Mental health support available

One program is adult mental health support available through the Caring Circle.

Islanders who face mental health struggles exacerbated by COVID-19 can receive financial support to cover 75 per cent of an appointment with a mental health professional (governed by a regulating body). The fund covers up to five appointments per person.

The process is confidential with only Caring Circle executive director Colleen O’Neil knowing the identities of applicants.

O’Neil says there’s about $14,000 in the fund and when the money runs out, the program ends. Those who wish to access the support can email O’Neil with a brief synopsis of their situation (she isn’t asking for proof of financial stress or of how compromised one’s mental health is) and how it’s made worse by the pandemic. “There are no barriers to this support,” says O’Neil “That’s what we were trying to achieve.”

For islanders between 15 and 29, there’s also the Youth at Risk Fund that still has

nearly $5,000 says O’Neil. This fund is unattached to the pandemic situation but is still available for young islanders to access.

For more information contact O’Neil at info@caringcircle.ca or 604-947-9100.

Support for businesses: Island Comeback

Another initiative that cropped up in the pandemic’s wake is the Rural Islands Economic Partnership-sponsored site Island Comeback.

Through the site, one can buy a gift card from a local business or straight up donate to it (if the business owner has chosen to make this an option).

Mary Letson of Peak Fitness is one of the business owners listed on the Bowen Island Comeback page. As a gym owner, she’s been highly affected by COVID and the limitations of her space and comfort levels of her customers.

While Letson hasn’t had many people buy gift cards or donate from Island Comeback, she loves the concept and hopes it’ll pick up momentum. “It’s asking community members to look at the businesses in their community and to support them and spend a little bit so that someone else can use the service [a gift card] or it can just simply be a donation,” said Letson. “‘I’m not sure if the community understands that if we don’t buck up and put our money where our hearts are… [businesses are] just simply not going to be there.”

See the 22 Bowen businesses participating in Island Comeback at islandcomeback. ca/islands/bowen/.

“Think Outside the Big Box…” “Buy Local…from your Local” bowenpub.com/bulk-buy

A8• Thursday, September 10, 2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

947 Swim wraps up BILLI BEHM

947 Swim

Handloggers Half runs around the world PHIL OSBORNE

Handloggers Half Marathon

Since the first running of the Handloggers Half Marathon (handloggershalf.com) course by a small group of friends in 2014, we’ve been grateful to host six totally awesome prior events thanks to near perfect weather and a growing number of participants each year.

Each year we were so grateful to participants for making possible our significant contributions to the Bowen Island Trail Society and Akili Girls Preparatory School.

Funds have been used to support trail navigation improvements on Bowen Island and athletic facilities at the Akili School in Kenya.

This year turned out differently and COVID-19 forced us back to basics. We continued to raise funds for the Bowen Island Trail Society (bowenislandtrailsociety.com) by offering the opportunity for Handloggers alumni to run a virtual trail half marathon which could be run on trails anywhere in the world.

We were delighted to have had 44 registered participants and many unofficial runners supporting the event. Here on Bowen a few Island runners chose to run the actual Handloggers course while some folks got

creative with their own variations.

Dave Beckley from North Vancouver completed his seventh consecutive race on the Bowen Island course (well done Dave!).

Emily Osborne (of Bowen Island) gathered a group of 16 hardy Wellington runners to join a Handloggers Downunder trail run (in rainy windy Welly, NZ). John Lambert (long time supporter of the race) even completed the Handloggers Half and Half - running the Bowen Island course twice in opposite directions. We also had several runners running south of the border from Massachusetts to California and Washington and even a registered alumni running in Switzerland.

The Handloggers Half Marathon Association is very grateful for this solid show of support for the event and particularly for all the generous donations made to the Bowen Island Trail Society (BITS). Funds raised will continue to support navigation and trail improvements for non-motorized trail users on Bowen Island’s trails. For more information see the BITS Facebook group or bowenislandtrailsociety.ca.

We hope to be back next year to pick up the tradition of Handloggers Half on the Labour Day weekend. Until then, we’ll continue the spirit of the event by looking after Bowen Island’s trails, and each other.

COVID-19 subsidy program

947 Swim Aquatic programs are available to all members of the Bowen Island community. This year, due to COVID-19, we were not able to offer group aquatic programs. Due to the physical distancing recommendations of COVID-19 public health protocols and the size of our pool facilities, registration and space was limited.

We were able to partner with the Bowen Island Health Centre Foundation to secure financial assistance for those suffering from income loss due to COVID-19 and provide private and semi-private swim lessons and aqua fit classes. Along with the

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Billi Behm teaches swimming in 2020.

Health Centre Foundation, the subsidy for COVID-19 Revised Aquatic Programming project was supported by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund, Community Foundations of Canada, and the Bowen Island Community Foundation.

947 Swim would like to thank the Health Centre Foundation and the Community Foundation for their ongoing support of the island’s needs.

Virtual Rotary Run for Rwanda raises funds for another year HILARY BUTLER

Rotary Run for Rwanda

The Virtual Rotary Run for Rwanda was scheduled for Aug. 22 to 29 this year, and although we know that hundreds of intrepid runners and walkers took to the trails, we cannot vouch for this fact. Well, that is what a virtual run is about, right?! We are very happy to announce that, thanks to the runners, walkers, sponsors and donors, we will be able to fund our young women in Rwanda for yet another year. Particular thanks go to our corporate donors: Paragon Financial, Cypress Engineered Homes Corporation, Frits de Vries Architects, Bowen Island Properties, Dr. Gloria Chao and Barbara Wahler Interior Design.

Random draw prizes go to the following runners and walkers who will have their Lululemon prizes delivered to them personally: Milau family, Roger Brownsey, Steph Boggan, Charles McNeil and Jerry Hurn.

Here’s hoping that next year will bring back our usual fun run on just one day and in-person!

schedule in effect: september 8, 2020 to october 12, 2020

5:20 am* 6:20 am 7:30 am 8:35 am 9:40 am 10:50 am 12:00 pm 1:10 pm 3:10 pm 4:15 pm< 5:20 pm 6:30 pm 7:45 pm> 8:50 pm 9:50 pm 10:50 pm

VANCOUVER Horseshoe Bay 5:50 am 6:50 am 8:00 am 9:05 am< 10:15 am 11:25 am 12:35 pm 2:35 pm 3:45 pm 4:50 pm 5:55 pm 7:10 pm 8:20 pm> 9:20 pm 10:20 pm

Leave Horseshoe Bay

▼

BOWEN ISLAND Snug Cove Leave Snug Cove

EMILY OSBORNE PHOTO

Emily Osborne of Bowen Island (standing far right) with a group of hardy Kiwi runners lined up in Wellington winter weather for a Handloggers Down Under.

As summer is slowly drawing to a close, we would like to thank islanders for making this year safe and fun.

A big thank-you to the Tunstall Bay Club Association and the owners of the Snug Point Pool for providing the safe use of their facilities.

Crossing Time: 20 minutes Distance: 3 nautical miles Note: This is a non-reservable route * exCepT SuN aND oCT 12

> exCepT SaT

< exCepT WeD are (DC) DaNgerouS Cargo SailiNgS. No oTher paSSeNgerS permiTTeD.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A9

• FA L L 2 0 2 0 •

BOWEN ISLAND real estate guide • what sold what’s next

427 Cardena drive

Enthusiastic.

604.220.7085 buyonbowen.com

|

‘downtown’ snug Cove

Responsive.

Personable.

Knowledgeable.

A10 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Average sale price pushes past 2018 mark UNEXPECTEDLY ACTIVE MARKET FUELLED BY COVID-19 AND PENT-UP DEMAND

10Year Price Comparison YoY at August 31

TIMOTHY RHODES

YoY Dollar Volume Mar–Aug

Contributor

times greater – and the average price per square foot in August increased 11 per cent compared to August 2019.

Sellers on Bowen have an opportunity now: the advantage of low inventory and buyers confident with their employment and income streams. Predictions vary from a slow-down in the late fall to continued stable growth through 2021, but there is no historical precedent on which to base the projections.

2020

$54,785,267

2019

$20,334,348 0

10M

20M

+122.2%

30M

40M

50M

Average Sale Price Median Sale Price MLS® HPI

Timothy Rhodes, REALTOR® rhodesonbowen.com Angell Hasman & Associates Realty Ltd. Data represents the MLS® detached home data only as 6 September 2020. Data source © 2020 Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. All rights reserved. Data deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

6Month Price Comparison YoY August 2020

Percentage Change YoY March – August 2020 15

Sold Price Categories YoY Mar–Aug

1200 k

25

20

11

9

7

0

0 Aug 2020

M

A

M

J

MLS® HPI

Avg. Price per Sq.Ft. MLS® HPI

0

MLS® HPI

Aug 2018

Avg. Price per Sq Ft

Avg. Sale Price

Median Sale Price

1

0

Aug 2019

800 k

Avg. Sale Price

5

Avg. Sale Price

6 3

5 2015

12

10

1000 k

15

1 15 01 20 2

15

10

2015 2

Unprecedented will likely end up being the most over-used word this year; however, it does apply to the market on Bowen since the COVID-19 ‘lock-down’ in March. Although it was a slow and tentative start with several sellers pulling back and others holding back, it was evident by the end of April that there was renewed demand for Bowen real estate and that sellers were responding. This is partly explained by pent-up demand as we moved out of 2019 – a very slow year – and what appeared to be interest in urban dwellers looking for larger properties to ‘stay-at-home’ and moving to more suburban, exurban, and rural communities.

Bowen Island saw increases, some dramatic, in all indicators year-over-year.

Number of sales up 56 per cent, average days on market down 19 per cent, dollar volume of sales up 95 per cent, and average sale price up 20 per cent. These indicators combined with inventory down 23 per cent compared to August of 2019 created a sellers’ market.

March through August 2020 saw significant increases over 2019, with a 122 per cent increase in dollar volume of sales YoY compared to the same period in 2019.

August 2020 sales were up 229 per cent

Jl

A

RHODES ON BOWEN

SOLD

1288 Eagle Cliff Road List - $899,000 Sold - $885,000

SOLD

Timothy Rhodes

1228 Miller Road List - $1,035,000 Sold - $1,035,000

REALTOR®

604-341-9488

Buyer’s Agent

Buyer’s Agent

Lot E, Robinson Road List - $1,400,000 Under Offer

Buyer’s Agent

“The level of service far exceeded our expectations!”

“Tim was like our long-distance field marshal, coordinating inspections and site visits while we prepared to move. He didn’t just help us buy a house, he helped us find a home and a place among the amazing Bowen Island community.”

tim@rhodesonbowen.com

rhodesonbowen.com Bowen Island Health Centre Foundation will receive $250 for every listing sold as Seller’s or Buyer’s agent.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A11

Lot 3 Douglas Road • $450,000 0.91 acre property on popular Douglas Road.

Multiple build sites. A blank canvass for landscaping a sunny, terraced garden.

1681 Whitesails Drive $1,650,000

Don't miss this opportunity to build your dream home! This rare 5 acre parcel of land on the west side of Bowen has 3 distinct plateaus on which to build. Enjoy south west views, warm afternoons, incredible sunsets and the occasional whale sighting as they make their way through the Howe Sound. Water, cable, power and phone service at the property. A truly special place to build your dream home! **SELLER WILL CONSIDER A TRADE FOR A HOUSE ON BOWEN ISLAND**

895 Connolly Road • $1,100,000 Flexible and functional 3-4 bedroom, 2,274 sf home on nearly three acres.

Includes a 1 bedroom legal suite.

1257 Adams Road • $789,000 Fantastic family Panabode on 0.42 acres.

3 or 4 bedrooms, with sunlit views of Mount Gardner from the multiple decks.

Specializing in BOWEN ISLAND and HOWE SOUND

FRAZER ELLIOTT REALTOR®

ANGIE KIRK 6 0 4 - 9 1 6 - 3 4 2 9 www.angiekirkrealestate.com

604.910.3401 felliottbowen@gmail.com www.bowenhomes.ca

on the cover

JUST

SOLD

|

427 Cardena Drive

JUST

SOLD

•

$1,490,000

|

full details at buyonbowen.com

JUST

SOLD

10 days on the market

5 days on the market

5 days on the market

368 Creek Road

1484 Eagle Cliff Road

1211 Oceanview Road

Listed at $1,225,000

Listed at $885,000

Listed at $1,270,000

604.220.7085 buyonbowen.com

A12 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A13

604.612.7798 • Dee Elliott For more information on individual listings go to bowenhomes.ca dee’S neW liStingS 1477 Eaglecliff

dee’S SuMMer SaleS $919,000

Good things come in small packages. At 1100 sf. this fully renovated Rancher is very privately situated in EagleCliff. The neighboring stairway provides the access to Eagle Cliff Beach.

Facing South East, this cozy home has a captivating view of the ocean, Passage Island and Vancouver from every room.

Watch the eagles soar, the whales swimming by and the sun & moon rising over Howe Sound. Large deck with access off the Living Room, Dining Room, and both bedrooms. Separate entrance to the unfinished basement/crawl space has room for plenty of storage and your own wine/cold storage room waiting to be filled. Move in ready.

1531 Eaglecliff

$1,998,000

The main home features three bedrooms, Den, Family Room opening on to the kitchen and a sun-drenched deck with a sunken pool. The property has a stunning panoramic outlook towards Horseshoe Bay and Passage Island. Also included is a gorgeous Doug Berry designed detached one bedroom cottage - which is set away from the main house for total privacy. The main house and property needs some TLC, but is an excellent opportunity to snag a rare Bowen waterfront acreage.

1100 FoxGlove Lane

$798,000

The first finished flat listed for sale on Foxglove Lane! This brand new duplex 1333 sf apartment features three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, covered deck and own carport. Built by Bowen Island craftsmen, and featuring the new home 2-5-10 warranty. Pre-wired for solar panels, Metal roof, Hardwood flooring, 9’ ceilings on the main level and carefully designed for sound proofing. Engineered quartz counter tops and back splash and a a 5 year appliance warranty.

Built green with attention to detail. New home living within easy walking distance of everything - the school, ferry, stores, restaurants and Crippen Park’s tranquil trails. GST applicable.

739 Minnows Lane

$1,620,000

Step into nature in this idyllic park-like property. Perched on a gently terraced hill overlooking your private pond, this inviting three bedroom plus office, three bathroom home opens into nature through numerous french doors and expansive windows.

Experience all that this 2.79 acre property has to offer; flagstone patios, flat grassed areas, west coast forest, southern exposure, greenhouse and two car garage. But mostly take in the sights and sounds; a glimpse of a fawn with its attentive Mom, the sound of the Barred Owl’s soft echo through the woods or the chorus of the frogs filling the quiet spring dusk. Watch the Dragonflies dip in the pond and the silvery fish slip through the water. This private and serene property is located within minutes of Snug Cove.

Sold aS liSting agent

dee’S liStingS 360 Creek

$1,200,000

MLS R2482255

Extensively renovated and recently updated home with tasteful and high-end appointments

1228 Millers Road

throughout Located on a south facing slope, with a covered deck opening out to a fenced in garden complete with fruit trees, irrigation, and a small detached hobby studio. Co-listed with Frazer Elliott

Sold aS liSting agent

909 Elrond Sold aS liSting agent

1741 Bowen Bay Rd Sold aS liSting agent

1180 Millers

1519 Williams

$1,650.000

MLS R2480867

Waterfront 1.4 Acres Architecturally designed West Coast Modern home, This split level flow of the home offers intriguing spaces to live, work and play. Watch the sun rise above the mountain range of the Sea to Sky corridor and the never ending diversity and ocean activity that this waterfront home provides.

949 Arbutus Bay Lane $4.200,000

MLS R2476042

One of Bowen’s most exclusive Estates. Located on the sunny south end of Bowen. 1.45 acres with an expansive view over the Salish Sea to Vancouver Island. Drive through the gates and down to the house past two 2 car garages each with their own separate living/studio/ conference room space above. The main house features 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, an exquisite living room with stunning beams and a high vaulted ceiling, plus gourmet kitchen.

1221 Adams Road

$799,000

MLS R2472858

Affordability in the family friendly 3 bedroom/2 bath home. Level front yard for the kids to play and a newly created sun drenched back patio for outdoor entertaining. Garden a little

Sold aS liSting agent

Lot 1 & Lot 2 Rivendell Heights Sold aS liSting agent

945 Blue Sky Circle Sold aS liSting agent

1291 Fairweather Sold aS a buyerS agent

1267 Fairweather Sold aS a buyerS agent

Lot 6 & 7 Douglas Rd Sold aS liSting agent

or garden a lot, this 1/2 acre property is waiting for your creative touch to make it your own.

1044 Grafton Road

$1,448,000

MLSR2451555

6.5 acres of stunning, flat, sun-soaked gardens criss-crossed by meandering brooks - this is one of the premier pieces of Agricultural Land Reserve properties on Bowen Two separate Panabode built homes - one 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and another 1150 sf home with 4 bedrooms and 1 bath. Start your love affair with this gorgeous property by viewing the video tour, at www.bowenhomes.ca or call for more details.

351 Josephine

$1,349,000

MLS R2451957

This two home property is the perfect multigenerational family retreat center or an incredible opportunity to run your own B&B. The upper 2 bdrm, 2 bath, plus den, home is 1,266 sf. with hot tub deck, fully fenced yard, garden beds, chicken coop, fruit trees and even a cob pizza oven.

The 2,382 sf spacious/modern lower house has 2/3 bdrms, a huge flex space and large deck.

Both homes have stunning views of Josephine Lake.

1099 Brookside

$2,599,000

MLS R2474435

Escape from the City to this private and park-like acreage. Contemporary home with expansive south facing floor to ceiling windows allow views to the Straight of Georgia and absorbs the natural south facing light mall year round. The main house open plan living space joins seamlessly outdoors onto the stone patios. Covered and open patios surround the infinity pool. Bonus charming one bedroom, one bath separate cottage.

292 Smugglers

$2,280,000

MLS R2319563

Otter Point - Architecturally designed waterfront home designed to take full advantage of the extraordinary views of Howe Sound, the Tantalus Range, Black Tusk & Garibaldi.

Wind your way down from the house to the waters edge and enticing pebbled beach in Smugglers Cove.

892 Schooner

$699,000

MLS R2477935

Panoramic views over Keats Island and the Sunshine Coast. Round cottage said to be a PNE prize home from the 60’s sits atop this .4 of an acre property. 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom

840 Hummingbird Lane Sold aS liSting agent

871 Valhalla

provides a comfortable living space while you comtemplate the endless possiblilities of what could be built on this gorgeous property.

907 Rivendell

$1,349,000

MLS R2443842

Featuring that famous, expansive and constantly-changing Cates Hill view, this property ticks all the boxes for families looking for their new Bowen home. $2,930 sf with Four bedrooms/ three baths. Across the street to the trail head taking you to Artisan Square, all its shops, and the Bowen Island Community School.

A14 â&#x20AC;˘ Thursday, September 10, 2020

Personal Real Estate Corporation

bowenislandundercurrent.com

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A15

Bowen Island Properties LP PHASE 1 Rivendell Heights

SOLD OUT Thank you, Dee!

ll Dr

d Hill R Cates

PHASE 1 SOLD Rivendell Dr Tir-na-nOg Rivendell Retreat

Rivende

Cates Ln

PHASE 2

Berry R

Village Square

PHASE 2 at Rivendell

Bowen Island Trunk Rd

Heights will be available for Ferry

presale in the fall of 2020.

To be on our email list to receive first notice when

Snug Cove

Cates Hill Village

Dr

“THE SHIRE”

Municipal Hall

Crippen Park

new information is avail-

Dorman Rd

Leigh Auto

Villa ge

d

Artisan Square

Dr

nR fto Gra

Artisan Ln

Rd

Cates Hill Chapel

Community School Bowe n Islan d Trun k Rd

Vill age

Childrens’Centre Carter Rd

Miller

IPS

able, email us at info@ bowenislandproperties.ca

Crippen Park

or call us at 604-947-0000.

d

WHAT’S NEXT?

THE SHIRE: The Completion of Cates Hill “THE SHIRE” is one of four landmark sites for which Bowen Island Properties Limited Partnership (BIPLP) will be applying soon for rezoning. THE SHIRE covers most of the still undeveloped area of Cates Hill, formerly referred to as Parkview Slopes.

THE SHIRE is within easy walking distance to Snug Cove, Village Square, Artisan Square, Island Pacific School, Cates Hill Chapel, Bowen Children’s Centre, Tir-na-nOg Theatre School, Rivendell Retreat Centre, Leigh Automotive, Bowen Island Community School, Municipal Hall, the projected community centre and medical centre, the ferry terminal, and Crippen Park. This makes THE SHIRE ideally suited for the creation of a new neighbourhood with a variety of diverse housing forms ranging from small studios to one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and townhouses, most of which shall be leased with a government-regulated mix of subsidized and market rents.

BIPLP envisions that THE SHIRE will become a noteworthy example of progressive planning—not only toward creating diverse, safe, and affordable living options on Bowen Island but also recognizing that society’s current reliance on individual car ownership will gradually become less of an option for environmental and economic reasons. Ideally, that should happen parallel to and accompanied by the emergence of new, more benign, and affordable alternatives. The overall planning of THE SHIRE has taken such anticipated changes into consideration.

If energy, time, and (not to forget) finances should allow, THE SHIRE will also include a small but vibrant “school of arts” with an associated small pocket of homes reserved for “artists in residence.” But please do not hold your breath yet.

That idea may be too exciting and too tempting to be true, and should not be taken for granted at this time.

— Wolfgang Duntz

Since 1988, building communities where people love to live

Office Phone: 604-947-0099 www.bowenislandproperties.ca PAID ADVERTISEMENT

7

A16 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

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bowenislandundercurrent.com

2020

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A17

NOTICE OF ASSENT VOTING

REFERENDUM

(Community Centre Project Bylaw No.477, 2019)

PUBLIC NOTICE is given to the electors of Bowen Island Municipality that a vote will be held on the following question: “Bowen Island Municipality has received a one-time grant of $7.9 million towards funding the Community Centre project through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. Are you in favour of enacting Bowen Island Municipality Loan Authorization Bylaw No.477, 2019, which authorizes the Bowen Island Municipality to borrow a sum of up to $4,040,000 to complete the funding required to construct a community centre for Bowen Island?”

VOTING DATES & LOCATIONS

GENERAL VOTING DAY

ADVANCED VOTING DAY

Saturday, September 12, 2020 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM Bowen Island Community School 1041 Mt Gardner Rd, Bowen Island, BC

Wednesday, September 2, 2020 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM Bowen Island Municipal Hall 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, BC

ELECTOR REGISTRATION

MAIL BALLOT VOTING

There is no need to pre-register to vote as the registration of all electors will take place at the time of voting, however voters may find that pre-registration will save time on voting day. You will be required to make a declaration that you meet the following requirements: • 18 years of age or older on general voting day • Canadian Citizen • Resident of BC for at least 6 months immediately preceding the day of registration • Resident of OR registered owner of real property in the Bowen Island Municipality for at least 30 days immediately preceding the day of registration, and • Not disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting.

Resident Electors must produce 2 pieces of identification (at least one with a signature). Picture identification is not necessary. The identification must prove both residency and identity.

Mail ballot packages are available from Municipal Hall (contact information below). Electors may vote by mail if they:

Non-Resident Property Electors must produce 2 pieces of identification (at least one with a signature) to prove identity, proof that they are entitled to register in relation to the property, and, if there is more than one owner, written consent from a majority of the property owners to appoint one owner voting. A person may only register as a non-resident property elector in relation to one parcel of real property in a jurisdiction. Only those individuals who own property may register as non-resident property electors – corporations do not have the right to vote.

Once your application has been received and processed your mail ballot package can be picked up from Municipal Hall during regular business hours (M-F 8:30-4:30).

To check if you are on the voters list, contact Municipal Hall during regular business hours Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM or email Referendum2020@bimbc.ca.

• •

Have a physical disability, illness or injury that affects their ability to vote at another voting opportunity OR Expect to be absent on general voting day and on advanced voting day.

Time may not permit mailing as we approach the Referendum on Saturday, September 12th. If any of the above apply, you can still receive a mail ballot by completing an Application to Vote by Mail Ballot and submitting it by: • • •

Email to Referendum2020@bimbc.ca Fax to 604-947-0163 In person at Municipal Hall, 981 Artisan Lane

For more information on how to receive a Mail Ballot package, visit our website: www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/referendum-2020.

To be counted, your mail ballot must be received by the Chief Election Officer no later than 8:00 PM on Saturday, September 12, 2020 (General Voting Day).

SYNOPSIS OF PROPOSED BYLAW BYLAW NO. 477, 2019 cited as “Bowen Island Municipality Loan Authorization (Community Centre Project) Bylaw No. 477, 2019” provides for the following: Empowers and authorizes Bowen Island Municipal Council to undertake and carry out or cause to be carried out the construction of the Community Centre generally in accordance with general plans on file in the municipal hall and to do all things necessary in connection therewith and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing: 1. To borrow upon the credit of the Municipality a sum not to exceed $4,040,000; 2. To acquire all such real property, easements, rights of way, licenses, rights or authorities as may be requisite or desirable for or in connection with the construction of the Community Centre; 3. Site preparation, environmental site remediation, installation of all ancillary road works, on-site and off-site services and utilities for use in connection with the construction of the Community Centre.

The term for which debentures may be issued to secure the debt created by this bylaw is thirty (30) years.

TAKE NOTICE that the above is a synopsis of the proposed bylaw and that this synopsis is not intended to be and is not to be understood as an interpretation of Bylaw No. 477, 2019. The full bylaw may be inspected at the Bowen Island Municipal Hall, 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, B.C. during regular office hours, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday to Friday.

If you have any questions or require further information regarding the referendum, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned: MARK BROWN

Chief Election Officer

HOPE DALLAS

Deputy Chief Election Officer

Bowen Island Municipality 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, B.C V0N 1G2 Tel: 604-947-4255 E-Mail: Referendum2020@bimbc.ca

A18 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Concerning community centre money BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor

The tax bill is one of the public sticking points for the community centre project: Bowen Island Municipality estimates, with capital and operational costs, a four per cent tax rise.

Borrowing

The muni is asking to borrow up to $4 million but only half of the loan is to affect the tax bill. By redirecting money it pays in rent (municipal hall rent is $105,000 a year), BIM can cover half of the annual debt payment of $210,000 (at a two per cent interest rate). This is over a 30-year term.

The half of the debt payment not covered by redirected rent money would result in a two per cent rise in taxes––the oft-quoted $50 per year for the average Bowen home assessed at $1,086,700.

But, municipalities borrow from the Municipal Finance Authority. Loans for capital projects usually have fixed rates for 10-year

intervals, BIM’s chief financial officer Raj Hayre noted at the most recent Finance Advisory Committee meeting. The current rate for 10-year loans with the finance authority is 1.56 per cent (rather than the two per cent used in calculations).

Municipalities can borrow up to 25 per cent of their annual revenue, BIM’s chief financial officer Hayre told the Finance Advisory Committee (put another way, the debt payments can’t exceed 25 per cent of BIM’s annual revenue). This means that BIM has the capacity to borrow up to $46 million said Hayre.

When it comes to debt, BIM borrowed $2 million for the Community Lands in 2005 (debt servicing for which is tax funded) and $2.5 million for the Cove Bay Water Treatment Plant in 2019 (which is user fee funded). The municipality is approved to borrow a further $3 million for the yet-tocome fire hall (tax funded).

Should the community centre referendum pass, BIM would be set to borrow up

to $11, 573,000––a quarter of what it could (with elector consent).

“That is a prudent amount of borrowing for a community this size - many communities are far above this amount,” said Hayre in his staff report.

Building

The project itself has a $2 million contingency, but the business plan puts the cost risk at medium––increased due to the pandemic and an unknown economic market.

A funding shortfall would require further fundraising said the business plan.

Of note here, is that BIM’s largest capital project to date, the $7.6 million water treatment plant currently under construction is on time, on budget and on scope according to BIM’s chief administrative officer, Liam Edwards.

Operating

If the community centre is built, BIM estimates its operating costs to require a further two per cent rise in taxes (or $47 per average

household).

Unanticipated operating costs would be funded through taxation revenue said the business plan. Maintenance and replacement costs are to be addressed in capital renewal and replacement.

When asked about BIM staying on operating budget, Edwards said, “I think it’s pretty common for the operating budgets [on a project like this] to move up or down, depending on what happens.”

While the community has a strong mandate to ensure recreation services are paying for themselves, community centres don’t tend to be financially independent, stressed Edwards. “The very nature of the facility is to provide services to the entire public to make it accessible to all,” he said. “So that we’re able to provide programming and services to all residents of the island.”

Edwards said that BIM isn’t trying to compete with the more “premium services” on the island––like the two other gyms.

Opposition

Deep Bay homeowner Gordon Reid is concerned with the number of capital works projects and their ongoing associated yearly expenditures. “A lot of these projects seem to be okay individually, but when you put them all together they start to get a little bit overwhelming,” he said.

But Reid is most concerned with the growing tax burden for a small tax base that has seen rises of between six and eight per cent the past few years (except in 2020 due to COVID-19) before parcel and other authorities’ taxes.

“We don’t need to fill in our ditches and we don’t need sidewalks everywhere.

We don’t need streetlights.

We don’t need a lot of things because we can’t afford it,” said Reid.

“The tax base is not increasing at the same rate as government expenditures.

The municipality needs to look at alternate sources of income rather than just property tax, as other municipalities do.”

From BIM’s website: Voting day is Sept. 12 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Bowen Island Community School.

One can vote by mail-in ballot if they feel more comfortable voting this way because of COVID19; have a physical disability, illness or injury that affects their ability to vote at another voting opportunity; or expect to be absent on General Voting Day One can apply, pick up their ballot and drop it off at Municipal Hall any time within hours of operation of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

The application to Vote

by Mail Ballot must be submitted no later than 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11 to Bowen Island Municipality by hand, mail, fax, or email to: Bowen Island Municipality, Attention Chief Election Officer, 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G2; Fax: 604-947-0193; Email: Referendum2020@bimbc. ca.

Ballots must be received by the chief election officer by 8 p.m. Sept. 12.

BE LIKE GRAYSEN Eight-year old Graysen Russell wants to help make Bowen Island a healthier place for all of us! When this young lady recently held a sale of her flowers, she decided to donate all the proceeds – $171 – to building a new health centre on Bowen.

Graysen knows that Bowen needs more local health services. Now, thanks to Graysen – and other generous donors on Bowen – our community is finally within reach of bringing health care close to home. Every family on Bowen will benefit from the new health centre, and to reach our goal, we need everyone’s support.

express the very best of what it means to be human.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

MATTERS

ISLAND PACIFIC SCHOOL Accepting Applications for 2020-21 and Beyond

CELEBRATING YEARS

DISCOVER US

islandpacific.org

Be like Graysen... go to bowenhealthcentre.com now and donate or pledge, send us a cheque, or call Colleen at 604-947-0232, or Bill at 604-947-9012 to discuss your contribution.

Thank you so much for making Bowen a healthier place for us, and for generations to come!

bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A19

Duplication, consultation, points of contention WHILE THE COMMUNITY CENTRE HAS FACED LITTLE POLITICAL OPPOSITION, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HAVE CONCERNS

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor

In its latest incarnation, the community centre has faced little political opposition.

Now-mayor Gary Ander has chaired the community centre select steering committee nearly since its inception in 2016. Both mayoral candidates in the last municipal election supported the project.

Despite then-mayor Murray Skeels advising caution when the current design was getting off the ground in 2016 (the project estimate was $10 million at the time), the community centre has passed each approval stage with near (if not complete) unanimity from council.

Today, Skeels supports the proposal his former councilmates have brought to the electors.

“The old adage that perfect is the enemy of good, that really applies in this case,” said Skeels. “If the government is offering to give us [$8 million] and we turn our noses up at it, it’ll be another 15 or 20 years before our turn comes around again,” he said. “It took us from 2003 to 2021 to get a water treatment plant and the community center is a lot less important than that.” (The community centre grant was the largest in its funding stream of the Investing in Canada Infr astructure Program).

That’s not to say there isn’t opposition to the current proposal. Besides the tax burden (see page opposite), one of the loudest critiques of the proposed centre is the inclusion of municipal hall.

Though he’s voting yes, former municipal councillor and task force member Peter Frinton doesn’t think the muni should be included. “You are limiting your options for the future,” said Frinton. “Because you’ve used up that space and that’ll be a space which itself needs to expand.”

A few years ago, the owners of the current municipal hall had offered to sell it to BIM, but council turned down the offer. “It wasn’t an appropriate building,” recalled Skeels.

“The thing was built to be a school and then it had an addition put on …it really was a fairly silly building for municipal hall.”

The non-central location of the current hall on Cates Hill was also a factor in not buying the property said Skeels.

Frinton thinks they should’ve bought the building.

Other criticisms from islanders include that they’d like to support a performance hall but don’t want to fund a new municipal hall and that BIM may monopolize shared spaces in the centre.

But Saturday, islanders are voting on a project that

includes a municipal hall. BIM chief administrative officer Liam Edwards has said that while it’s technically possible to cleave the hall from the centre and still get the $7.96 million grant (which is specifically for arts and culture infrastructure), the redesigned centre would have to meet the exact outcomes listed in the grant application (including the community use of municipal multi-purpose rooms). A “no” vote would also mean some reckoning with the funders to convince them that the project can gain electors’ support Edwards said in August.

Another critique of the proposal is that many of the spaces proposed exist in one form or another on the island. “It’s not adding any new amenities for a really big cost,” said islander and parent James Buskard. (Proponents point out that many of these spaces are either not public or booked-up and spatially limited). Buskard also points to a lack of consultation in recent years as a sticking point. “I feel we all found out about this with information session at Bowfest––it was basically an already completed design.

“And so I don’t feel that the process included canvassing and really asking everybody what they want,” said Buskard, suggesting the BIM’s recent short-term rental survey as a more comprehensive model. “We need to be crystal clear that this is what everybody wants, and we have to be able to document that.”

Steve Rio has similar concerns. “People that I’ve talked to don’t feel like they were ever consulted on what’s in this building or does make sense,” he said, noting that a big part of the cost is the performance hall.

New eyes on an old project

Old as the dream is, fresh eyes have come to community centre project recently.

The two bureaucratic heads of the municipality and the Hearth (Bowen Island Arts Council) respectively have come to Bowen in the months since the pandemic began. Both sit on the select standing committee. (The Hearth is BIM’s leading advisory organization on arts and culture and has a mandate to implement the cultural master plan, which is a BIM bylaw.)

“There is a real, strong need for the community to have a place to go, to share with their community, with their friends, family and there really is no one place here,” said Jami Scheffer, executive director of the Hearth and new islander, having arrived in April.

“That’s the one thing that I’m finding about living here is that is it’s hard to meet people because there really is no one place to go to.

“For a newcomer, I think that this centre would be amazing.”

Scheffer came to Bowen from Invermere where she was executive director of the Columbia Valley Arts Council and where she was involved in rebuilding the town’s old community centre. “I’ve actually gone through this and before I left, the center was open,” she said. She saw about a year’s

worth of activity at the centre.

“More and more and more events came up, like big film festivals in the winter when there wasn’t much to do on a cold day,” said Scheffer. “And then there were more craft fairs and artists’ shows and wild game banquets and murder mystery events.”

“And the funny thing is, people didn’t realize they needed it until they had it,” said Scheffer.

When it came to researching the Hearth job, the community centre piqued her interest. “I saw that the center was being proposed and thought, ‘Oh, yeah, this is great. I want to be part of that.’”

BIM CAO Liam Edwards came to Bowen from the provincial government where he oversaw local governments’ finances, worked with communities on their infrastructure needs and was deputy inspector of municipalities.

When asked, Edwards said that this project holds up well to other capital projects he’s been involved in––noting that this one is farther along in the planning than many when they receive funding.

“And so while it won’t solve everybody’s desires, it is addressing the majority of the community needs––that’s my understanding,” said Edwards.

Edwards calls the project “social infrastructure.”

“This is a critical infrastructure to help build and strengthen the social fabric of the community,” he said.

The Undercurrent asked Jacqueline Massey, former executive director of the Hearth who held the reins of the organization for more than a decade, why the community centre has taken so long to reach fruition.

“We lacked confidence in ourselves as a community,” she wrote in a reflection after the conversation. “The strong commitment to the project and belief that we can (finally) do this has projected us forward. And I do think that was illustrated in our grant application and a major factor in its success.”

“That has brought us to this point of reckoning. But of course it is now up to the community to take the next crucial step.

“It’s in the hands of Bowen Islanders.”

on Bowen Island

Some history of the modern era

In 2005, islanders voted (with 80 per cent of the vote) to allow BIM to buy 40 acres from Metro Vancouver, what’s now known as the Community Lands. “The Community Lands really set the stage for being able to build a facility,” said Peter Frinton––he was re-elected to council in 2005. “So the modern iteration, that began around that time.”

In the decade and a half since, committee after committee refined the community hall.

Community services and amenities to be attached varied, but the hall was consistent.

Current and former members of community and civic centre committees generally agree that the design of today is part of this project spanning more than 15 years.

John Reid chaired the Civic Facilities Working Group between 2006 and 2008. “We were a group put together to marry both the arts and rec in the same facility,” he said. “There was always this knowledge that it had to be something that serves everybody’s purposes and not just one or the other.”

The selection of the community centre site beside the school soccer field and the idea of the ‘community living room’ came out of that era. “I want to be sitting there,” said Reid. “I’m planning to retire and I want to sit in front of the fireplace in the middle of the community.”

Shari Ulrich chaired the next committee, ending her tenure in 2012 with proposed $11 million 18,900 square foot centre that included municipal hall. Council of the era balked at the price tag and then councillor and local developer Wolfgang Duntz proposed a cheaper iteration that didn’t proceed.

SEASON’S ARE CHANGING AND SO ARE WE! COME CHECK OUT OUR EVER GROWING SUPPLY OF REFILLS & SUSTAINABLE GOODS

A20 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

bowenislandundercurrent.com

‘There’s no good answer to this’: parents on teenagers’ ferry commute

REGULAR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES START SEPT. 14

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

Since traffic has rebounded, BC Ferries has implemented more measures such as physical barriers, extra cleaning protocols and lounge safety analysis, so as to allow on average 70 per cent of passenger capacity (including in-vehicle and walk-on passengers), said Darin Guenette, BC Ferries’ manager of public affairs, in an email.

“However, keeping people safely distancing in lounges is a key component of monitoring how many people are allowed on board,” said Guenette. “Thus, if all people who board the ferry in a vehicle can remain in that vehicle for the duration of the sailing, we know that this means that the only people in the passenger lounge spaces are walk-ons.”

In the afternoons, students tend to return over a couple of sailings,

so BC Ferries doesn’t expect to see the same crunch then, said Guenette.

“As for distancing at terminals, we’ve implemented signage/position markers to encourage people still remain spaced from others ‘not inside their bubble,’” said Guenette. “With our mandatory face covering policy in place since August 24, this will apply to all students as well.” “…The terminal and vessel crews had anticipated challenges and are going to do their best to make this safe and smooth for all,” said Guenette.

Before BC Ferries came out with its plan for the expected crowds, the Undercurrent talked with some Bowen parents concerned with their kids commuting to school on the ferry during a pandemic. Many concerns tied into broader strug-

gles with the back to school plan.

Keona Hammond has been delaying the decision of whether or not to send her son, who is starting grade nine, to school.

“They are supposed to be in these cohorts in school of 120 kids, which is already a lot of kids, then the Bowen kids get added to that,” she said.

Hammond’s son wants to return to school and says he’ll stand outside the entire time while on the ferry.

“That’s the hard part,” she said.

“In the end…the whole family has to feel okay about it. So I keep trying to see if we can reach a consensus.”

“I think we can all sort of agree that maybe he can go once a week and check in and get his assignments and we’ll see how that goes,” she said. “But I don’t want him on the ferry and on the bus and everything every day.”

just trying to figure out how we can make it work,” said Cassady.

“If they had found a way to stagger [the student ferry runs], then I’m totally fine with that,” said Cassady. “But if you’ve got… 120 kids [on the ferry], at the best of times they’re already on top of each other.”

If one daughter were to go to school, she’d have to be more segregated from the family.

“There’s no good answer to this,” reflected Cassady.

“I could potentially hold both of them back and just do it online, at least for this term…until my parents are no longer with us,” she said. “But my kids have barely been off Bowen Island since March.

“It’s a wonderful place to live but they need other social interactions.”

Wendy Cellik’s son is in grade 11 at Rockridge. She’s not comfort-

able with the transportation setup. “[We’ll] definitely limit the number of times he goes in and I possibly will be driving him,” she said.

Driving her son in will cost time at work and money for the car.

Then there are the days where her son has only one class, “That just won’t be worth it for us [to drive in],” said Cellik.

Cellik noted that more parents driving their kids to school to keep their number of contacts smaller will also mean more of a strain on the already crowded run. “The regular Bowen commuters––I mean, do people know that we’re coming?”

See more on this topic at bowenislandundercurrent.com.

See what measures are in place at West Vancouver high schools at bowenislandundercurrent.com/ balancing-safety-and-togetherness-the-new-normal-at-west-vancouver-high-schools-1.24196471.

Hilary Cassady has twin girls going into grade ten at Rockridge.

Her 96-year-old parents are going to be living with her family for two parents while her father undergoes radiation treatment.

“So trying to keep my kids safe and everything more segregated, there’s going to be a real challenge,” she said.

One of Cassady’s daughters really wants to go back to school and the other is quite afraid to. “We’re

FILE PHOTO

d e k s a M Get PHOTO CONTEST

Wearing a mask keeps you and those around you safe, and helps everyone feel part of a ‘community team’ of heroes battling Covid-19!

Take a selfie wearing your funny, unusual or self-made mask and send it to us!

Every week starting Aug. 27, we’ll pick a “Mask of the Week” winner and post their photo on our Facebook page.

Each winner will receive a great prize!

Email your photo to editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com (put “Get Masked” in the subject line) and be sure to include your name and phone number. Have fun and thanks for being a masked crusader in the fight against Covid-19!

CoNTEST RULES: one entry per person, all ages can enter. By entering the contest and submitting your photo, you agree to have your photo published on our Facebook page.

EMAIL YOUR PHOTO TO: editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

Patient of the Week MOLLY Molly came to Bowen Vet after she had been attacked by a neighbourhood cat. Luckily, Molly’s wound healed up nicely all on its own but while she was here, she also was given her vaccines.

This is a good reminder to keep your cats up to date on all vaccines, as many outdoor are at risk for cats attacks as well as wild animals attack.

This is including bats, which are the number one rabies vector in BC.

NEW COVID HOURS OPEN: 9 - 5 pm every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday* OPEN: 9 - 1 pm every second Saturday (closed Sat. Sept 19) *Please note: Friday medical appointments will be available on alternate weeks. The clinic will be open for prescriptions and food pick up only on those Fridays.

To schedule appointments, please call

604.947.9247

or email reception@bowenvet.com

bowenislandundercurrent.com

‘It’s restored my faith in humanity’: How Bowen reacted to news of positive COVID cases CONTINUED FROM P.1

Britt Yu at Branch (the taco and ice cream shop) called the health board as soon as she found out her employee had tested positive Friday morning. “From there they interview you and staff and ask about what your protocols are,” said Yu. She and her staff were interviewed about masks, sanitization, proximity of staff to one another and then Yu had to wait for health authorities to determine the level of risk to the public and the staff.

“It’s a very long day, waiting and phone calls and stress,” she said. “When Vancouver Coastal Health phoned us back, they deemed us no risk to the public.”

“When it’s no risk to the public, they tell you you don’t have to announce it publicly,” said Yu. “Which I find surprising.”

But Yu’s glad she did tell the island what was happening.

“We live in a really small community and I think it’s important that everyone feels protected and feel safe,” she said. “I just thought it was the right thing to do.”

And Yu’s found nothing but support from the broader Bowen community since the news came out. “It’s pretty terrifying to have to come out to an entire community and say that someone who works in your establishment has tested positive for COVID,” said Yu. “It’s probably one of the scariest hardest, most stressful things I’ve ever done.

“But the community has been so lovely and supportive.

“I’ve had messages from strangers, well wishes and I had people offered a scoop ice cream for me.

“It’s been really heartwarming and incredible and honestly, it’s restored my faith in humanity.”

While Branch has reopened after a deep clean, Yu and several other staff are in isolation, having worked with the person who tested positive. The eatery will likely just be open weekends for the next couple of weeks until staff can get back to work.

Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A21

Terry Fox run is virtual this year

FILE PHOTO

The Branch on Bowen and Kayak Shop each had an employee test positive for COVID-19 last week (O’Malley says the cases were unrelated).

Brent O’Malley, owner of the Kayak Shop, found out Thursday that a part-time employee had tested positive.

“I actually did hear from Vancouver Coastal Health that I didn’t need to declare to the general public that that had happened,” said O’Malley. “However, I felt, Bowen being Bowen, word was going to get out. And so I wanted to stay ahead of the curve.” “[And] I obviously care about what happens on the on the island…it was important to just let everybody know,” he said.

O’Malley shut down his business for about a day and a half while assessing everything and he contacted everyone who had bookings for the coming weekend––the Labour Day long weekend––to tell them what happened and offer refunds if they felt uncomfortable coming.

“I probably had about 25 or 30 per cent of the people coming cancel, including some big tours,” said O’Malley.

While the ordeal was stressful, he said that there’s been zero blowback from the community. “Everybody who I have notified about this has been extremely supportive and said ‘Thank you very much for your transparency, we really appreciate this,’” said O’Malley. “I’ve actually gotten some nice reviews on Google.”

“People have been really nice about the fact that I was being open with them and allowing them to make informed decisions,” he said. “It was pretty stressful, but I’m glad it’s pretty much over,” said O’Malley.

While he has three guides in isolation, this also happened near the end of the kayaking season, “Which is also super, super fortunate,” said O’Malley.

Meanwhile, both employees who tested positive appear to be ok.

40 years ago, Terry Fox set out on his Marathon of Hope not knowing how Canadians would respond to his plea, “Somewhere the hurting must stop.” Canada answered that plea with Terry Fox Runs in hundreds of communities, thousands of schools, and with millions of supporters across Canada.

This year, the global pandemic has changed so much about our lives from how we work, whom we spend our time with, where we go. But it has not changed our desire to help others, to make a difference, to bring light into the dark, just like Terry did in 1980. The Marathon of Hope might be turning 40 years old but the message is timeless.

On Sept. 20, Canadians will show up again for Terry and for cancer research, not in person but in spirit, in neighbourhoods across Canada as they participate in the first-ever virtual “Terry Fox Run. One Day. Your Way.” There will be walkers, runners, bikers, and hikers; some will get up at 4:30am to honour Terry’s favourite time to run, while others will walk and Skype family in Europe to participate in a global effort.

This September, help celebrate a favourite Canadian fall tradition that will look a little different but have the same heart. Find “Your Way” and make a difference in the lives of millions of Canadians. Your effort will ensure that cancer research continues to move us closer to a cure every day. Register to fundraise or participate at terryfox.org.

For more information, please contact: Pam Matthews at pmatthews@go.islandpacific.org or 788-989-0481.

––Pam Matthews

JANE OSBORNE PHOTO

Richard Attfield, Dave Beckley, Phil Osborne, and John Lambert ready to run the 2020 Handloggers Virtual Half.

Places of Worship Welcome You BOWEN ISLAND UNITED CHURCH Now offering a youtube channel of reflections and hymn/songs with Reverend Lorraine Ashdown and Lynn Williams. youtubewatch?v=tejV7Y6jo

FOOD BANK DROP-OFF

ST. GERARD’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Masses are live streamed every day.

Times posted at holyrosarycathedral.org

Administration Office: 604-682-6774

CATES HILL CHAPEL

www.cateshillchapel.com 604-947-4260 (661 Carter Rd.)

now offering worship services via Zoom. a link available on website.

Pastor: Phil adkins

A22 • Thursday, September 10, 2020

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Further, the publishers do not accept liability for any loss of damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing of an advertisement beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by the portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred. Any corrections of changes will be made in the next available issue. The Bowen Island Undercurrent will be responsible for only one incorrect insertion with liability limited to that portion of the advertisement affected by the error. Request for adjustments or corrections on charges must be made within 30 days of the ad’s expiration.

For best results please check your ad for accuracy the first day it appears. Refunds made only after 7 business days notice!

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Thursday, September 10, 2020 • A23

COMMUNITY CALENDAR LAST WEEKEND TO VIEW ‘SURFACING’

The Hearth Gallery Thurs to Mon; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. “Featuring works of a variety of artists inspired by their time in isolation.

Participating Artists: Jane Dunfield, Diane Buchanan, Kathleen Ainscough, Jacqueline Massey, Emily van Lidth de Jeude, Marc Baur

SATURDAY SEPT. 12

General voting day: Community Centre Referendum

Business continuity planning workshop Zoom 10 am Visit https://www. bowenislandmunicipality. ca/continuity-planning for more information and to RSVP

MONDAY SEPT. 14

King Edward Bay System Community Information

WEDNESDAY SEPT. 16

Meeting Zoom 9 am

Hood Point Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom Noon Regular Council 6:15 am

TUESDAY SEPT. 15

Tunstall Bay Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 9 am

Climate Conversation: Transportation Zoom 4-6 p.m. “Metro Vancouver staff will present the key elements of the Discussion Paper and seek feedback through discussion and questions from participants.”

Bluewater Park Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 7 pm

THURSDAY SEPT. 17

& Kim LaFave opening reception The Hearth Gallery 6 p.m.-8 p.m.

FRIDAY SEPT. 18

40th annual Terry Fox Run - virtual edition For more information contact Pam Matthews; pmatthews@go.islandpacific. org, 788-989-0481

SATURDAY SEPT. 19

Send events to editor@ bowenislandundercurrent. com

Cove Bay Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 3 pm

SUNDAY SEPT. 20

Eagle Cliff Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 9 am

Dialogue: Paintings & collage by Jennifer Love

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