RDCK Board Highlights - November 2023
November 21, 2023
Chair and Vice-Chair acclaimed by Board of Directors
Electoral Area D Director Aimee Watson was acclaimed as Board Chair for 2024 by the Board Directors at this month’s meeting. Chair Watson has served as the RDCK Electoral Area D Director since 2014 and begins her sixth term as Chair.
Village of Salmo Mayor and RDCK Director Diana Lockwood was also acclaimed as Board Vice-Chair for 2024 by the Board of Directors. Vice-Chair Lockwood has served as a RDCK Director since 2018 and begins her second term as Vice-Chair.
Pictured L-R: Chair Aimee Watson & Vice-Chair Diana Lockwood
The Board Chair and Vice-Chair are elected annually by the Board of Directors and serve a one-year term.
Resident Directed Grants Program
The RDCK will begin accepting grant applications for the Columbia Basin Trust Resident Directed Grants (ReDi) on January 3, 2024. The program, administered by the RDCK under contract to the Trust, supports local projects to provide additional value to Basin communities and that benefit the broad community and public good. The granting allocation for the entire RDCK for 2024-2025 is $1,409,849. In 2023, more than $1.4 million in project funding was awarded to 312 community groups throughout the RDCK. For more information go to www.rdck.ca/ReDi.
New permit fees and forms for RDCK Building Inspection Services
The RDCK Board adopted the RDCK Building Amendment Bylaw which will update building permit fees and forms to best serve clients and foster an efficient and effective building service. All permit fees have been updated based on industry standards and in comparison with other local governments. These changes will provide a better balance of funding the building inspection services by providing greater revenue generation from increased fees and lessening the portion funded by taxes. This will assist in funding staff and providing timely service with respect to permit issuance and administration. The new fee structure will take effect on February 1, 2024.
Curbside collection service proposed for portions of Electoral Areas F, H and J
Two service establishment bylaws for curbside collection will be submitted for the approval of the Provincial Inspector of Municipalities after being given three readings by the Board. In supporting its goal of reducing household waste and diverting recyclables and compostable materials from the landfill, the RDCK is working at establishing three-stream (garbage, recycling, and food waste) curbside collection for portions of Electoral Areas F and H and two-stream (garbage and food waste) curbside collection for portions of Electoral Area J to start in 2025.
The RDCK has determined the potential cost per household based on consultations with other municipalities, regional districts, and solid waste consultants to estimate a conservative and realistic collection fee. For Electoral Areas F and H, the maximum cost per household annually has been placed at $280.02 ($23.33/month) and for Electoral Area J, the maximum cost per household annually has been placed at $283.06 ($23.59/month). Only those who have access to the service will be charged for the service.
If the bylaws are approved by the Inspector of Municipalities, the RDCK may initiate the assent voting (referendum) process to receive the required elector approval for the two bylaws. To see if your property is within the defined portions for the service, click on the maps below.
Demolition of South Slocan Schoolhouse
The demolition of the South Slocan Schoolhouse will begin by the end of November and should be completed by the end of December this year. Originally, built in 1929, the former elementary school was bought in 1987 by the RDCK, but due to the cost of upgrading and maintaining, the South Slocan Commission of Management voted to demolish the building. The Board directed staff to award the contract for the demolition and disposal of the building superstructure, including the disposal of all hazardous materials, to Hydraclean Disaster Restoration Services Ltd. Funding for the project will be through the allocation of the Growing Communities Fund.
Nelson and Area Economic Development Partnership Delegation
A delegation from the Nelson and Area Economic Development Partnership along with M’Akola Development Services presented the results of the Greater Nelson Non-Market Housing Study created by M’Akola. The objective of the study is to assess the need for local government supported housing entity and to explore strategies and tools to facilitate the creation of non-market, affordable housing with a focus on meeting the needs of moderate-income, working families or individuals.
Recommendations from the study included identifying regional district owned sites in Electoral Areas E and F which are appropriate for non-market affordable housing and sell or lease the land to the corporation at a reduced cost for the purposes of development and exploring a regional housing entity approach.
Click here to read the Greater Nelson Non-Market Housing Study.
Director’s Reports
RDCK Directors provide monthly reports outlining what they have been working on. Click here to read the November reports in the Board minutes.
RDCK Quarterly Report
The Board received the 2022 Q3 Quarterly Report which details the current projects and initiatives of the RDCK. Please follow the link to the most recent RDCK Quarterly Report.
Click here to view print-friendly PDF version.
The content on this page was last updated November 21 2023 at 4:24 AM