Board Meeting - January 2022 Highlights

Local Conservation Fund

The Board has directed staff to prepare bylaws to add Electoral Areas F and H to the Local Conservation Fund service. The Local Conservation Fund provides grants to support conservation efforts focused on the conservation of water and aquatic systems, as well as wildlife and habitat, with the ultimate goal of supporting actions to provide a healthy physical environment for future generations. Currently, Areas A, D, and E are part of the program and last year $71,000 was distributed to eight different projects. If the bylaws are approved by the Board, elector approval for the bylaws will occur by way of referendum held in conjunction with the local government elections occurring in October, 2022. If residents of Areas F and H approve of joining the Local Conservation Fund service, property owners will be charged an annual parcel tax of $15.

Creston Valley Kootenay Lake Economic Action Partnership

The RDCK agrees to enter a three-year agreement with Kootenay Employment Services to provide a Community Development Manager to deliver the economic development program for the Creston Valley Kootenay Lake Economic Action Partnership.  

Established in 2019 between RDCK Electoral Areas A, B, and C and the Town of Creston, the goal of the Creston Valley Economic Action Partnership is to enable a thriving local economy that builds on the area’s strengths in agriculture, tourism, recreation and small business. Previous projects include supporting the Buy Local Campaign and creating a temporary worker camp to support the local cherry industry during COVID.

RDCK supports Selkirk College project proposal on rural homelessness

With homelessness on the rise in the West Kootenay region, the RDCK will send a letter of support for Selkirk College’s project proposal on bridging rural homelessness and well-being. The goal of the project is to improve the well-being of local residents experiencing, or at risk of homelessness through research that allows partner organizations to make evidence based decisions on how to prioritize and structure services, programs and policies, promote collaboration between organizations and communities to better support target population, and mobilize college resources to enhance the impact of regional response efforts.

RDCK adopts Better Corporate Building Policy

The RDCK Board adopted the Better Corporate Building Policy which supports responsible and sustainable procurement, development, maintenance and repair of all RDCK new and existing buildings. Adherence to the policy will produce more resilient climate adaptive buildings (designing buildings for increased longevity with the use of sustainable materials) with long term cost savings to RDCK taxpayers through life cycle performance and reduced life cycle costs. This policy embodies the RDCK’s commitment to high efficiency, low carbon building practices and can be used as an example for building within our communities.

Regional invasive species strategy

To better determine the extent of invasive species on all RDCK owned or leased properties, the RDCK Board has directed staff to complete an invasive plant inventory and develop a detailed regional invasive species plan with the help of the Central Kootenay Invasive Species Society. The objective is to implement prevention and management, as well as improve awareness and community engagement.

Invasive species, such as knotweed, are non-native plants and animals that become well established because they do not have natural predators or controls. They can spread quickly and have the ability to out compete native plants and animal species, impacting fragile ecosystems.

Regional asset management plan

The RDCK Board has approved up to $180,000 to compile building and site condition assessments for fire halls, bus stops, transfer station sites and buildings, regional parks, and small buildings. As one of the Board’s strategic priorities, asset management allows the RDCK to better understand the current conditions, address assets in poor condition and prepare multi-year budgets to ensure these assets are kept in good working condition on a sustainable basis for the life cycle of the infrastructure. Having functional asset management plans or demonstrating progress in asset management is also a requirement for all provincial and federal grant applications. The goal is to complete the report over the next 18 months with the Board potentially funding portions of the project through Community Works funding.

Creston Valley BC Transit Future Service Plan

The Board has adopted the 2021 Creston Valley BC Transit Future Service Plan. The goal of the plan is to provide the blue print for how BC Transit will facilitate reliable services, improve integration with mobility providers, introduce electronic fares, build more transit support infrastructure and transition to greener fleets.

Over the five years of the plan, the priorities are to introduce service between the East Shore and Creston, extend service for the town shuttle to Erickson, provide Monday through Friday by request service, and additional service days for Wynndel route.

RDCK Quarterly Report

For more information on the current projects and initiatives of the RDCK, see the most recent RDCK Quarterly Report.

Directors Reports

All RDCK Directors provide monthly reports explaining what they have been working on. Click here to read the January reports in the Board minutes (agenda item 3.4, found on pg. 201).

Click here to view a print-friendly PDF version. 

The content on this page was last updated January 26 2022 at 6:15 AM