STAY CONNECTED TO VIBRANTVICTORIA
WHAT'S HAPPENING ON CITIFIED VICTORIA
Central Saanich Council is holding a Town Hall Meeting Wednesday May 23 at 7:00pm at the Brentwood Bay Cultural Centre Room A. Come out to be part of the dialogue with Council on a variety of subjects of your choosing. Hope to see you there!
Carl
Carl Jensen - Central Saanich Councillor
Started by
CarlonCouncil
, Feb 08 2012 11:40 PM
188 replies to this topic
#41
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 22 May 2012 - 10:00 PM
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#42
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 24 May 2012 - 10:23 PM
It was a busy week for Council activities this week! Tuesday night was Council meeting, Wednesday was a public Town Hall discussion, tonight was the Peninsula Recreation Commission and on Saturday morning, I am attending the CRD Forum of Councils where we will be reviewing the draft Strat Plan for 2012-2014. I will provide some details on that session after Saturday.
For tonight, I would like to discuss the Central Saanich Town Hall held last night at the Cultural Centre in Brentwood Bay. First of all, our numbers were a little down as we were competing against a concert of some sort at the Senior’s Centre. However, we had about 35 in attendance throughout the evening including six of 7 from the Council.
There was no Agenda as the aim of the evening was for a dialogue between the residents and Council and I think that is exactly what we saw. A variety of issues were discussed ranging from traffic concerns at a number of intersections in Saanichton and on West Saanich going through Brentwood. We also discussed the state of the transit stop at the Saanichton Exchange as well as ditch drainage/maintenance in Brentwood, the proposed development for the Sassy’s location at Keating/West Saanich, noxious weeds such as Broom, speed limit tracking to survey outreach for the next OCP review.
We touched upon a review of the District’s Communications Plan that Councillor Olsen and myself will be doing to review and identify new and emergent communication strategies to ensure we are reaching as many residents/businesses with our advertising and we also briefly touched upon some new technologies such as ipads for Councillors to avoid the use of paper agenda materials as well as future streaming of Council meetings that has been approved under the current budget.
My first one of these sessions, and I enjoyed the two-way communications and discussions. Thanks to everybody that took the time out of their busy schedules to join us!
Carl
For tonight, I would like to discuss the Central Saanich Town Hall held last night at the Cultural Centre in Brentwood Bay. First of all, our numbers were a little down as we were competing against a concert of some sort at the Senior’s Centre. However, we had about 35 in attendance throughout the evening including six of 7 from the Council.
There was no Agenda as the aim of the evening was for a dialogue between the residents and Council and I think that is exactly what we saw. A variety of issues were discussed ranging from traffic concerns at a number of intersections in Saanichton and on West Saanich going through Brentwood. We also discussed the state of the transit stop at the Saanichton Exchange as well as ditch drainage/maintenance in Brentwood, the proposed development for the Sassy’s location at Keating/West Saanich, noxious weeds such as Broom, speed limit tracking to survey outreach for the next OCP review.
We touched upon a review of the District’s Communications Plan that Councillor Olsen and myself will be doing to review and identify new and emergent communication strategies to ensure we are reaching as many residents/businesses with our advertising and we also briefly touched upon some new technologies such as ipads for Councillors to avoid the use of paper agenda materials as well as future streaming of Council meetings that has been approved under the current budget.
My first one of these sessions, and I enjoyed the two-way communications and discussions. Thanks to everybody that took the time out of their busy schedules to join us!
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#43
Sparky
-
- Moderator
-
- 13,146 posts
GET OFF MY LAWN
Posted 24 May 2012 - 10:36 PM
^ Nice work Carl. Other local politicians could learn something by reading your communications with us here at Vibrant Victoria.
#44
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 27 May 2012 - 09:42 PM
I attended the CRD’s Forum of Councils this weekend. There was a collection of approximately 50+ elected officials and CAO’s in attendance. Reviewed the CRD’s draft strategic priorities:
We also had a chance to view and provide feedback on the CRD’s Mission and Vision statements. There were table discussions held regarding each priority and that was followed by electronic polling of the elected officials to vote on their thoughts on the priorities as well as the outcome statements. There was a facilitator at each table from the CRD.
Our table was mainly from Central Saanich with two members of Council from Esquimalt. There was some interesting discussion around the table on topics such as the weighted voting by the CRD Board and its effect on smaller communities with less representation.
It was presented that for the 2012-2014 strategic planning, stakeholders were consulted for the first time including community leaders from Royal Roads, Victoria and Westshore Chambers of Commerce, VIHA, Urban Development Institute, and United Way.
During open discussion at the end of the session, it was noted by Councillors in attendance that the priorities were lacking the following: regional economic sustainability, the arts, food security/support for farmers and First Nations. The next Forum of Councils will be held in the Fall.
As a new Councillor, I find these sessions very educational as they help to teach me about some of the challenges being faced in other municipalities and some of the strategies being used to tackle these issues. The session also provided an opportunity to expand my municipal network which I feel will become increasingly important with time in local government.
Carl
- Regional Cooperation
- Regional Transportation & Planning
- Regional Housing and Health
- Regional Infrastructure
- Regional Environmental Stewardship
We also had a chance to view and provide feedback on the CRD’s Mission and Vision statements. There were table discussions held regarding each priority and that was followed by electronic polling of the elected officials to vote on their thoughts on the priorities as well as the outcome statements. There was a facilitator at each table from the CRD.
Our table was mainly from Central Saanich with two members of Council from Esquimalt. There was some interesting discussion around the table on topics such as the weighted voting by the CRD Board and its effect on smaller communities with less representation.
It was presented that for the 2012-2014 strategic planning, stakeholders were consulted for the first time including community leaders from Royal Roads, Victoria and Westshore Chambers of Commerce, VIHA, Urban Development Institute, and United Way.
During open discussion at the end of the session, it was noted by Councillors in attendance that the priorities were lacking the following: regional economic sustainability, the arts, food security/support for farmers and First Nations. The next Forum of Councils will be held in the Fall.
As a new Councillor, I find these sessions very educational as they help to teach me about some of the challenges being faced in other municipalities and some of the strategies being used to tackle these issues. The session also provided an opportunity to expand my municipal network which I feel will become increasingly important with time in local government.
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#45
Nparker
-
- Member
- 40,724 posts
Posted 27 May 2012 - 10:11 PM
I imagine there was a pretty lively discussion of regional amalgamation at this forum. 
#46
LJ
-
- Member
- 12,736 posts
Posted 28 May 2012 - 07:17 PM
It was presented that for the 2012-2014 strategic planning, stakeholders were consulted for the first time including community leaders from Royal Roads, Victoria and Westshore Chambers of Commerce, VIHA, Urban Development Institute, and United Way.
I think you meant View Royal?
I think you meant View Royal?
Life's a journey......so roll down the window and enjoy the breeze.
#47
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 03 June 2012 - 05:51 PM
It was presented that for the 2012-2014 strategic planning, stakeholders were consulted for the first time including community leaders from Royal Roads, Victoria and Westshore Chambers of Commerce, VIHA, Urban Development Institute, and United Way.
I think you meant View Royal?
@LJ - No, it was RRU as they had consulted with the President, Allan Cahoon, and he was one of the people in the video we were shown showing who had been consulted.
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#48
LJ
-
- Member
- 12,736 posts
Posted 03 June 2012 - 06:40 PM
Oh, OK. I wouldn't have thought of him as a "community leader". I had never heard anything from him before.
Life's a journey......so roll down the window and enjoy the breeze.
#49
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 04 June 2012 - 10:40 PM
Oh, OK. I wouldn't have thought of him as a "community leader". I had never heard anything from him before.
@LJ - Interesting concept to bring together a diverse collection of stakeholders such as this and I think with three substantial post-secondary institutions within the CRD, they might bring some interesting perspectives to the table in terms of the CRD's strategic planning.
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#50
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 04 June 2012 - 10:40 PM
So begins another busy week!! A lengthy Council meeting this evening, which will be followed up by another meeting with the Keating Focus Group later this week and the Victoria Highland Games Association after that. I look forward to what should be a busy June before all the meetings slow down during the summer months.
A couple of areas of particular interest this evening:
CRD’s Proposed Action’s at Island View Beach through the Cordova Shore Conservation Strategy
· At last week’s Parks & Rec Committee meeting there were presentations from both the CRD as well as local residents and the Island View Ditch and Mosquito Committee discussing this initiative - http://www.peninsulanewsreview.com/news/155941815.html
· This evening, Council voted in favour of sending a resolution to the CRD that CS Council does not support the plan to flood the park at Island View Beach, that Council feels the CRD needs to maintain the cleaning of its ditches to prevent the mosquito infestations and that the CRD should repair the berms at the North end of the park where logs have breached the berms
Residential Densification Study
· The consultants have provided a draft final report to Council and the public, Council has provided some direction back to the consultants in terms of what they would like to see in the way of more details and guidelines going forward
· Council voted to hold a 2nd RDS Open House for the public which will be on Thursday Jun 21, from 7-9p at the Centennial Park Fieldhouse
Centennial Park Revitalization
· Staff provided and Council approved a revised three-year project plan for the Centennial Park that will invest $375K into the park over three years with $300K coming from the province as part of the $30M recreational grant program
Carl
A couple of areas of particular interest this evening:
CRD’s Proposed Action’s at Island View Beach through the Cordova Shore Conservation Strategy
· At last week’s Parks & Rec Committee meeting there were presentations from both the CRD as well as local residents and the Island View Ditch and Mosquito Committee discussing this initiative - http://www.peninsulanewsreview.com/news/155941815.html
· This evening, Council voted in favour of sending a resolution to the CRD that CS Council does not support the plan to flood the park at Island View Beach, that Council feels the CRD needs to maintain the cleaning of its ditches to prevent the mosquito infestations and that the CRD should repair the berms at the North end of the park where logs have breached the berms
Residential Densification Study
· The consultants have provided a draft final report to Council and the public, Council has provided some direction back to the consultants in terms of what they would like to see in the way of more details and guidelines going forward
· Council voted to hold a 2nd RDS Open House for the public which will be on Thursday Jun 21, from 7-9p at the Centennial Park Fieldhouse
Centennial Park Revitalization
· Staff provided and Council approved a revised three-year project plan for the Centennial Park that will invest $375K into the park over three years with $300K coming from the province as part of the $30M recreational grant program
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#51
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 06 June 2012 - 10:06 PM
Tonight was the 2nd meeting of the Keating Business Park focus group. The plan for tonight was to bring together a smaller group of about a half dozen businesses with members of CS Council to start discussing next steps in the process. In attendance, there were three business represented, Doug Taylor of the Peninsula Chamber and the Mayor and all of Council.
Mayor Bryson opened the session by laying out the expectations of Council that ideally the businesses of the Keating Business Park (KBP) should bring together an association to represent all of the businesses in the KBP and that Council would provide liaisons to that group similarly to what is done with other community groups in CS. The feelings echoed by Council were that ultimately it is the businesses that know best what they need and that the majority of the ideas for improvements in the KBP should be business-driven as opposed to Council-driven.
There was some good discussion around where the economic vision should come from for the area whether it should be from Council or whether it should come from both the residents and the businesses and be directed towards Council for the governance and lobbying at a more strategic level as Council are not looking to impede the operations of the business community.
After some discussion, it was Doug Taylor from the Chamber whom stepped up to offer that the Chamber might be able to assist in liaising between a KBP group and Council and that Council would be involved in the process but that they would be there to take a back seat to the directives of the business community.
Stay tuned as the dialogue continues on the next steps for the KBP focus group in terms of the next meeting date and location. CS Mayor and Council have declared that CS is “Open for Business” and I believe that the level of support through two meetings now of the full Council in attendance should be an indication of the priority being given to the Keating Revitalization Initiative.
Carl
Mayor Bryson opened the session by laying out the expectations of Council that ideally the businesses of the Keating Business Park (KBP) should bring together an association to represent all of the businesses in the KBP and that Council would provide liaisons to that group similarly to what is done with other community groups in CS. The feelings echoed by Council were that ultimately it is the businesses that know best what they need and that the majority of the ideas for improvements in the KBP should be business-driven as opposed to Council-driven.
There was some good discussion around where the economic vision should come from for the area whether it should be from Council or whether it should come from both the residents and the businesses and be directed towards Council for the governance and lobbying at a more strategic level as Council are not looking to impede the operations of the business community.
After some discussion, it was Doug Taylor from the Chamber whom stepped up to offer that the Chamber might be able to assist in liaising between a KBP group and Council and that Council would be involved in the process but that they would be there to take a back seat to the directives of the business community.
Stay tuned as the dialogue continues on the next steps for the KBP focus group in terms of the next meeting date and location. CS Mayor and Council have declared that CS is “Open for Business” and I believe that the level of support through two meetings now of the full Council in attendance should be an indication of the priority being given to the Keating Revitalization Initiative.
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#52
Mike K.
-
- Administrator
-
- 83,521 posts
Posted 08 June 2012 - 08:54 AM
Thanks for the update, Carl!
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
#53
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 11 June 2012 - 10:50 PM
In honour of the Social Media Camp recently held in Victoria, I thought I would float an interesting question out for some discussion, “Should a member of Council be tweeting during a Council meeting?”
Let me begin by acknowledging that I am still relatively new to the world of Twitter having just engaged it last summer during my campaign. As I approach my one year anniversary, I would have to say that I have embraced it as a form of information sharing and communication with people in the District of Central Saanich (#csaan) but also all across Victoria.
I have tweeted on a variety of subjects from Central Saanich Council updates, to announcements of events I have been attending, golf play by play such as today, highland games updates and re-tweets that I have found particularly informative or entertaining.
Now back to my question, although I applaud any efforts that will broaden the forms of communication between a Council member and their constituents whether that is through Vibrant Victoria, FB, Twitter, website, good old fashioned face-to-face, etc., I believe that tweeting during a Council meeting takes the communication intent too far. In my mind, the reason we are at the Council table is to direct a municipality through our decision-making, and while we are on Twitter, there is no way that we can be giving our full attention to the speaker whether it is a fellow Councillor, staff, stakeholder or a resident, and if we are not giving our full attention, we fail to remain engaged in whatever is being presented and therefore our decisions cannot be based on as much information as is available.
So, yes, I will continue tweeting up a storm, but I will refrain from doing it during a Council meeting. Here’s to 1,500 more tweets in the year ahead!!
Carl
Let me begin by acknowledging that I am still relatively new to the world of Twitter having just engaged it last summer during my campaign. As I approach my one year anniversary, I would have to say that I have embraced it as a form of information sharing and communication with people in the District of Central Saanich (#csaan) but also all across Victoria.
I have tweeted on a variety of subjects from Central Saanich Council updates, to announcements of events I have been attending, golf play by play such as today, highland games updates and re-tweets that I have found particularly informative or entertaining.
Now back to my question, although I applaud any efforts that will broaden the forms of communication between a Council member and their constituents whether that is through Vibrant Victoria, FB, Twitter, website, good old fashioned face-to-face, etc., I believe that tweeting during a Council meeting takes the communication intent too far. In my mind, the reason we are at the Council table is to direct a municipality through our decision-making, and while we are on Twitter, there is no way that we can be giving our full attention to the speaker whether it is a fellow Councillor, staff, stakeholder or a resident, and if we are not giving our full attention, we fail to remain engaged in whatever is being presented and therefore our decisions cannot be based on as much information as is available.
So, yes, I will continue tweeting up a storm, but I will refrain from doing it during a Council meeting. Here’s to 1,500 more tweets in the year ahead!!
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#54
Sparky
-
- Moderator
-
- 13,146 posts
GET OFF MY LAWN
Posted 12 June 2012 - 05:55 AM
This is a very interesting topic Carl, and it actually goes much further than one's attention span.
During my years as a Parent Advisory Council chairperson, I attended a BC annual general meeting where there were some contentious issues coupled with an election of officers that could have changed the entire make up of the organization.
One of our members was emailing a person in the press about the goings on. That person in the press was posting that information on their blog. Our meeting was a day long event .....and the next thing you know...someone's spouse found out that their partner had resigned in a protest by reading the blog. It wasn't even lunch time yet and the meeting wasn't over.
There was a serious discussion about whether or not we should be required to "check our cell phones at the door."
During my years as a Parent Advisory Council chairperson, I attended a BC annual general meeting where there were some contentious issues coupled with an election of officers that could have changed the entire make up of the organization.
One of our members was emailing a person in the press about the goings on. That person in the press was posting that information on their blog. Our meeting was a day long event .....and the next thing you know...someone's spouse found out that their partner had resigned in a protest by reading the blog. It wasn't even lunch time yet and the meeting wasn't over.
There was a serious discussion about whether or not we should be required to "check our cell phones at the door."
#55
jklymak
-
- Member
- 3,514 posts
Posted 12 June 2012 - 08:05 AM
Yeah, I'd say it is inappropriate during the meeting. People are supposed to be participating, not trying to get their side of the story out before the other guy does. If everyone was tweeting, no one would be meeting.
#56
LJ
-
- Member
- 12,736 posts
Posted 12 June 2012 - 07:28 PM
Yeah, I'm definitely in the "check the cell phones at the door" camp.
You're supposed to be paying attention to what is being said in the room not what's on your phone.
If I was speaking to council I would find it very rude if one or more of them were heads down texting/tweeting etc.
You're supposed to be paying attention to what is being said in the room not what's on your phone.
If I was speaking to council I would find it very rude if one or more of them were heads down texting/tweeting etc.
Life's a journey......so roll down the window and enjoy the breeze.
#57
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 14 June 2012 - 10:04 PM
@Sparky, @jklymak and @LJ - Thanks for your responses, I appreciate your input!
Carl
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#58
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 17 June 2012 - 09:29 PM
I wanted to provide some updated details on CS’s Residential Densification Study (RDS):
The Draft Summary Report for the Central Saanich Residential Densification Study (RDS) that was recently presented to Council is now available on the CS site:
http://www.centralsaanich.ca/Assets/Central+Saanich/Planning+and+Building+Services/Planning/Residential+Densification+Study/Draft+RDS.pdf?method=1
A 2nd Public Open House for Phase 3 of the study will be held this week on Thursday night from 7:00-9:00pm at the Centennial Park Field House at 1809 Hovey Rd. Come on out and be part of the dialogue!
Carl
The Draft Summary Report for the Central Saanich Residential Densification Study (RDS) that was recently presented to Council is now available on the CS site:
http://www.centralsaanich.ca/Assets/Central+Saanich/Planning+and+Building+Services/Planning/Residential+Densification+Study/Draft+RDS.pdf?method=1
A 2nd Public Open House for Phase 3 of the study will be held this week on Thursday night from 7:00-9:00pm at the Centennial Park Field House at 1809 Hovey Rd. Come on out and be part of the dialogue!
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#59
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 18 June 2012 - 10:33 PM
Looking forward to attending my first Saanich Peninsula Tri-Municipal meeting tomorrow night at MWC in Sidney at 7pm in Rm 2. The public is welcome, so perhaps I will see you there!
7:00 P.M.
Room 2
Mary Winspear Community Centre
Carl
TRI-MUNICIPAL COUNCIL MEETING
(Central Saanich, North Saanich, Sidney)
TUESDAY, JUNE 19
7:00 P.M.
Room 2
Mary Winspear Community Centre
AGENDA
1. Attracting and Retaining Business to the Peninsula
-
Presentation from Dallas Gislason and Doug Taylor, Saanich (North Saanich)Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
2. Wastewater Management (North Saanich
- Presentation from Duncan Cameron, Cameron Management.
3. Workforce Housing (Central Saanich)
- Presentation from Robin Richardson, Scott Plastics Ltd.
(North Saanich)- Letter from R. Richardson, dated April 16, 2012.
- Infrastructure Working Group Survey (Sidney)
4. Community Development Commission (North Saanich
- Letter from Mayor Cross, dated March 27, 2012.
5. Re-Naming of Highway 17 - the “Peninsula Parkway” (North Saanich)
- Letter from J. Hurley, dated November 20, 2011.
6. Highway 17 Planning Study (North Saanich)
- Agenda of Advisory Groups Workshop, dated February 28, 2011.
7. Densification (Central Saanich)
8. CRD Arts Committee (Sidney)
9. West Side Amenities - Canora Road (Sidney)
- Staff report dated May 16, 2012.
10. Allbay / Tsehum Harbour - Derelict Boats (Sidney)
- Staff report dated September 7, 2011.
11. Highway 17 - Island View Beach Road Intersection (North Saanich)
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
#60
CarlonCouncil
-
- Member
- 267 posts
Posted 25 June 2012 - 04:17 PM
Saanich Peninsula Tri- Municipal Meeting – Jun 19/12
Summary:
1. Attracting and Retaining Businesses to the Peninsula – presentation by Dallas Gislason of the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
a. 3 pillars of Community Development: social, environmental and economic
b. Local Economy:
i. Drains – taxation, savings, imports
ii. Additions – reduced taxation, increased spending, exports
c. Largest import on Peninsula: people
d. E.g. Sidney company: spends $500K importing materials, exporting $2M in product – result: $1.5M remains on Peninsula contributes to payroll, expenses, taxes, and the effects of that revenue on local economy ripple out from there
e. 3 methods for building a local economy:
i. Attract businesses from outside to relocate – lowest ROI (return on investment)
ii. Create new businesses that will export – midrange ROI
iii. Retain existing established businesses and help them expand – greatest ROI
f. Chamber solution: Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) program
i. Chamber sponsored initiative proposed to be funded by the 3 muni’s
ii. Deliver proactive strategies to uncover the needs of local businesses as opposed to reacting once the businesses have closed or relocated
iii. Provide the benefit of well informed policy and decision making
iv. Cost: $25K/yr per muni for 3 years
2. Wastewater Management
a. Hydra Renewable Resources – Dale Bishop, CEO
b. “We see waste as a resource”
c. “We look to take waste management from a cost sink to a profit centre”
d. Treat wastewater in a way that allows the water to be sold, diesel fuel produced and extract the heat from the waste
e. Similar to what is currently being done at the Saanich Wastewater Treatment Plant with the heat recovery system that is currently providing heat to Panorama
3. Workforce Housing
a. Robin Richardson of Scott Plastics representing the Sidney/North Saanich Industrial Group
b. Advocating for the needs of the group including: Viking Air, Nicholson, Thrifty’s, Sleggs, Ramsay, Scott Plastics,etc
c. Payroll for this group of approx $110M/yr, 2,200 employee’s, but only 26% live on the Peninsula, result: $80M/yr in wages leaving the Peninsula
d. The costs are too great for these employees in terms of average housing costs, gas, and time spent commuting
e. Need new housing being developed now as anything started today will still be 12-18 months out
f. The group has spoken with BC Transit to aid with bus service, but they did not receive a favourable response from BC Transit and as a result they are in discussion with Wilson’s Transport for potential private bus service not just in the area, but potentially from the area home on the highways as well
4. Community Development Commission
a. Looking for a North Saanich representative
5. Re-Naming of Pat Bay Hwy to Peninsula Parkway
a. Pat Bay Hwy named after the Princess Patricia Light Infantry, with that explanation no appetite to pursue a new name
6. Hwy 17 Planning Study
a. Mayor Bryson provided update on meeting between Central Saanich and Minister Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom
b. No immediate plans to close the Island View intersection
7. Densification
a. Councillor Olsen of CS provided an update on the CS Residential Densification Study and mentioned the second Open House happening last Thursday
8. CRD Arts Committee
a. Currently funds grants at 3 levels: operating grants, project grants and idea grants
b. Only 8 of the 13 CRD muni’s currently contribute to the fund
c. Sidney has invested $5K/yr and they have seen a $17K ROI
d. CS and NS not currently contributing
e. It is believed that for every dollar spent on the Arts, the ROI is $9
f. Committee between 3 muni’s to look at this funding
9. West Side Amenities
a. Staff report
10. Derelict Vessels in Peninsula Waters
a. Discussions about a number of initiatives around the Peninsula looking to clean up the waterways
b. It was noted that it needs to be managed by the whole region as one area may clear, but the result may be squatter boat owners simply moving to another area
c. Need to involve Federal authorities as it is within their jurisdiction and funding support is required
11. West Side Boat Launch
a. Need addressed for a boat launch on the west side of Peninsula as currently the only launch is at Tsartlip, looking to put some pressure on Airport Authority to open up a boat launch at their float plane terminal
Carl
Summary:
1. Attracting and Retaining Businesses to the Peninsula – presentation by Dallas Gislason of the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
a. 3 pillars of Community Development: social, environmental and economic
b. Local Economy:
i. Drains – taxation, savings, imports
ii. Additions – reduced taxation, increased spending, exports
c. Largest import on Peninsula: people
d. E.g. Sidney company: spends $500K importing materials, exporting $2M in product – result: $1.5M remains on Peninsula contributes to payroll, expenses, taxes, and the effects of that revenue on local economy ripple out from there
e. 3 methods for building a local economy:
i. Attract businesses from outside to relocate – lowest ROI (return on investment)
ii. Create new businesses that will export – midrange ROI
iii. Retain existing established businesses and help them expand – greatest ROI
f. Chamber solution: Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) program
i. Chamber sponsored initiative proposed to be funded by the 3 muni’s
ii. Deliver proactive strategies to uncover the needs of local businesses as opposed to reacting once the businesses have closed or relocated
iii. Provide the benefit of well informed policy and decision making
iv. Cost: $25K/yr per muni for 3 years
2. Wastewater Management
a. Hydra Renewable Resources – Dale Bishop, CEO
b. “We see waste as a resource”
c. “We look to take waste management from a cost sink to a profit centre”
d. Treat wastewater in a way that allows the water to be sold, diesel fuel produced and extract the heat from the waste
e. Similar to what is currently being done at the Saanich Wastewater Treatment Plant with the heat recovery system that is currently providing heat to Panorama
3. Workforce Housing
a. Robin Richardson of Scott Plastics representing the Sidney/North Saanich Industrial Group
b. Advocating for the needs of the group including: Viking Air, Nicholson, Thrifty’s, Sleggs, Ramsay, Scott Plastics,etc
c. Payroll for this group of approx $110M/yr, 2,200 employee’s, but only 26% live on the Peninsula, result: $80M/yr in wages leaving the Peninsula
d. The costs are too great for these employees in terms of average housing costs, gas, and time spent commuting
e. Need new housing being developed now as anything started today will still be 12-18 months out
f. The group has spoken with BC Transit to aid with bus service, but they did not receive a favourable response from BC Transit and as a result they are in discussion with Wilson’s Transport for potential private bus service not just in the area, but potentially from the area home on the highways as well
4. Community Development Commission
a. Looking for a North Saanich representative
5. Re-Naming of Pat Bay Hwy to Peninsula Parkway
a. Pat Bay Hwy named after the Princess Patricia Light Infantry, with that explanation no appetite to pursue a new name
6. Hwy 17 Planning Study
a. Mayor Bryson provided update on meeting between Central Saanich and Minister Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom
b. No immediate plans to close the Island View intersection
7. Densification
a. Councillor Olsen of CS provided an update on the CS Residential Densification Study and mentioned the second Open House happening last Thursday
8. CRD Arts Committee
a. Currently funds grants at 3 levels: operating grants, project grants and idea grants
b. Only 8 of the 13 CRD muni’s currently contribute to the fund
c. Sidney has invested $5K/yr and they have seen a $17K ROI
d. CS and NS not currently contributing
e. It is believed that for every dollar spent on the Arts, the ROI is $9
f. Committee between 3 muni’s to look at this funding
9. West Side Amenities
a. Staff report
10. Derelict Vessels in Peninsula Waters
a. Discussions about a number of initiatives around the Peninsula looking to clean up the waterways
b. It was noted that it needs to be managed by the whole region as one area may clear, but the result may be squatter boat owners simply moving to another area
c. Need to involve Federal authorities as it is within their jurisdiction and funding support is required
11. West Side Boat Launch
a. Need addressed for a boat launch on the west side of Peninsula as currently the only launch is at Tsartlip, looking to put some pressure on Airport Authority to open up a boat launch at their float plane terminal
Carl
Carl I. Jensen
Central Saanich Councillor
Twitter - @carloncouncil
E - carl.jensen@csaanich.ca
T - 250.858.6532
Facebook - http://facebook.com/carlforcouncil
You're not quite at the end of this discussion topic!
Use the page links at the lower-left to go to the next page to read additional posts.
Use the page links at the lower-left to go to the next page to read additional posts.
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
