 | COMOX VALLEY REGIONAL DISTRICT BOARD | |
| Tuesday, April 29, 2025 | ||
| Minutes of the meeting of the Comox Valley Regional District Board of Directors held on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in the Civic Room of the Comox Valley Regional District offices located at 770 Harmston Avenue, Courtenay, BC commencing at 4:00 pm. | ||
| MINUTES | ||
| Present: | ||
| Chair: | W. Cole-Hamilton | City of Courtenay |
| Vice-Chair: | J. Kerr | Town of Comox |
| Directors: | V. Brown | Village of Cumberland |
| K. Grant | Town of Comox | |
| E. Grieve | Puntledge/Black Creek (Area C) | |
| R. Hardy | Lazo North (Area B) | |
| D. Hillian | City of Courtenay | |
| M. McCollum | City of Courtenay | |
| W. Morin | City of Courtenay | |
| Alt. Director: | I. Munro | Baynes Sound-Denman/Hornby Islands (Area A) |
| Staff: | J. Warren | Chief Administrative Officer |
| L. Wiwcharuk | Chief Financial Officer | |
| J. Martens | General Manager of Corporate Services | |
| D. DeMarzo | General Manager of Community Services | |
| A. Mullaly | General Manager of Planning and Development | |
| M. Rutten | General Manager of Engineering Services | |
| L. Dennis | Manager of Legislative Services | |
| RECOGNITION OF TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES: | ||||||
| The Chair acknowledged that the meeting was being held on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation and read the following Call to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action report:
Call to Action 69: Museums and Archives We call upon Library and Archives Canada to: i. Fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Joinet-Orentlicher Principles, as related to Aboriginal peoples’ inalienable right to know the truth about what happened and why, with regard to human rights violations committed against them in the residential schools. ii. Ensure that its record holdings related to residential schools are accessible to the public. iii. Commit more resources to its public education materials and programming on residential schools. | ||||||
| ADOPTION OF MINUTES: | ||||||
| K. Grant/D. Hillian: THAT the Comox Valley Regional District Board minutes dated April 8, 2025 be adopted. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| REPORTS: | ||||||
| COMMUNICATION TOOL REFOCUS | ||||||
| D. Hillian/K. Grant: THAT the report dated April 22, 2025 regarding changes to the Comox Valley Regional District’s social media accounts and refocused direction to invest locally, support mental health and wellbeing, and provide increased direct communication to residents be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| J. Martens, General Manager of Corporate Services, provided an overview of the report regarding the CVRD's social media accounts and refocused direction. | ||||||
| EVOLVE BIKE SHARE 2025 EXPANSION | ||||||
| D. Hillian/K. Grant: THAT the report dated April 16, 2025 regarding information on the planned expansion of the Evolve regional electric bike share program be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| M. Zbarsky, Manager of Transit and Facilities, provided an overview of the report regarding the planned expansion of the Evolve regional electric bike share program. | ||||||
| David Holzer, BCAA, presented an overview of the Evolve regional electric bike share program. [Item] | ||||||
| D. Hillian/K. Grant: THAT subject to approval by participating municipal councils, the Comox Valley Regional District’s License and Services Agreement with BCAA, and Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Courtenay and Town of Comox, be amended to include electric scooters in participating municipalities;
AND FURTHER THAT, subject to approval by the Village of Cumberland, the Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Courtenay and Town of Comox for a regional shared micromobility program be amended to include the Village of Cumberland. | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| RE-ALLOCATION OF FUNDING FOR THE CUMBERLAND AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING PROJECT | ||||||
| M. McCollum/D. Hillian: THAT the report dated April 15, 2025 regarding a request to re-allocate funding approved for the construction of the affordable rental housing project in Cumberland to a new recipient be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 209 | Carried | |||||
| M. Hebert, Social Planning Coordinator, and L. Kilpatrick, Community Development and Resilience Manager, provided an overview of the report regarding a request to re-allocate funding approved for the construction of the affordable rental housing project in Cumberland to a new recipient. | ||||||
| D. Hillian/M. McCollum: THAT the Board motion regarding the funding support to the Comox Valley Transition Society towards construction of the affordable housing project in Cumberland from the Board meeting on February 14, 2023, be rescinded. | ||||||
| 209 | Carried | |||||
| D. Hillian/I. Munro: THAT $70,000 be allocated from the Service 451 Homelessness Supports 2025-2029 approved financial plan to M’akola Housing Society towards construction of the affordable rental housing project in the Village of Cumberland. | ||||||
| 209 | Carried | |||||
| TARIFF RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS | ||||||
| K. Grant/D. Hillian: THAT the report dated April 16, 2025 regarding the steps taken in response to the Board’s direction on minimizing procurement impacts from U.S. tariffs be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| K. Garrett, Manager of Procurement, provided an overview of the report regarding steps taken in response to the Board’s direction on minimizing procurement impacts from U.S. tariffs. | ||||||
| 2025 STRATEGIC PLANNING UPDATE | ||||||
| K. Grant/M. McCollum: THAT the report dated April 24, 2025 regarding an update on the 2025 Strategic Planning Session and Government Advocacy Strategy, which supports key drivers, core services, and actions outlined in the 2023-2026 term of office Strategic Plan be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| C. Wile, Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives, provided an overview of the report regarding an update on the 2025 Strategic Planning Session and Government Advocacy Strategy. | ||||||
| D. Hillian/E. Grieve: THAT the proposed agenda topics outlined in the report dated April 24, 2025 be endorsed and incorporated into the agenda for the 2025 Strategic Planning Session scheduled for June 17, 2025;
AND FURTHER THAT the advocacy topics and implementation actions outlined in Appendix A of the report dated April 24, 2025 be endorsed as the 2025 Government Advocacy Strategy. | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| ELECTORAL AREAS SERVICES COMMITTEE – APRIL 7, 2025 | ||||||
| K. Grant/E. Grieve: THAT the Electoral Areas Services Committee minutes dated April 7, 2025 be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| COMOX VALLEY SEWAGE COMMISSION – APRIL 8, 2025 | ||||||
| D. Hillian/K. Grant: THAT the Sewage Commission minutes dated April 8, 2025 be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| COMOX VALLEY WATER COMMITTEE - APRIL 8, 2025 | ||||||
| K. Grant/M. McCollum: THAT the Water Committee minutes dated April 8, 2025 be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| NEW BUSINESS: | ||||||
| FCM RESOLUTION - SUSTAINABLE FUNDING FOR SMALL WATER SYSTEMS | ||||||
| D. Hillian/K. Grant: THAT the Correspondence dated April 15, 2025 from Chair Cole-Hamilton regarding a proposed resolution to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to seek support for sustainable funding for small water systems be received. [Item] | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| K. Grant/J. Kerr: THAT the following resolution, together with the backgrounder enclosed with the correspondence dated April 14, 2025, be submitted to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for consideration:
Sustainable Funding for Small Water Systems WHEREAS the small water systems in rural Canada, which are administered by local governments, provide essential services to rural residents and communities, yet they face unsustainable financial burdens due to the high costs of water treatment systems, ongoing maintenance, and replacing aging infrastructure, which can amount to millions of dollars; AND WHEREAS it is not possible for rural residents and communities to finance these systems through local taxation alone, threatening the viability of these water systems and the communities they serve, while also posing a significant risk to local food security; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities request the federal government to establish long-term sustainable funding programs specifically for small water systems to address high cost and regulatory compliance requirements and to safeguard local food security, and for a collaborative approach to funding and support, including cost-sharing models, grant programs and capacity-building initiatives, to enable small rural water systems to remain viable and resilient amidst growing environmental and economic pressures. | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| TERMINATION: | ||||||
| D. Hillian/M. McCollum: THAT the meeting terminate. | ||||||
| 208 | Carried | |||||
| Time: 5:32 pm. | ||||||
| Confirmed this 13th day of May, 2025: ____________________________________ Will Cole-Hamilton Chair | |
| Certified Correct: ____________________________________ Jake Martens General Manager of Corporate Services / Corporate Officer | |
| Recorded By: ____________________________________ Lisa Dennis Manager of Legislative Services |