Regional District releases it's report on Climate Action progress, notes from May Board meeting

The theme of finding ways to reduce the carbon footprint on the North Coast is not limited to Prince Rupert City Council's efforts, Regional District is also actively exploring ways to address the issues and their most recent report provides a glimpse into some of the areas that they are looking at to meet their goals.

The document posted to the North Coast Regional District website offers up some mixed results in the quest for GHG reductions with few results when it comes to Broad planning actions, but some success further along when it comes Energy Generating actions.

Among some of the initiatives taken on in 2016 was the encouragement of the use of solar panels and other smart options, including an update to Community Plans for some areas of the District that include solar panel policies, better transit service and increased residential waste collection and recycling.

Also noted as a community wide action for 2017 is the desire to discourage excess water usage through a metered water system and prepare to move towards a metered billing system.

As for their own offices, Regional District outlined their ongoing efforts to reduce outdated equipment and encourage employee awareness when it comes to energy use and driving fuel efficiency, both are areas that they will continue to address through 2017.

On Transportation, the report also reviews the progress of a proposed passenger ferry service that would transit between the City of Prince Rupert and coastal areas of the Regional District, noting that they would continue to explore the feasibility of the service in 2017.

You can examine the full sixteen page report here.

Also available on the Regional District website are some notes from their May 26th Board session,

Among the highlights of the monthly meeting was the approval for the draft audited financial statements, with the final statements to be brought forward at the June 16th Regular meeting.

North Coast Regional District have joined a collection
of 41 municipalities and 10 regional districts as part
of the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities

Regional District also received a correspondence from the Association of the Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities, the letter advising that the North Coast Regional District request to join that association had been granted.

With that advisory, all Regional District member municipalities have the option of joining the AVICC if they wish. The Village of Queen Charlotte is the first to do just that, having submitted their application at the same time as Regional District did.

Membership costs for Regional District to join the association will be $229 per year, the next AGM for the organization comes up in Victoria from April 13-15, 2018.

Board members reviewed some of the various ministerial meeting requests that they have in mind for the annual UBCM convention, at the June Regional District Meeting they will bring forward some of their proposed resolutions that they hope to raise in September.

Regional District continues to seek out funding for a large scale
renovation plan for the Recycling Centre on Kaien Road.

On the theme of the UBCM, Regional District also resolved to work towards their application to the UBCM Strategic Priorities Fund to support their plans for the Regional Recycling Asset Upgrade project.

That was one of their infrastructure projects that came from recommendations from the Regional Recycling Facility Asset Management Plan from 2016.

The upgrade would take place at the Kaien Road facility in Prince Rupert, with a number of modifications  and renovations planned for the existing facility.

Some of the elements of that project would see the installation of a new roof, enclosure of the crusher portion of the glass crusher and provide for an exhaust fan in the room, repairs to a number of walls and columns, as well as for the concrete slab.  Replacements and upgrades for electrical, fire alarm and security systems. As well the facility would see the installation of a high speed auto tie baler, truck scale and a small vertical baler. Construction of an elevated loading dock would is also listed as among the areas for development.

Should they gain the funding for the work the timeline in mind runs from January of 2018 with the completion date estimated to be December of 2019.

The full outline of the work that Regional District is looking at can be found from their agenda package here, the full scope of the project runs from pages 46 to 65.

The main thrust of that proposal is to address the anticipated growth that Regional District suggests is on course for the area.

This project will result in numerous benefits to the communities that are serviced by the NCRD Regional Recycling Facility. At minimum, the project will ensure that the aging facility continues to support the recycling needs of the region. These needs continue to increase with an increasing population, awareness around the environmental consequences of solid waste in the environment and most significantly from the major developments and spin off activity in and around Prince Rupert. Furthermore, this project will enable the facility to get ahead of the imminent rush in service demand that is likely to come with the construction of the Pacific Northwest LNG project and other similar developments.

The North Coast is known for its environmental beauty and sustainability is a key driver in many community plans including the Prince Rupert Quality of Life Official Community Plan. This project will help support those plans by easing the impact of solid waste in the region by encouraging recycling and diverting waste away from landfills and illegal dumps, and helping to maintain environmental and aesthetic values and advantage of Prince Rupert and surrounding areas. 

Finally, this project will support the ability of the Regional Recycling Facility to cater to major clients, and thereby strengthen the general revenue base for the NCRD and to support operation and maintenance of the facility over the long-run.

You can review the synopsis of their talking points from the May meeting here

The next Regional District Board meeting comes up June 16th at Dodge Cove, that session will feature the delivery of the audited financial statements, the annual report on remuneration and Expenses, as well as the Financial statements for the Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional Hospital District.

A look at some of our past notes on Regional District developments can be found here.