Province looks to help BC communities with airport infrastructure issues

The Province of British Columbia rolled out a new financial program on Monday, designed to provide funding for required infrastructure issues at the provinces airports.

The Program called the British Columbia Air Access Program is designed to support the connection of communities across the province and build British Columbia's aviation sector's long term potential.

The BCAAP guidelines note that the program will assist airports with funding towards capital infrastructure that meet  a number of key conditions.

Help to maintain safe and reliable airport facilities and/or Result in significant, incremental economic benefit.

Projects that are approved for funding will be able to invoice eligible incurred costs from the time an annual call for applications occurs. The province provides its contribution at the completion of the project, or with more complex projects, through milestone payments that will be phased in.

You can review some background on the  new BCAAP initiative here, it is part of a larger overview of Aviation by the Government called "Connecting With the World: An Aviation Strategy for British Columbia.

More on that blue print for the future on aviation in BC can be found here.

The deadline for submissions related to the BCAAP funding availability is June 22nd. Some of the projects that are eligible for the funding are such items as runway enhancements; lighting; navigation systems, runway extensions; and apron and taxiway improvements.

Many of  those items have been part of the list of past and recent work that has taken place at the Digby Island airport, where that leaves Prince Rupert when it comes to the new funding initiative makes for an interesting situation.

It could be that for this new funding program, the prospect of accessing any funding is limited owing to the project timeline already in place, an unfortunate bit of timing considering that the bulk of the work would have fit nicely into the program guidelines.

As noted over the last few years the Prince Rupert Airport Authority, through Prince Rupert City Council borrowed seven million dollars for much needed airport work, some background on the borrowing process and the launch of the renovation project can be reviewed below.

November 2014 -- Councillor Cunningham seeks update on Airport renovations timetable
September 2014 -- Council hears review of Prince Rupert Airport renovation projects to date
July 2014 -- Federal Government provides 10 million dollars towards Airport Runway safety
April 2014 -- Airport loan repayment plan, to cover off portion of city's airport transportation requirement this year
March 2014 -- On buses, boats and planes and the financial pain of airport access
November 2013 -- Airport Approval Process is ready for take off
October 2013 -- A little direction required from City Hall on Airport authorization process
October 2013 -- Airport Loan Authorization Bylaw next up on the city's consultation list
October 2013 -- Council split on airport loan authorization process
August 2013 -- City Council puts Airport Regionalization issue further down the schedule
August 2013 -- City Authorizes agreement with Airport Authority for Airport rehabilitation
March 2013 -- Many kind words, but little funding for airport access initiatives

If the funding window for the current renovation project is closed owing to the application process, the potential to access further funding for future projects will no doubt catch the eye of City officials.

In recent months the challenges in place facing the Airport and its Transportation system between Prince Rupert and the airport have made for a fair bit of discussion.

The scale of the those concerns might fit under the Major projects section of the Air Access Program guidelines, providing the opportunity for Prince Rupert to find a way to at least access some of the new funding for airports that the province is making available.

January 2015 -- Councillor Thorkelson takes issue with some of the Chamber of Commerce Airport Ferry Report findings
December 19 2014  -- Chamber of Commerce Airport Ferry study provides more material for City Council to Review in 2015

More items related to Transportation in the Northwest can be found from our archive page.

Relocation Day for ICBC in Prince Rupert

The ICBC Claims Office has now
relocated to Service BC on Third Avenue 

Residents of the North Coast looking for ICBC services will be heading to a new location as of today, with province's auto insurance corporation having now relocated to the Service BC building on Third Avenue West.

As we outlined on the blog back in February, the long planned move adds the Prince Rupert Claims office to the list of other communities which have seen similar moves into other BC service centres made over the last few months.

The main reasoning behind the shift is to streamline service in smaller communities, sharing space with other provincial government services through the Service BC structure.

You can review our item of earlier this year related to that move here.

The hours of operation for the new ICBC office at Service BC are from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

Further items from our Commercial sector files can be found from our archive page.

Fishskin Fabrics the latest destination for Prince Rupert's Cash Mob

Fishskin Fabrics was the latest
target for Prince Rupert's
popular Cash Mob experience
(photo fm Community Futures)

It could have been a challenging afternoon for organizers of Prince Rupert's Saturday Cash Mob, but organizers found some die hard shoppers ready to head off in step to the latest target destination for the popular business awareness campaign in the city.

With sunshine and the Relay for Life providing for a bit of competition on the morning, the Mobsters set forward undaunted, leaving the Chamber of Commerce offices at Fulton and Third around 11 AM and making their way down Third Avenue West.

The destination for the Cash Mob experience of May was Fishskin Fabrics, located in the 200 block of 3rd Avenue West. A fairly new business in that area of the city's main shopping avenue.

Following the short trek down Third West, Mobsters wandered through the store examining the range of Fabrics and Arts and Crafts Supplies available.

By the time the invasion had come to an end, those participating had spent at least twenty dollars in the store and created a bit of buzz along the sidewalks of the city's main shopping avenue.

You can learn more about Fishskin Fabric through a pair of social media options available for you to check out, with notes on happenings at the store to be found on their Facebook page and Pinterest page.

The store also has a website, which currently is undergoing maintenance and should be available to the public again shortly.

The Cash Mob organizers will take a look at how things went over the weekend and then make their plans for the next opportunity for the Mob to form, with details to come as the plans begin to develop.

You can learn more about Prince Rupert's Cash Mob from Community Futures Pacific Northwest Facebook page, as well as the Rupert Reigns event calendar.

You can review some of the history of the Cash Mobs in Prince Rupert from our item of mid May.

For more items related to developments in the Northwest commercial scene see our archive page here.

Seven Seas Navigator launches 2015 Cruise season for Prince Rupert

The Seven Seas Navigator pulled into Prince Rupert
over the lunch hour on Sunday, launching the 2015 Cruise Season 

The Sun broke through the clouds right on cue on Sunday, clearing the skies for the arrival over the noon hour of the first cruise ship of the season, the weather setting the scene for a pleasant afternoon and evening in the North Coast port of call.

Sunday marked the start of the 2015 season for the region, as the Seven Seas Navigator pulled into Prince Rupert's Northland Cruise Terminal and was secured at berth well before 1 PM, the terminal plaza area becoming the focus of attention for the City's cruise ambassadors, ready to point visitors in the right direction as made their way ashore.

Once cleared of customs, passengers began to explore the port of call, some boarding a stream of highway buses, others taking to the vessel Inside Passage for a coastal trip to the Khutzeymateen.

For the remainder of those disembarking, Sunday offered up a number of walking tours, or just the opportunity to do some independent touring as part of the agenda for the eight hour  stopover.

As they took to the streets, tourists were heading in all directions, from Cow Bay on into the Downtown core, or for the particularly adventurous, Butze Rapids or off towards the Rushbrook Floats area.

Sunday's debut for the season delivered a potential touring group of 490 passengers to the community, highlighting the first of three visits by the Seven Seas Navigator to the City this summer.

Buses lined up near Northland Terminal
on Sunday ready to tour

Some of Sunday's visitors got right
back on the water with Adventure Tours

The vessel will be back on August 10th and August 24th, with the Seven Seas Navigator accounting for close to half of the city's seven cruise ship port calls from various cruise lines this year.

The next Cruise Ship day is scheduled to be June 13th when the MS Regatta arrives in town,  a 10 AM arrival that will deliver visitors to the community into the heart of our weekend Seafest Celebrations.

As we outlined in February, this year is a transition year for those hoping to bring about a rebirth of the Prince Rupert Cruise scene, with Prince Rupert gaining some additional marketing through the Cruise BC initiative and looking to increase its footprint with the cruise lines that run up and down the British Columbia and Alaska coast during the summer.

You can check out the various vessels making port calls in Prince Rupert this year from our season preview back in March.

For More background on the Cruise industry on the North Coast see our archive page here.

Westview Pellet Terminal offers up some notes for the neighbours

The ocean vessel Popi S
was berthed at Westview Terminal on
Sunday taking on a load of wood pellets

With May delivering but 3 mm of rain for the full thirty one days, things are getting a little dry and dusty on the waterfront.

And while most on the North Coast welcome the sun and warmer temperatures that summer brings, the reduced precipitation from the last month might be setting the stage for a few challenges for those living on the west side of the city.

That is an area of town where some may soon once again be casting an eye towards the Pinnacle Pellet terminal at Westview for some of their summer outdoor issues.

In recent years, issues related to terminal operations have become a consistent theme for Prince Rupert Council, with residents of the west side expressing their concerns related to the terminal operations as Spring moves into the summer season.

To engage in and perhaps head off some of the concerns related to that conversation, the Westview Pellet Terminal Team outlined a few notes on how the terminal operates and what the neighbours around them may find of interest when it comes to the quality of their outdoor experiences in the weeks to come.

Using a letter to the editor approach in the weekly paper from last Wednesday, the Westview Team highlighted a few of the measures that they are putting in place to try and minimize any impact on those living in the immediate area.

Among some of those steps:

Measures to try and reduce the road dust from the Terminal area, first by asking those visiting the terminal to observe the 20 km/h limit, as well, the Terminal will be using local services to water the road from time to time, in order to keep the road dust down.

Warmer conditions will also require the need to aerate the silos on the waterfront, while safety is the first concern when it comes to those silos, the Westview operation will minimize the aeration frequency and seek to time those aeration's with winds that are blowing out into the harbour.

They also note for the public that it is now pollen season on the North Coast, offering up their experience of the past that pollen releases in the past have often provided a false perception that terminal operations have suddenly become dusty.

They also note that they continue to operate to a strict cleanliness policy and remain ever vigilant for potential health concerns in the areas surrounding the terminal.

They finish up their note to the neighbourhood by outlining how they are continuing to work with the Prince Rupert Port Authority to monitor sound, air quality and dust issues, and are encouraged by the progress made in those areas.

You can review more about the Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group from their website here, information that outlined the nature of the Terminal redevelopment can be examined here.

You can review more of our past items related to Pinnacle Pellet's Westview Terminal from our archive page here.

Go Plan Survey information campaign launched

The City of Prince Rupert has officially launched the information campaign related to their upcoming Go Plan Housing study, with a notice regarding the much discussed survey project posted to the City's website appearing late on Friday afternoon.

The Friday advisory may have slipped by more than a few people owing to the busy weekend just past, which included a pair of Grad celebrations, the Relay for Life, First Cruise ship of the year and a number of other events taking place over the last 72 hours.

For those that may not have had the chance to review the city's information review from Friday, here's a short thumbnail sketch of what's to come.

The Go Plan Survey will take place from June 8 to 18, with residents of the city able to take the survey online, or by way of canvassers who will going door to door in the community.  Those that arrive at your door over the ten day period will be asking a number of questions related to the project, with all responses as part of the Go Plan Survey to remain confidential.

The City will be making use of the data that they receive from the survey to better understand and manage impacts related to major projects that may at some point arrive in the community.

As well, the City plans to make use of the information to preserve affordable housing options and to prioritize development efforts for housing and infrastructure.

As we outlined last Wednesday, Mayor Lee Brain reviewed some of the items on the Go Plan Survey by way of a short information session at last Monday's City Council session.

Included in his talking points was some background on how those that wish to become compensated enumerators for the project can get involved with the survey process and a quick overview as to what the City hopes to achieve from the collection of the data.

You can learn more about the Go Plan Survey from this advisory from the City, those that wish to take the survey online can access that link here.

As for the actual LNG Go Plan, a document that Mayor Brain has discussed a fair amount in recent months through the media, no official release of background information related to the project has been provided to the public as of yet.

The closest thing that we have had to an overview on the LNG GO Plan, has been through an interview with CBC Radio Vancouver's Rick Cluff in April, you can review that conversation here.

More items related to the LNG Go Plan, as well as other notes from City Council can be found on our archive page here.

Update: The Mayor expanded on some of the plans in place to pay those that offer their time to the City to conduct the enumeration.

The City is looking for enumerators who want to help collect critical information on housing and other related items, offering pay of $2 per household, plus $2 per person in the household.

As well, there will be a $500 bonus to the person who collects the most survey information.

The City will be hosting a  training session this Sunday June 7th from 4-8pm at the Ocean Center Mall (next to the Bank of Montreal - 290-309 2nd Ave West). Food will be provided as part of the training session.

More background on the training program and the survey can be found on the Mayor's Facebook page.

Real Estate Tracker, week ending May 31, 2015

Our weekly review of the listings of the local real estate agents, tracking those properties which appear to be driving the local price structure for the North Coast.

Every Monday, we look over the listing prices of the past seven days and outline the Top 10 asking prices in the area, providing a snap shot as to where the Real Estate market may be trending on a week to week basis.

The listings below are purely for information purposes, for further background on the properties recorded, see our links page for access to the individual real estate listings.

The Archive for our weekly review can be found here.

Our list of the top ten priced homes for the week ending May 31 is below:

Prince Rupert Real Estate
East Side May 31 2015

Prince Rupert Real Estate
West Side May 31 2015

There was one change to the listings for the last seven days, with a property on Sloan Avenue re-entering the top ten listings for the City this week.

As it has been for a while now, the west side is where the majority of the top end listings can be found with eight of the ten of our review this week found west of McBride, four properties located on Graham Avenue alone.

The east side of the city once again hosts two properties this week, one in the relatively new subdivision off of 11th Avenue East.

The high end continues to be marked by a Graham Avenue entry, with the Sloan Avenue property notching the tenth position

Below our findings as of the Week ending May 31, 2015


1724 Graham Avenue                    $669,000  --  Royal Lepage
1942-46 2nd Avenue W                 $659,000  --  Royal Lepage
160 Van Arsdol Street--                 $649,900   -- Royal Lepage
2126 Graham Avenue --                 $615,000  --  Royal Lepage
2230 Graham Avenue --                 $579,000  --  Royal Lepage
2044 Graham Avenue--                  $549,000  --  Remax
1025 Edward Avenue --                  $549,000 --  Remax
1229 Conrad Street --                     $525,000  --  Royal Lepage
524 Cassiar Avenue --                    $499,000  --  Remax
1711 Sloan Avenue --                     $480,000  --  Royal Lepage

For more items related to Real Estate see our archive page here.

For background on Housing issues in the region see our past items here.