Musings of a Magpie Mind: The teddy bear; treasured and collectable
LIVING, Page 11
Carlson dancer earns a spot in Ballet Jörgen’s ‘Cinderella’ production
A&E, Page 17
WEDNESDAY
CAPS VANQUISH VIPERS /25
Serving the Cowichan Valley
www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com
CHECKING OUT LOCAL TASTY TREATS
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Economic Development in disarray ANDREA RONDEAU CITIZEN
Evgenia Dubman checks out some of the delicious syrup for sale at the Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the BC Forest Discovery Centre. The event, which expanded to two days this year, drew big crowds to the centre to learn about tapping our local maple trees and processing the syrup. [LEXI BAINAS/CITIZEN]
Consultant Jerry Berry never used the word “shambles” in his report to the Cowichan Valley Regional District directors about the state of the Economic Development function, but Dir. Alison Nicholson did later in the meeting when describing what they’d heard. Berry, of Jerry Berry Consultants Inc., was asked by the board in the fall of 2014 to review the governance of the Economic Development function, which had a budget of over $800,000 in 2014, almost $600,000 of which came from property taxes. “These findings are quite startling, I think,” he told directors. T h ey we r e n o t , h owe ve r, unexpected, Berry said, as many of the issues plaguing the function had been found on numerous occasions in the past when others had done similar assessments of Economic Development at the board’s behest. The CVRD uses a blended model for the function, combining inhouse work by staff with several arms-length volunteer bodies. Such an approach can work very well, Berry said, as can be seen in
many Recreation Commissions throughout the province. “There’s no reason it can’t work well here, but you have to get the right person in” to fill the position of Economic Development manager, he said. “I would say that this is the most important issue to get right,” as the manager is the key in providing direction and making sure everyone is communicating with everyone else. Previous Economic Development Manager Geoff Millar retired last year. The bodies Berry looked at that are pertinent to his report include the Economic Development Commission, Economic Development Cowichan (district staff), Film Cowichan, the Agriculture Advisory Commission, the Environment Commission and Tourism Cowichan Society. Apart from the fact that it’s confusing that the first two bodies share the same acronym, EDC, “not all of these entities were even understood to be in existence from others,” Berry said in describing the confusion that has led to significant discontent from everyone involved. See FAILURE TO, Page 9
A Smile Changes Everything. Island Dental Health Centre Dr. Randy Koniuk Dr. Scott Stewart
(250)748-6673 IDHC.ca