South Shuswap Scoop March 2022

The Director’s Scoop - News of Note from the CSRD Paul Demenok

Director, Electoral Area C (South Shuswap)

Notes on Incorporation and Other Things

At the final Sorrento-Blind Bay Incorporation Study Committee meeting held on March 2, the Committee voted in favour of recommending a referendum be held to determine whether CSRD Area C is to be split into a municipality and an electoral area, or split into 2 electoral areas. I fully respect and support the Committee’s recommendation, and intend to convey my full support at the March 17th CSRD Board meeting when the recommendation will be reviewed. Please note as an ex-officio member of the Committee, I did not have a vote in this decision.

I think we all owe the members of the Committee our sincere thanks and appreciation for their dedicated service to our community and their commitment to seeing this study through to its conclusion despite many delays due to the pandemic, and in some cases, despite critical comments from friends and neighbours. Our appreciation is also extended to the Committee Chair John Smith, and our consultants Allan Neilson and Sherry Hurst for doing an absolutely terrific job. It’s now up to this community to decide on our best path forward. As voting is a keystone element of our democracy, I think it’s incumbent for all voters to take the responsibility to fully inform themselves. I would strongly encourage all residents to review the study materials and content on the CSRD website so as to enable a fully informed vote. Details about the referendum and its date will be made available as soon as the Province provides its approval to proceed. Residents will be able to vote in-person or by using mail-in ballots.

In the interim, the CSRD will be undergoing some changes. The Chief Administrative Officer Charles Hamilton is taking an early retirement as of April 30. We thank him for his service and wish him well. The search for a new CAO will begin in the near future.

One of the key workplan items for CSRD staff is to develop the annual budget and tax requisition. To date we have held 2 budget review sessions by the CSRD Board and anticipate a final budget approval at the March Board meeting. While I can’t provide a description at this time of what the final budget and tax requisition will be for Area C, (this will be covered in a future article) I do expect increases as hiring of additional staff has been approved to handle significant increases in workloads, especially in the Development Services (DS) department. From 2009 to 2021, the DS files have grown dramatically from 257 to 1299. In 2021 alone, there was an 86% increase in files, and this is occurring because of the tremendous growth in our region. The recent Canada Census reported that CSRD Area C population grew by 12.6%, from 7,921 in 2016 to 8,919 in 2021. So, the most populous electoral area in the CSRD also showed the largest increase in population count with 998 additional residents. As might be anticipated, building permits grew significantly from 352 in 2020 to 546 in 2021, so while the detailed data has yet to be released I think we may expect to see some shifts in the population makeup of the South Shuswap.

On February 15th, Director Simpson and I gave a presentation at the School District 83 Board meeting entitled “The Case for a Secondary School in Sorrento”. The presentation outlined how CSRD Areas C and F are significantly underserviced by schools considering our populations and tax contributions; how our children are forced to ride buses up to 4 hours per day; how unfair this is to our area as communities with smaller populations and tax contributions are much better serviced; and how the decision to go with 2 high schools in Salmon Arm relied on inaccurate data, a faulty process and therefore a decision that in our opinion is inappropriate. We suggested that a working group should be formed to study the idea of a Sorrento high school, but the motion on this did not pass. We intend to continue the fight as we feel this is a very important issue for our communities and families.

I am very pleased to report that the South Shuswap Transportation Society (SSTS) will be receiving sustained funding from the CSRD for its South Shuswap Rides service, as part of the Area C Transit function. This relieves a lot of pressure on the SSTS Board, and going forward paves the way for an expanded and improved service. South Shuswap Rides through its volunteers is delivering a vital service for residents in our community who cannot or who are unable to drive. You can learn more at www.southshuswaprides.ca.

Finally, on March 9 I will step down as Chair of the Shuswap Watershed Council (SWC). I think it’s time after 8 years to bring someone new into the position, and to refresh the leadership as the SWC moves into a new era. Our granting program is achieving some very positive outcomes in reducing nutrient runoff and we look forward to the development and implementation of a wetlands strategy aimed at improving our water quality and ecosystems.