Results Hurley River Rd. Survey & More

I would like to thank the communities of Bralorne and Gold Bridge, and the neighborhoods of Marshall Lake, Tyaughton Lake and Gun Lake for your support and encouragement for the last 3 years.

On Friday, October 10, the nominations for local government and in particular, Area A of the SLRD closed at 4 pm .

I have been elected to the position of Electoral Area A Director for the SLRD by acclamation. (all those who have a contest election is on Nov. 15)

I love the Bridge River Valley and I will continue to work flat out for this area for the next four years.

Thank you again for your support, it is truly appreciated and it does give me energy when I get tired. I love emails and phone calls, they keep me motivated. I even like it when you don't agree with me because it makes me think. So away we go for another four years!

Our favorite topic......Results:  Hurley River Rd. Survey

The link below contains the rough results of the Hurley River Rd. survey.  The survey is now closed.

Entire Survey:  Hurley River Rd. Rough Results

Here is a snippet on the question that really inflamed debate this past spring:

I wanted to share this information with the property owners in the area first.

Please note in the last question regarding additional funding through various Regional District sources 28% skipped the question, meaning they vote "no" to any further forms of funding.  This means 72% voted for some form of non-Provincial government additional funding.

I will be going through the individual responses and the rest of the survey to determine trends in responses.

My task is to provide the MLAs and Ministry officials with a consensus view within the current budget.  I welcome any and all of your reflections on what this survey communicates to you in that context. I may be doing some follow ups with the community via surveys etc.   Email is fine, demare87@gmail.com for your thoughts/comments.

Fire Services Review 
I would encourage everyone to follow along on this topic as the community will be involved in discussions and decisions (including financial) regarding fire services in the BRV going forward.

(Just a note, that stuff from the Civic Web loads slowly, be patient).

GLFPS Storage Shed

Darren Oike, the new SLRD Fire Services Coordinator gave the Electoral Area Directors a report/update after his first month:
Fire Services Coordinator Month 1 Update

My last months post on the topic:  Previous Post on this topic

Fire Services Review (I'd read the front part and then scroll through to the sections on recommendations and specific sections on the Bralorne Fire Department & Gun Lake Fire Protection Society).   Fire Services Review Final

Bralorne Sewer
This past month the SLRD Utilities Department had to do an emergency repair.  The funds for this (approx. $50k) came from the Capital Reserve in that service (Bralorne Sewer) that Bralorne Residents have been paying into.

Here is the letter that the Utilities Dept. has prepared about the sewer system in Bralorne:

Letter to Bralorne Residents from SLRD - October 2014

As you know the SLRD has twice applied for Infrastructure funds to fix this very old system and has not been successful either time.

Here is a link to the original engineering study:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/95506532/Bralorne-Community-Sewer-System-Assesment-Study-Update2

It is my commitment to ensure that property owners in Bralorne are kept fully informed and involved as we go forward.   We will be working very hard to figure out how to access funding through the Build Canada funds, the new redistributed BC Hydro Grant In Lieu of Taxes, etc.  I have had an email from a resident blasting the SLRD staff and board.  We all understand the concern both financially and from a health standpoint.  The potential impact of the worst case scenario (borrowing) is not good.  Please give those trying to work for Bralorne the benefit of the doubt, work with us, give us your input, be involved , that's the best way to ensure a Best Case Scenario and the long term sustainability of the Bralorne community!

B.C. Hydro Power Outages:  October 8 & 9 Gold Bridge
On October 8 & 9 there were lengthy power outages in Gold Bridge as crews replaced power poles and transformers in the community.  Unfortunately, these outages affected an important piece of communications infrastructure in the entire valley belonging to Minto Communications Society.  As a result the entire valley suffered significant internet outages on these two days.

BC Hydro has been very good lately in advising the SLRD (and they advise the community) of planned power outages.  Unfortunately, we did not rceive notice of this one.  I called the BC Hydro community relations fellow (good guy), Jerry Muir and he did some investigation.  Here is an excerpt from his response:

"In respect to the outages in in Gold Bridge on Oct 8^th and 9^th, unfortunately our contractor missed a critical step in planning this outage and did not provide proper notification to customers. I also understand that the outage on Oct 9^th was prolonged when the crews identified a transformer that needed to be replaced. As this was not part of the original job, a replacement needed to be sourced and transported to site from Cache Creek.

Since this was brought to our attention last week, BCH has followed-up with the contractor to ensure that, moving forward, they are operating in accordance with our planned outage notification requirements. I can assure you that they will work to improve their notification efforts in the future."

Jerry's followup is much appreciated and hopefully we will not have a repeat of this problem.

Keir Rezoning Public Hearing 

Thursday, October 23 @ 4 pm - Gold Bridge Community Club

Link to Info on SLRD page.  If you scroll down to the bottom of the page after you hit this link there is a specific link to the Keir rezoning information.


BRVCA Community Advisory Notices
You may have noticed you are not receiving Community Advisory notices from BRVCA. The Community Advisory notices often included information on road closures, emergency situations, redistribute SLRD notices, events in the community and so on. With the new Anti-Spam legislation you need to expressly give your consent to receive these.  BRVCA will be rebuilding their contact lists in the new month or so.  If you wish to receive the Community Advisory notices please email bridgerivervalley@gmail.com and advise them so.

Interesting Links.
Imagine BC  Imagine BC is an annual opportunity for residents of British Columbia to pitch an excellent, innovative and possibly untraditional idea to our jury. Successful pitches receive funding of up to $7,000. Winning ideas are those that address identified community needs or interests, such as volunteerism, small business development, digital literacy, community engagement, cultural programming, or local history.

Take a peek!    www.imaginebc.ca    If you have an idea get in touch with me!!!


Thought provoking articles on rural community challenges:
Love of Place over Quality of Life
Seeking solutions for communities like Hedley, BC

Hurley River Rd. Survey & Fire Services Review

It has been a very great honor to serve as the Area A Electoral Area Director for almost 3 years.  I have done my best to increase communication, provide factual and timely information to everyone.  My goal has been to bring as many and varied resources (money, expertise, etc) to the area as possible in order to support the sustainability of this area as a community.  We have made real progress towards sustainability and we definitely still have some big challenges.

I have submitted my name to serve for one more term as the Area A SLRD Electoral Area Director.   The next term will be four years instead of 3 years due to a change in the Election Act.   Please feel free to contact me at any time with any issue or concern.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT TOPIC:  Fire Services in the BRV

I have pasted the press release regarding the Fire Services Review directly into this blog post.  There will be a great deal more communication and interation with the Bridge River Valley Community as we move forward to implement the recommendations and also decide upon the configuration of fire services in our area.  I highly recommend reading the Fire Services Review which is at the link below, particularly the sections regarding the fire services in our area.

For immediate release

September 16, 2014

SQUAMISH-LILLOOET REGIONAL DISTRICT COMPLETES FIRE SERVICES REVIEW:

Fire Services Coordinator hired to begin implementing Review’s recommendations

Pemberton, BC – A Fire Services Review commissioned by the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) is now complete. The purpose of the review was to provide a comprehensive assessment of the SLRD’s six fire services, including operational effectiveness, risk management, administration and governance structures, and for electoral area fire services generally. The review identified several issues with the existing fire services and provided a number of recommendations to address the challenges and provide direction for future development.  

One of the key recommendations of the review was to hire a Fire Services Coordinator. Former District of Lillooet Fire Chief, Darren Oike, has been hired by the SLRD on a one year contract; he began his term as Fire Services Coordinator on September 1, 2014.

“The appointment of a Fire Services Coordinator is a critical first step in implementing the recommendations of the Fire Services Review, and will provide on the ground support for our volunteer fire fighters,” said SLRD Electoral Area Directors Committee Chair, Susie Gimse. “We look forward to working with Mr. Oike to ensure that current standards are met and that fire fighters are supported and operating safely and effectively throughout the Regional District,” added Area B Director, Mickey Macri.

In addition to his former role as Fire Chief at Lillooet, Mr. Oike performed a similar Fire Services Coordinator role for First Nations Emergency Services (FNESS) for 84 First Nations communities across British Columbia where he developed standards for fire departments in the areas of training, operational guidelines, records management systems, operational budgets, bylaws and policies. Along with trainer and instructor certifications, Mr. Oike is also skilled in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). 

With the hiring of the Fire Services Coordinator, the SLRD will begin working with each of the fire departments to implement recommendations from the Fire Services Review. Changes to existing governance and service delivery models may be required in some cases in order to ensure that the fire services meet regulatory requirements and community objectives. The SLRD will conduct community consultation throughout the process in order to provide information, answer questions and gather feedback regarding the options. More details regarding community engagement opportunities will be announced as the process unfolds. 

“The safety of our volunteer fire fighters, residents and their properties is very important to the SLRD and the Regional District is committed to supporting communities that wish to maintain or establish fire services,” said Area A Director, Debbie Demare. “Delivering safe, effective and sustainable fire services is a shared responsibility. We encourage residents being served by any of the existing fire departments to learn more about their fire service and the options for moving forward,” added Area D Director Maurice Freitag. 

The SLRD presently provides for rural fire suppression services through five volunteer fire departments and one volunteer fire brigade (Gun Lake), as well as through service extension agreements with member municipalities. The SLRD provides for fire services in the following communities: Gun Lake and Bralorne in Electoral Area A, Seton Valley in Electoral Area B, Birken in Electoral Area C, and Britannia Beach and Garibaldi in Electoral Area D.  The SLRD also provides for fire service to parts of Area C under contact with the Village of Pemberton and a small portion of Area B under agreement with the District of Lillooet.  

For more information about the SLRD’s fire services, or to download a copy of the Fire Services Review, visit www.slrd.bc.ca/services/public-safety-health/fire-rescue-services.

Our Favorite Topic - The condition of the Hurley River Rd.
If you have not already done this survey, I would encourage you to complete it by October 18.

Please complete this survey thoughtfully.. IT IS IMPORTANT and it will MAKE A DIFFERENCE!    We will leave the survey open until October 18.  

Click on this link to take the survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DCYVNG6

Remember the old expression, where are your kids?  Well, this question is "Where is your dog?

This summer I've had some complaints re dogs - dogs roaming on other private property, dogs roaming in packs, dogs barking at all hours incessantly , dogs doing their thing repeatedly on other peoples property, and so on.    Last summer I had some complaints as well and there was at least one reported rather difficult incident with a dog biting another dog.

We do not have a bylaw in our area about dogs and to be really honest I don't think we want a bylaw. The folks that are complaining though are kind of coming to their limit and have asked me to ask the question,....do you support a nuisance bylaw that addresses dog problems?  Send me an email and let me know what you think?  

So please give some thought to where your dog is and what your dog is doing?  If you own a dog, it needs to be in your control at all times particularly when it is off of your property.

I don't say this to be preach-y as Sal and I have had a dog that has roamed and have had to go out on a quad to round him up.  But this type of behavior disturbs others and so you have to make an attempt to keep your dog in your control at all times.

Sprinkler program and more

I would like to once again thank Norm Verner, the Area A SLRD alternate for always being ready, willing and able to assist .  He was tee'd up to handle the July board meeting however in the end didn't have to, however he was boning up and we all need to say Thanks Norm!!!  I'd also like to say Thank You to all the special volunteers who have worked so hard this summer at the Summerfest, the Haylmore Heritage Site and the Rock Wall Gallery.  There is a tremendous amount of volunteer effort and community spirit in everything we do.  We are definitely the "little engine that could"!!!!

I also want to encourage everyone to have a look at the new and definitely improved SLRD website.  www.slrd.bc.ca      There are some very cool features and it is much easier to navigate.  One of my favorites is the map which is very useable!

Over the summer I've done a couple of blogs on wildfire issues.  You can read them by continuing to scroll down.  

BC Hydro Payment in Lieu of Taxes – Agreement reached on redistribution

Over the last couple of years I noticed that the BC Hydro Payment in Lieu of taxes went up about 4% each year.  The northern SLRD portion of these payments is approx. $800,000 and it has long been a bone of contention that more of this PILT money is not allocated directly to the impacted areas - ours, Area B and Lillooet.

This spring during budget discussions I proposed that that small yearly increase be allocated each year

to Area A, Area B and Lillooet (40%/40%/20%) until the total PILT amount was redistributed to a new formula which more fairly recognizes the impact of the BC Hydro system on Area A, Area B & Lillooet. 

In the end Area A will directly receive 15% of the total allocation of approx. $800k (today’s dollars) as well as continuing the indirect benefit we receive from the General Government and Planning services.

The municipalities bought into this because it is a gradual, incremental way to do the redistribution that will not cause them to have to increase taxes to make up the difference.  It will take a number of years

To get up to the full 15%, however we will start this year with approx. an extra $7,000 and in the end, some 5 years from now we will be at (give or take) $200,000 per year directly coming into Area A.

The grant-in-aide funding (Select Funds) will continue and the new extra funds will be required to go to actual regional district services, capital projects or special projects.  In this way I would hope to stabilize

the taxes/user fees required for some troubled services such as the Gold Bridge Water and Bralorne Sewer as well as contribute to new or changed needs (potentially such as Fire Services).  

This will support the area while we work at getting our population and economic activity back to a sustainable level for a community.  

This has been a long time coming and I must thank my SLRD colleagues for recognizing the need to do this and buying into this idea that really doesn’t hurt any particular area of the SLRD and will help ours tremendously over the long term.

Most recent previous  post on this

Roof Sprinkler Program now in Place

The SLRD Roofline Sprinkler Program is now live.  SLRD staff is working on the downloadable instruction guide, but this will be available by the time our first sprinklers are ready for pick up.   Go to :  Information and to order

Gun Lake Community Watershed Application
This application has been shuffled about government for close to 20 years.  With over 70 individual water licences and many more non-registered users of the lake water on Gun Lake, the protection of this watershed is critical.  The long and short of it is that almost everyone that owns property on Gun Lake drinks the water.  There is absolutely no better reason to call this a Community Watershed.  Its pretty clear.  It does not appear that the Provincial Government does seem to see or want to see what is pretty clear (no pun intended) - this lake and its water is a community watershed.

I took the history to the SLRD board and requested that we as a board request meetings with the Minister at UBCM (FLNRO or Environment) to request as the Regional District that this long standing issue be addressed.

Link to History

Asset Preservation Bylaw

At the request of many area residents and community groups the SLRD is moving forward with an asset preservation bylaw.  With the extreme drop in full time population it is becoming more and more difficult for volunteers to maintain or raise funds to maintain many of our community assets.   This new service will (in this order):

*have one bear proof garbage/recycling container per year and related garbage pickup.  This will start in Gold Bridge to take the pressure of costs of garbage disposal off of businesses such as the Valley Hardware and Grocery Store as they requested. Each year we will expand until the Valley is appropriate covered by receptacles and removal.   Most containers will be locked in the winter.

*provide basic yard maintenance on a pooled basis to many community amenities

*provide basic handyman services on a pooled basis to many community amenities

*provide funding for basic trail maintenance

*provide insurance relief for community organizations on an application and as needed basis

A list of amenities to be supported could include (but don't have  to):  Bralorne Pioneer Museum, the Bralorne Fire Hall, the Bralorne Hall, the Bralorne Ball Diamond, Sunshine Mtn Recreational Area, Gold Bridge Community Hall/Golf Course, the Gateway Entry Kiosks, the Gold Bridge Sign Area, the Haylmore Heritage Site, the Bridge River Valley Cemetery, the Community Resource Building, and many more.  Definitely not included are the School, the Post Office Building and the Transfer Station (looked after by other taxation sources).

This approach has been partially tested out and funded through Select Funds for the past two years.  One can see the difference of consistent yard maintenance throughout the community by looking at the Gold Bridge Sign area, the Bralorne Church or the Community Resource Building.  The contractor has sub contracted on some amenities and on others has organized volunteer efforts (Haylmore Heritage Site is a good example).    The funding being raised by this Bylaw is $25,000 and will come from the entire Area A tax base and in this way the overall cost to any one property will be very minimal (.14C/$1000 net taxable value).

Why do this you ask?  In 2010/2011 I drove by the Gold Bridge sign all summer.  The grass was 2-3 ft high.  Noone mowed it, no one raked it, no one cared for it.  That situation is repeated over and over again in our community.  Noone is to blame, we have 224 full time residents and a lot of stuff to do. If we leave it go the economic hubs of this area will appear to be falling apart.  Ask yourself, will someone want to buy an $800,000 second property on Gun Lake or a commercial building in Bralorne when the basic community infrastructure is falling apart and unkempt.  Nope.  Then all of our property values decline as they will be less sought after, less valuable.  None of us want to see that happen.  Time to recognize reality, do things differently and for a small cost have our communities looking the best it can.  It is an investment in our own property values and in our community as a whole. 

All residents can have their say on this via the Alternate Approval Process.    Link to Information

Piles of Decked Wood left at the North end of Gun Lake
As many of you know a number of piles of decked and other wood was left at the north end of Gun Lake following the 2009 Tyaughton Lake Fire.  I have continuously followed up with FLNRO regarding these piles to have them removed.

FLNRO  re-issued a decked wood sale to AFK trucking ( a local contractor) for the old debris piles in the Gunn Lake area. This was to be completed by August 15 and this will enable the protection crews time this fall to plan and burn the remaining debris piles.

Regional Districts are switching who operates 911

This will happen this fall.  Information at the links:

Press Release

FAQ

Hoping for the best, preparing anyways!

While we are all out enjoying the hot weather and swimming and whatever it is we love to do in BC at this time of year, we have dedicated professionals in this province preparing to look after us.

A reminder to everyone that the first thing you need to do if you spot a fire is call 1-800-663-5555.

How to Report a Wildfire

If you see a wildfire, please report it to us at 1-800-663-5555 or call *5555 toll free on most cellular networks.

Alternately, you can report a wildfire to 9-1-1.

What You'll Be Asked

When reporting a wildfire, a B.C. Forest Service operator will ask you:

• your phone number
• the location of the fire
• what the fire is burning (trees? What species?)
• the size of the fire
• how quickly the fire is spreading
• the colour of the smoke
• whether there are values or lives at risk

The details that you provide are critical in determining the type of response that the fire will receive from fire suppression authorities. Your help is greatly appreciated as it helps us to allocate our resources more efficiently and respond quickly to wildfire activity

There is currently no campfire ban however there is an open burning ban.

If you have looked at the weather forecast it calls for 10 days  going forward with record temperatures predicted with low overnight recoveries.   Adding to this concern  is the high probability of experiencing a daily pattern of increased dry lightning and winds beginning around Sunday night forward. Finally, it’s important to remind ourselves that it is only July 11^th, very early in the season and this coupled with a well forecasted El Nino influence that is expected to strengthen through the summer into fall could indicate a very long season. In short we all need to be aware and concerned. 

Today I heard from Interwest Timber who is moving to an early schedule & will be out of the bush by 1 pm.

Ryan Wainwright, our SLRD Emergency Program Manager is hoping the SLRD roof sprinkler program will be online next week.  I will let you know more about that as soon as its ready to go. Ryan has also been assessing staffing readiness.  Its good to know he's on it and thinking ahead...

The Wildfire Management Branch has stationed an Initial Attack Crew in Area A and has regular fire warden patrols.  I met Don on the Hurley early Wednesday!!!  

Hope everyone enjoys this wonderful weather, stays safe and careful!  

Initial Attack Crew stationed in the upper Bridge River Valley

Thanks to Verne Rasmussen for providing this Initial Attack Crew & related information, much appreciated by our community!

"With the increased fire danger rating I have now moved an Initial Attack Fire Crew to the Gold Bridge area.  We have secured accommodations in the Bralorne.  I will be rotating crews on a weekly basis.

Unless the weather changes significantly the crew will be stationed in the area till August 30^th.  Their duties will be to respond to any fire that may occur plus regular traveling through the area to visit industrial operations and understand the lay of the land, to understand the available resources in the area....communicating FireSmart concepts....meet and greet the locals.  Feel free to sit down and have a discussion with my crews  about their roles.  All crews carry a diverse assortment of skills and experience.

For emergency communications it is still expected to follow the understood protocol.

1. All wildfires are to be reported immediately using the 1800 663 5555.  This activates are system from the provincial level down to regional down to the zone to the crew.  This ensures all the appropriate resources are notified.  Failure to report a fire is an offence under the Wildfire Act.

I have also activated our Fire Wardens so you will see my Wardens in your area on a regular basis.  Currently these patrols will be a weekend patrol till the hazard changes.  Again their role is to patrol my high use /high risk areas. To ensure the campers out there are using fire appropriately, to communicate information and prevention tips, to extinguish abandoned campfires, to report these campfires, to gather information for the zone to generate violation reports to Compliance and Enforcement staff, and to again report all fires to dispatch immediately if further resources are required.  Feel free to meet and have a chat with the wardens as they have a wealth of knowledge and experience and probably a few good stories as well.

I have attached for your awareness an initial phone report and initial fire report that our 1 800 # and dispatchers use to relay info to fire officers and fire crews about a reported fire.  This info enables us to make a better informed decision on how we will resource a fire.  More info the better.

If you require more information or have any questions feel free to contact me at your convenience.  Enjoy your summer.  And remember put your campfire out when finished ."

Verne Rasmussen

Wildfire Management Branch

Forest Protection Officer

Lillooet Fire Zone  
Office 250 256 1400

Local 250 256 1401

Cell 250 256 1871

Fax 250 256 4367

PUBLIC HEARING - July 3

There will be a public hearing on July 3 at 4 pm at the Gold Bridge Community Club to deal with the Tyax Wilderness Resort rezoning (info at the link just below).  The public hearing will also be dealing with some housekeeping changes as a result of splitting the Area A and Area B bylaw.  Please feel free to call or email me up to the end of the Public Hearing on July 3 after which I cannot receive any new information.  Also note that Norm Verner, my alternate will be attending this hearing as well.

Additionally we will be dealing with the Medical Marijuana zoning.  For those of you that haven't been following this issue, the Federal Government has changed the way medical marijuana can be grown and distributed.  The Federal Government now issues licences to specific operators and those operators are building facilities of various size, shapes and descriptions.  Naturally this concerns the public a great deal and therefore local governments have been trying to figure out how to deal with it.  In the case of the SLRD we are recommending that we "zone" for them, i.e. say where they can go, rather than not zone (which would allow them basically to go anywhere).    The 4 Electoral Areas of the SLRD are pretty consistent on their recommendations, for Area A the proposal is that medical marijuana facilities be allowed in industrial and resource zones with minimum sizes of .5 ha and 10 ha respectively.  Please remember this is just a proposal, that is what Public Hearings are for - to hear from you!  There has been a fair amount of information circulated (two people provided feedback) and a public information meeting (noone attended).

Medical Marijuana Regulations History
Tyax Wilderness Resort & other Zoning Amendment changes

Our Favorite Topic - the Hurley River Rd.
As most of you know, as a result of much letter writing from property owners and businesses in the area the provincial government has returned the Hurley River Rd. to MOFLNRO as a Forest Service Road.  This excludes the East Hurley. This is a positive step and one that I hopes returns us to the adequate maintenance of the road we used to enjoy before the middle part went to MOTi.   In fitting into MOTi's classification system, that middle part of the road only received one grade per year compared the often two it received in previous years under MOFLNRO.

The challenge, as we all saw, is that in attempting to fit this change into their static budget, they chose to remove the spring opening.

We finally were able to have a teleconference with the two MLAs and I do appreciate that MLA Sturdy apologized for the lack of two way communication on this issue that resulted in some general misunderstandings.  For me, MLA Tegart and MLA Sturdy have taken an active interest and made a concerted effort to improve the situation and I do think that over time the return of the road to FSR status will assist.  And I thank them greatly, the Hurley River Rd. is a CRITICAL piece of infrastructure for this area. Critical.

So what was the misunderstanding?  The MLAs seem to think they are getting mixed messages from this community. Now that I have taken some time to reflect and think on this..... I do not agree.   What was being asked for was a return to previous levels of overall maintenance (and that includes and has included for years the spring opening).  This community is pretty clear on what they want, they want a reasonably maintained road that is opened at the earliest possible date (and most have expressed the need for reasonableness cost wise in that).  That could mean a somewhat increased budget as the costs of doing this rise but the total budget has remained the same and herein lies the rub.  For the MLAs and government they were attempting to undertake this within the set out budget and that is pretty darned difficult to grade the entire road twice, the hills one or two more times AND do the spring opening (avg. is about $30k per year, this year lower, low snow pack) all with a budget of around $67k total.  I'd also like to say that the total historical actual expenditures for  the entire road maintenance (including spring opening) is quite difficult to get clarified.  I suspect when we boil it down to hard facts and budget numbers we will see that overall we have received a cut in total real $ cut in budget through the years.

So...we have a dilemna.  I volunteered in our teleconference meeting with the MLAS, because they think they are getting mixed messages from the community, to develop a survey to lay out options within the budget as it currently exists and to have the community and the MLAs agree to the contents & to abide by the results.    However, I also think that we are being forced to accept a cut in maintenance by choosing either/or within a budget amount.  More maintenance/less or no spring opening or spring opening and less maintenance.

The MOFLNRO roads people tell me they plan to grade the entire road twice & the hills perhaps once/twice more.  The figures put in the press release and bandied about are for the middle section that was MOTi and there is approximately $80 k in there that is intended for road bed improvements this year.  Another very positive aspect that go lost in the foo fer ah over the spring opening.

Next steps:
1. I am going to form a small advisory committee of various types of users/points of view
2. I am going to stay in touch with MOFLNRO roads person and get exact budgetary figures for this years maintenance (will get this in the fall) for the ENTIRE road one end to the other
3. I will be speaking with both MLAs about the dilemna as I see it and reminding them of the history of maintenance on this road.

In the meantime, the Hurley FSR for the Hurley FSR is in pretty good shape.  MOFLNRO hired a grader that is appropriate and experienced and I think he did the best job he can with what he has to work with.  Enjoy!!!

Thank you to everyone who wrote and phoned and wrote and phoned, with a bunch of blogging, Facebooking and Twittering thrown in there.  This issue is one that resonantes with many property owners and it showed and you know what, it made a difference!!!!  Way to go!!!

Road 40 Carpenter Lake Rd.
Background/Previous Blog on Erosion Issues
NEW!!   MOTi received approval this spring from the Water Stewardship Division of FLNRO to place, surplus material generated by ditching, at four locations alongside Carpenter lake this year, to address some longstanding erosion concerns. These works have been taking place recently so that  the environmental windows that have been identified can be adhered to.

With regards to the condition of Rd. 40 , MOTi  will be expending close to $800,000 on resurfacing 4 km of Road 40 west of the Bridge River bridge combined with some minor widening of a rock cut near Apple springs. The work at Apple springs is still in the engineering phase, however it remains MOTi Area Managers intent to address this location during this construction season. 

I wrote the following letter that summarizes quite a number of concerns related to Rd. 40.

The Assistant District Manager and Area Manager came out to meet with me with regard to these issues.  I am awaiting their written response to the discussion and will update everyone soon.  The link to the letter is here:  Road40LetterMay282014

Bralorne Sewer - CCTV Study
Spoke briefly to staff and this CCTV study has been completed.  Generally it turned out some areas of the system that are better than thought and some areas that need immediate attention.  I will let everyone know once I have the specifics and the staff recommendations what the next steps will be.

Bralorne Water
As an FYI, staff advises that the project to replace the remainder of the wood stave water pipe in Bralorne is in the tendering phase and they plan to have a recommendation report to the SLRD Board in late July.

Tyax Wilderness Resort Rezoning & Other Items

REZONING:  Tyax Wilderness Resort
First & second reading were given by SLRD Board on May 26.  Tyax has put up notification signs.
Unofficially, the public hearing will be held on July 3.  Notices etc. will be out shortly.

Here is the information on the current rezoning:   Tyax Wilderness Resort Rezoning - information link

At the same time (July 3) will be a public hearing for some housekkeeping changes to the Area A Zoning Bylaws.  Link to that information is at:   Area A Zoning Bylaw Changes

OCP Change & Rezoning:  Gun Lake - Kier Property
The staff have been directed to prepare the bylaws on this one.
Link to Information:   Kier Property Information

Gun Lake West Rec Site Campground - Douglas Fir Bark Beetles Infested Trees
It was brought to my attention that there are several trees (probably more now) infected by Douglas Fir Bark Beetle in the campground on Gun Lake.  Neighbors were concerned because these beetles could fly and infect/kill trees on their property.

I followed up first with the Rec Site & Trails Technician for the area, was not satisfied with his response so went to his manager.  Here is the response:

"From talking to Bruce Morrow, this is the situation with the large dead fir at Gun Lake West:

-          The trees are infested with fir bark beetle but there many more trees in the area similarly infested. Treating these 4 trees to kill the bark beetle would not have a significant impact on the population of bark beetle in the area.

-          The fir bark beetle flight is expected to happen in July. The infestation has been erratic, and its spread is unpredictable. It is very strange that the beetles attacked such large old trees with thick bark.

-          The dead trees will become danger trees, mainly because of the huge branches. Bruce confirmed that addressing this issue will be complicated and expensive, and require a high level of expertise.

So we have a serious but not an urgent issue to deal with. Ed will be back to work later this work; I will touch base with him and we will look at the options available to us. I would appreciate if you could keep us informed of other forest management work taking place in the area."

In other words they are in no hurry to do anything at this Rec Site.  I have followed up with him and he now advises (May27) that he will send out someone to have a look.  I also put him together with the Entomologist.    If you are not happy with this response and feel there should be a higher priority response here is the contact info:

Bruce Petch

Regional Manager

Recreation Sites and Trails BC

Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

3rd Floor, 441 Columbia Street, Kamloops BC V2C 2T3

tel. 250-828-4441

email Bruce.Petch@gov.bc.ca'

Douglas Fir Bark Beetle Infested Trees

Links to previous information shared

Gun Lake Ratepayers Assoc. has also done some homework with the Regional Entomologist, Lorraine MacLaughlin on this and has provided some excellent information at:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/gun-lake-community/douglas-fir-bark-beetle-qa/1429566267304758