A small derelict boat at Island View Beach Regional Park will be taken care of, one way or another, says the chair of the Capital Regional District’s Parks Committee.
In response to a park user’s email and photo of the damaged, beached vessel, Mike Hicks says he’s asked CRD staff to look into the matter with an eye to removing the boat.
“If anything is ruining the experience of the patrons of Island View Beach, we’re going to try to fix it,” he said.
Kevin McLaughlin took the photo August 31 and emailed it to the CRD. He said he personally doesn’t know how long it has been on the beach, but said he was told by other park users its has been there for a “considerable length of time.”
Hicks said McLaughlin’s email might have been the first complaint received by the CRD — at least it’s the first he’s aware of.
McLaughlin said the boat appears to have broken glass inside of it and is located north of the last parking lot in the park, but is not on the neighbouring First Nations property.
Hicks added at one time it would have been a matter of someone going to the beach and using a vehicle to tow it out of there. However, as there are jurisdictional issues between local government, the province and First Nations, it’s usually not that easy and could require consultation. How to do that, however, has been left to CRD parks staff at this point.
Dale Green, acting senior manager of environmental protection with the CRD said staff are reviewing their options on how to deal with the boat at Island View Beach. He said it may not happen quickly, as there are regulations they must adhere to. He said there are federal rules to look at but for the time being it appears there is no environmental hazard and the boat is just an eyesore.
The CRD has applied for a little more than $1 million in two grants from the federal Abandoned Boats Program. Green said they hope to use the funds to work with area municipalities and First Nations to come up with ways to address the problem of derelict or wrecked boats.
