The main two Cowichan River tubing signs (see picture) are now ready to be installed.
Now, the question is, where?
Council discussed the issue during a Tuesday, July 5, committee meeting, during which time it was decided that locating them on the town’s footbridges, for tubers to look up at as they float underneath, would be best. Alternates will be Saywell Park and Central Park.
“They’re starting to tube now,” councillor Tim McGonigle said, urging the process along.
There will be seven smaller additional signs that the Cowichan Lake and River Stewardship Society will take care of locating along tubers’ float down the river.
The project has been a partnership between the society and the Town of Lake Cowichan.
Church a community hub?
Lake Cowichan’s United Church is in dire straits, and Sheila Marley has an idea to help keep it open.
With such a large infrastructure that is only used Sunday morning, special holy days, and for the Thursday thrift shop, a lot of space is wasted, she said.
Still in its very earliest of stages in planning, Marley threw around several ideas for different Neighbourhood of Learning type functions, such as the drop in centre the town and Cowichan Lake Community Services have been looking into for a youth group.
“If we continue where we are we’ll have to shut our doors and sell the building in four years,” she said. “Our goal is to have our beautiful building open.”
“I can totally see that building as a community neighbourhood house,” councillor Bob Day said.
With the line of communication open, various options and ideas will now be looked into.
Spray park at Centennial?
“It’s a good site. It will meet your expectations,” the town’s superintendent of Public Works Nagi Rizk said, of Centennial Park as a location for a proposed Spray Park.
Council’s focus on The Duck Pond as a location for a spray park has recently switched to Centennial Park, where there’s much more available space, and it’s more centralized and visible to tourists.
“This is a chance to get started on Centennial Park,” mayor Ross Forrest said, of the long talked about upgrades to the park.
Nothing is in stone with regard to the proposed spray park’s location.
Sports wall of fame
The date for sports wall of fame ceremony has been set for Friday, July 22, at 7 p.m. at the Cowichan Lake Sports Arena.
The ceremony will include the induction of its first five local sports stars.
Centennial Park camping
Mayor and council received letter from Elain McGinn, lambasting them for deciding to re-allow camping at Centennial Park for special events.
“Now that you have gone back on your word, a good strict policy is the only answer, and a fee to cover expenses,” the letter encouraged, alongside other suggestions.
Council proceeded to go over a policy.
“I think charging the same rate as an unserviced site at Lakeview (Park Campground) is the way to go,” councillor Tim McGonigle said. “If you charged $10, then there’s no incentive.”
A summer camping fee of $32, and an off-season rate of $22 was agreed upon.
Other stipulations outlined in the policy involve disallowing unleashed dogs, campfires, and disruptive noise.
Taking a suggestion from McGinn’s letter, council decided to add a stipulation that no generators be allowed at Centennial Park.
Other changes to the tentative policy include a damage deposit of $500, and having groups require council approval before they’re allowed to camp at Centennial Park.
The policy will be returned to council with the requested changes for further consideration during a future committee meeting.
South Shore Road repaving
In advance of next year’s likely re-paving of Lake Cowichan’s stretch of South Shore Road by the Ministry of Transportation, the town has requested that the public bring forth ideas of ways Public Works can improve the town’s main drag.
One request, now under consideration, is putting a sidewalk in at the corner of South Shore Road and Peterson Road.
“The traffic that goes by is extremely dangerous and putting a sidewalk in would alleviate some of this danger, especially for children and pets,” a letter from Tony Pitruzzello reads.
Another request came from Palsson Elementary School Parent Advisory Council (PAC) chair Belinda Waller, whose letter states that the PAC is seeking a means of encouraging kids to bike and walk to school, rather than getting driven by parents.
“One concern that has been raised by parents is the safety of their children while crossing South Shore Road,” the letter reads. “Some parents, who currently walk their children to school, are finding drivers largely ignore the crosswalks at present.”
“I’m surprised that no one has died,” councillor Bob Day said, of the crosswalk located on South Shore Road, between the Esso station and the Country Grocer.
As such, a means of traffic calming will be sought for this location. Nothing concrete has been planned, though Waller’s letter outlines a few ideas;
• The installation of flashing pedestrian signs and lights.
• Additional curb bulge to narrow the road by the crosswalk to Friendship Forest.
• Hiring of an adult crossing guard for 15 minutes prior to school and 15 minutes after school.
• Training Grade 5 leadership students to be crossing guards.
Darnell Road complaint
In response to a letter to the editor printed in the Gazette regarding one resident’s complaints around the Darnell road upgrades, the town’s superintendent of Public Works discussed the item with council.
“We can not design a street to meet everyone’s requirement,” he said.
The work done was entirely on town-owned road allowance. Rizk clarified that nothing has been changed with regard to the grades, which was implied in the letter.
As for the budget, Rizk reported that the $120,000 budgeted for the project in 2010 was a budgetary mistake, in that the basic road coats alone cost more than that. The $205,629 spent in 2010 is still above what was planned, he said. This is due to a contamination investigation they had to undergo, as there was a gas station located there.
“We had to do due diligence,” he said.
The project is still under this year’s budget of $60,000.
J.H. Boyd site
The increasingly dilapidated J.H. Boyd School is resulting in complaints from the public.
“We’ve had numerous complaints,” mayor Ross Forrest said, with councillor Bob Day also reporting complaints.
“Bylaws are complaint-based, and this is a complaint,” councillor Tim McGonigle said.
“If that building were located across the road, we’d be doing something about it,” councillor Bob Day said. “That building is in somebody’s back yard!”
This issue will be followed up upon.
Sewer lagoon performs well
“We have very little impact,” the town’s superintendent of Public Works Nagi Rizk said, of the town’s sewer lagoon.
During only the top 11 high precipitation days did the lagoon exceed its maximum daily discharge, last year.
“There are no issues with the phosphorus,” he said, adding that this is both surprising and good news.
