Cumberland council agreed to end a lease for the first-floor area of Buchanan Hall of the Cultural Centre.
At a meeting earlier this month, council received a written request from the Cumberland Lamplighters O.A.P. #51 asking to surrender its contract to look after the space it uses.
Coun. Gwyn Sproule asked about the reasons for the change. Mayor Leslie Baird responded that her understanding was that the group has been getting smaller in numbers.
“They don’t want the responsibility of the building any longer,” she said.
CAO Clayton Postings told council that village staff will create a long-term use plan for the space.
Regional transportation plan
The Village of Cumberland is leaning toward a new memorandum of understanding with its municipal neighbours and the regional district on a regional transportation plan.
At a meeting on Nov. 9, council responded to a letter from the Comox Valley Regional District asking the community to consider approval of an MOU. The aim is to consider ways to better connect transportation links between communities in the region.
“I think it’s important to move to the next step,” said Coun. Vickey Brown.
The letter actually came from Jesse Ketler, the Cumberland councillor who chairs the CVRD board. She said the idea for the plan originally arose through a cycling committee, so the plan would build on work that is already happening, as opposed to setting up a brand-new committee. Transportation principles are already incorporated into the Regional Growth Strategy.
The draft MOU makes reference to improved bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, as well as increasing public transit use and developing an inter-regional transportation system for moving people and goods.
“We do need to start thinking about how we connect our communities,” Ketler told the rest of council.
2021 meeting schedule
Council approved a schedule for meetings during the coming year at its Nov. 9 meeting.
Typically they hold regular council meetings twice a month, with some variations for the summer and the Christmas season. The list also includes proposed Village Hall meetings, which are less formal than regular council meetings, as well as committee of the whole meetings or open houses, particularly around budget preparations.
One of the priorities was to hold some of these additional meetings at earlier times during the day in order to make it easier for seniors to attend.
At the same meeting, council also made some appointments for council positions, including acting mayor. From now through January 2021, council member Jesse Ketler will be acting mayor, followed by Vickey Brown from February through April, Sean Sullivan from May through July and Gwyn Sproule from August through October.
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Added to the list of committees and boards on which council members sit was Brown as trustee to the Vancouver Island Regional Library Board, with Sproule as an alternate, and Mayor Leslie Board to the Alleyway Sign Project committee.
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