Work on upgrading the Town of Lake Cowichan municipal hall will begin soon.
“We’ve put out a tender call for the demolition of the bays,” said Lake Cowichan CAO Joe Fernandez.
From there the town will be working with the architect about the upgrade process, and then any remediation must be discussed and planned.
During the renovations, the town of Lake Cowichan will be using Stanley Gordon School as temporary office quarters “when and as needed,” he said.
The demolition will start in September, and then “it will take a bit of time to get the other things in order. I’ve asked to meet with the architects this week. I’ve not got a response back but it looks promising,” he said. “It could be some of us will have to move.”
Coun. Carolyne Austin asked about the Mildred Child annex next door.
“That will be temporary headquarters for the workers, those that work around here, for storing equipment and such,” Fernandez said.
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Finding the best spots for speed reader boards is an ongoing discussion at Lake Cowichan council. One of the spots they’ve been looking at is on North Shore Road and they’ve been successful.
According to Town CAO Joe Fernandez, ICBC has just given the town a grant for $2,500 for a speed reader board there.
Council is also considering a crosswalk with a user-activated light for the intersection of North Shore and Wilson where a lot of small children from Palsson Elementary School cross the street.
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Residents from the upper sections of the Brookside development are asking that a way be found to collect their garbage at curbside, like other property owners.
At present, there are problems because the garbage truck cannot turn on their roads. They made a presentation recently asking Lake Cowichan councillors to take a look at the situation.
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Lake Cowichan’s long awaited columbarium grave site at Greendale park is moving closer and closer to reality.
“We’ve poured the base. It’s all ready for the seat of the columbariums. Two units will be arriving this week,” he said.
Councillors were all smiling at seeing the idea coming to completion.
“I can pick out my future home,” Town of Lake Cowichan Mayor Ross Forrest quipped.
Town of Lake Cowichan CAO Joe Fernandez said he was pleased at how it’s worked out.
“The foreman is right on top of it and has done a wonderful job in making sure that everything’s organized.”
The two structures were placed on Thursday, Aug. 16, and work can now begin on landscaping the site.
Check at the town office about acquiring a spot for yourself or your family.
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The town’s works superintendent, Nagi Rizk, has left the community and is now working in Powell River, where his family has connections. Councillors were joking around the table Aug. 14 that they might descend on him in a group when the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities holds a meeting in the Sunshine Coast community next year.
No word yet on a replacement for his position.
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In their continuing talks about sustainable waste and composting, Lake Cowichan Coun. Tim McGonigle asked if there’s an anticipated completion date for a regional plan that’s being reworked now.
Coun. Bob Day, the town’s CVRD representative, said that it would be six months to a year before everything is completed.
McGonigle, who is interested in seeing Lake Cowichan try some ideas of its own, replied, “I think that’s problematic if we want to go out on our own and then a regional concept comes forward and we’ve already committed to our own in-house composting system. I think it’s prudent that we wait for the update but continue to investigate options should it fall through. For instance, we’ve spoken of collaborating with Areas F and I on some sort of organics program. Some areas of the CVRD are involved in that already but those two are not. That would give us a little bit more of a product to work with.”
