Council Briefs | Village of Queen Charlotte: January 6

Letter Writing

Council moved to provide a letter of support for Alanah Mountifield, the economic development manager for the Misty Isles Economic Development Society, for the company’s application to the Gwaii Trust Major Contributions grant to fund the second year of the Visitor Exit Survey Project in 2020-21. A letter of support was also written for Jason Rupke, Skidegate outreach worker, for his application to the Canadian government’s Anti-Racism Action Program to continue to fund the outreach worker position for up to three more years.

Finally, council moved to write a letter to Makola CEO Kevin Albers asking that he renovate his duplex at 609 Second Ave. to make it into a habitable residence. Council believes this will help add to the total number of affordable homes in the village. There was one vote in opposition to this letter request, but the motion was still approved.

Cleanup on Seventh St.

Mr. and Mrs. Kendall were present at the Jan. 6 meeting to discuss the state of their property at 622 Seventh St. The property underwent a fire and explosion on Aug. 7, 2018, and the resulting debris has remained strewn about since then.

The Kendall’s were asked to attend by Mayor Kris Olsen after Len Munt, district manager for Ministry of Forest, Lands, Natural Resources Operations and Rural Development on Haida Gwaii, had sent a letter expressing his concern about the lack of cleanup on property next to the Kendall’s property that is considered Crown land. Mr. Kendall said he did not believe the land is Crown land, and sought further clarification from Olsen.

Olsen said Munt sent the letter after receiving complaints from community members, and asked Kendall when he would proceed with the necessary cleanup. Kendall responded that it would be a slow process as he wants to search the debris for specific items. Olsen again asked Kendall for a more specific timeframe, to which Kendall answered that once the snow is gone he would perform cleanup efforts on good weather days. Council would later give a deadline of April 22, 2020 for the cleanup to be completed, citing their authority to enforce a date under the Transportation Act’s Scenic Highway Designation.

Around Town

Council voted to allocate up to $2,000 from the 2020 budget in order for Emergency Management for Northwest Hydraulics to provide technical grant writing assistance for an application to the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, administered by the UBCM, for the development of a Flood Risk Assessment, Mapping and Mitigation Plan, in coordination with the community of Masset and Areas D and E of the North Coast Regional District.

The Youth Centre released its total number of visits for 2019, which totalled 2,871. This was down markedly from the 2018 total of 3,591, and on par with the 2017 total of 2,881 visits.

November 7, 2020 was declared “Taoist Tai Chi Arts 50th Anniversary Day”, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Tai Chi Taoist monk Master Moy Lin Shin bringing the teachings to Canada in Toronto in 1970.

Alex Kurial | Journalist

Alex Kurial