Holding public meetings is important.
It is a way for a community to interact, listen to information and, for most attendees, to actually hear and process the information.
It is also a way for an elected official to gauge the support for initiatives that have been brought forward. A couple of weeks ago, we presented information about incorporation and most of the people who attended, when it was all said and done, understood why incorporation hadn’t gone further.
At the close of that meeting I asked if anyone wished to take on the responsibility of heading up a committee to research the topic more fully.
To date, no one has come forward wishing to do that. I did receive a couple of phone calls questioning the validity of the information and I understand that the information was supplied by the regional district from prior studies.
A few days later, I was chatting with a gentleman who was at the meeting and I asked him why he thought incorporation was important and he told me that he and others didn’t like the idea that Trail was telling them what to do.
I explained that not once in five years had the regional district board voted against something that Christina Lake wanted.
It is very difficult for people to move from one position of belief to the opposite position and indeed it takes a very big individual to do that; however, it is really important that all involved think about the whole big picture. I truly believe that people appreciated the information and they did see the whole big picture.
The next public meeting was regarding two issues: organics recovery and riparian act regulations. From the feedback that I have received, both those presentations offered very good information.
The riparian examples that Mark Andison presented explained some of the ideas very well and supported the fact that Christina Lake designing it’s own regulation is not unusual, as others have already done this.
The information also made it very clear that this is not designed to force lakeshore owners to redesign their lakefront but rather the regulations would apply to new construction in the future.
That is to say property owners would still be able to build on their property; however, they would be expected to design the lot so that there remained some riparian area.
We are collecting the comments from the presentation. The organics recovery presentation was difficult for many. Yes we have a great deal of land owners that are only here part of the year and that does pose more of a challenge.
For those of you who are responsible and take proper care of your garbage, recyclables and food waste, thank you. I wish I could say the same of others. Comments are still coming in.
The next public meeting will be on milfoil on Aug. 17 at the Christina Lake Community Hall at 6:30 p.m.
Please remember these public meetings are designed to share information so that your director has a better idea of your interests.
Anyone wishing more information about any of the above is welcome to call the regional district office in Trail 1-800-355-RDKB or myself at 250-447-9293. Another way of getting information is by using the regional district web site www.rdkb.com
On a side note, those who swam, ran and cycled at the recent Christina Lake triathlon, were all upbeat and thoroughly enjoyed the event.
I am always so impressed by the number of volunteers who come out to make this event a success. Not one complaint did I hear from anyone and I talked with many people about many issues.
Thank you to Grand Forks Recreation, Christina Lake Park and Rec Committee, all of the sponsors, vendors and volunteers.
– Grace McGregor is Area C director for the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB).