Minutes of General Meeting

October 18, 2006

Parksville Community Centre

12 noon

 

In Attendance:           Bruce Cownden, Chair            

Michelle Jones                         Manley LaFoy                         

 Susanne Hale                            Dan Jack                                             

                                    Kim Burden                              Helen Sims                              

Dave Bryan                              Mark Flinta

                                   

                                                                                                           

                                    Marilyn Hayden, Recording Secretary

 

Guests:                       Councillor Wendy Maurer, Town of Qualicum Beach

                                    Arlene Sequoia, Oceanside Service Excellence Research Project

                                    Kimberly Root, Oceanside Service Excellence Research Project

                                    Sarah Jarvinen, Oceanside Service Excellence Research Project

                                                           

Bruce Cownden called the meeting to order at 12:05 P.M. and introduced the guest speakers. 

 

Arlene Sequoia, Oceanside Service Excellenc Research Project

·        The survey was presented to everyone in attendance to fill out and was collected following the meeting.

·        The construction and development industry has been a challenge for the survey as they are all busy in the field.

·        Egon assisted in formation of the survey for the construction industry.

·        1,500 surveys have been completed in the community as a whole with the survey covering the Oceanside area from Nanoose Bay to Bowser.

·        The data will be completed by the 2^nd week in November and will be available on the Chamber website.

·        The survey has been presented to high school students working part time in industries.

·        Manley LaFoy suggested that the chamber look at the bigger picture; deal with schools to encourage schools to back up industry.

All members are encouraged to fill out the survey.  Please contact Marilyn if you have not received a copy.

 

Notice of Motion - Councillor Wendy Maurer, Town of Qualicum Beach

 

Councillor Maurer is the appointed Council liaison to the ODCA.  She presented the background for her upcoming motion to Council that deals with inviting developers to bring forward ideas on how they want to use their land. These ideas would be the subject of community discussion. 

 

Notice of the motion was put forward in September prior to announcement of the closure of Eaglecrest Golf Course.

·        Time of motion is to fit with the RDN Growth Management Strategy review. 

·        Landowners and developers have previously accepted the invitation to discuss their projects prior to applying for development permits, but the public has not been involved and it has been done on a one by one basis.

·        Verbal notice of motion was given at the September Council Meeting and staff then drafted the motion without additional input or review from her and was put on the agenda for the October 2^nd Council meeting.  The Council package also contained background from the Director of Planning and a staff memo containing two alternatives for Council’s consideration.  The staff drafted motion did not accurately reflect what the final motion was intended to achieve.  The Town of QB is refining communication processes with new staff.

·         The upcoming motion has garnered a lot of media coverage and highlights that the public is interested in the future of the community.

·         The motion will be reworded and presented at the Nov. 6 council meeting.

·         Councillor Maurer asked if this is something the development community is even interested  participating in.

 

Questions and responses:

·        Great idea, but puts you in a corner politically.

·        Good idea, the community should not be afraid to hear another point of view.  It is a poor policy if a bylaw cannot be scrutinized.

·        Support changing the term of reference in your motion to land owners rather than developers.

·        Wendy reported that she would clarify the issue in the Friday edition of the PQ News.

·        Goes somewhat beyond a vision statement, as OCP’s are very changeable.

·        The development & construction community are huge employers and are the 2^nd largest employer in the area.  The whole country’s economy thrives on the construction industry. 

·          Take into consideration equity building; construction companies make 10% on their projects while individual landowners are making 40% on the equity of their property.

·        Dave Bryan asked if the ODCA will make a public statement on the closure of Eaglecrest Golf Course?  Bruce Cownden responded that the ODCA does not make comments on individual projects.