Local voters elected Coombs resident Lou Biggemann to a third three-year term as Regional Director for Area F in local government elections on November 15, 2008. As an RDN Board member Director Biggemann will also chair the District 69 Community Justice Select Committee and the Electoral Area F Parks and Open Spaces Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Regional Solid Waste Advisory Committee, and the Agricultural Advisory Committee.

Agricultural Advisory Committee

Food security will play a larger role on the regional agenda this year with the establishment of a regional Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC). The RDN Board approved the ten-person committee in June, 2008, and received applications for membership over the winter. The committee will include two residents from School District 68, two residents from District 69, two members of agricultural organizations, one member of a shellfish aquaculture organization, two RDN electoral area directors, and one RDN municipal director.

Communities throughout BC are establishing AACs as global food prices continue to rise, and support for local food production becomes more important. As of January there were 36 AACs in BC. The provincial government has been supportive, enabling AACs to work closely with the BC Agricultural Land Commission to address the needs of local farms inside and outside the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The AAC will hold regular public meetings and provide valuable input to the Regional Board on agriculture issues as they apply to land management, water drainage and groundwater protection, expanded use of ALR lands, and zoning regulations. Watch for more information on the AAC in local newspapers and at www.rdn.bc.ca as meetings begin this year.

Transfer Station Retrofit, Redevelopment, and Expansion

The RDN is helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions in local communities with a major expansion to its Church Road Transfer Station (CRTS). The $5.5 million project, currently underway, will triple the facility's capacity to more than 100,000 tonnes of garbage, organics, and recyclables per year, and extend its lifespan past the year 2025. The CRTS will also be ready to accommodate a regionwide expansion of the RDN's Organics Diversion strategy, which will produce more than 12,000 tonnes of food waste annually for transfer at the CRTS by 2012.

The CRTS serves more than 46,000 people in the RDN's northern communities, including Electoral Areas E, F, G, and H, the City of Parksville, and the Town of Qualicum Beach. Garbage brought by local residents and haulers is transferred to the Regional Landfill, recyclables are transferred to the Vancouver Island Recycling Centre in Nanaimo, and organics and yard waste are transferred to the International Composting Corporation Composting facility at Duke Point.

CRTS operations reduce greenhouse gas emissions by diverting methaneproducing waste from the Regional Landfill in Cedar, and decreasing vehicle emissions by helping local haulers avoid driving to the Landfill.

SepticSmart and Team Water Smart

The RDN has introduced a new public information program called SepticSmart to help local residents learn how to manage their own septic systems and get answers to questions about wastewater treatment. SepticSmart was launched in November 2008, and is aimed at educating the community on the proper care of septic systems. As part of the program the RDN is hosting a series of free public workshops, with presentations by RDN staff on basic septic system operation, maintenance, monitoring and provincial regulations. Vancouver Island Health Authority staff are also available to answer questions. Workshop participants receive a SepticSmart Household Information Kit. The kits are also available online at www.SepticSmart. ca, and can be ordered in booklet format from the RDN.

SepticSmart is modeled after the RDN's highly successful Team WaterSmart program, which offers free public workshops every summer throughout the RDN. Team WaterSmart workshops typically include presentations by local water conservation experts on sustainable water use in the garden and home, to help reduce water demand during the hot summer months. More details are also available at www.SepticSmart.ca, and www.TeamWaterSmart.ca.

Regional Growth Strategy

The Regional Growth Strategy is expanding to address new and emerging sustainability challenges. RDN staff are working with local residents to develop ideas, and broaden the focus of the RGS on issues such as local farming and food production, coordination of land use planning with economic development, and affordable housing. A new RGS will be presented to the Regional Board for approval in early 2010.

The RGS was originally adopted in 1997, and later revised in 2003. It provides direction for the entire region on how and where population centers should exist, how rural and resource lands will be managed, and how communities will work together on regional services. The new RGS will address these and other issues identified in the Review.

In 2008 the RDN hosted two public workshops as part of the Review, and studied ideas and concerns gathered in a public survey. This spring RDN staff are meeting again with local groups to discuss possible changes to the RGS. Residents are also invited to a public forum on April 21, at 7pm, in the Board room of the RDN administration office. Staff will begin drafting the revised RGS over the summer, and consult again with residents on the draft in the fall.

In 2009 the RDN will also conduct a regional affordable housing study focused on the electoral areas, which will support and provide background for possible policy directions in the revised RGS. The study follows data collected in 2008 as part of the RGS Review, in which 23.5 per cent of local survey respondents indicated that they were unable to afford adequate housing.

For more information residents can visit www.ShapingtheFuture.ca. This website includes new RGS workbooks that can be submitted for review by RDN staff, as well as a new survey, and additional background material.

Fire Protection in Meadowood

On a snowy morning on February 10, the RDN hosted a ground breaking event in a cleared lot on Galvin Place for construction of the Meadowood Fire Hall. Local residents, RDN Board members, volunteer fire fighters, members of the media, and RDN staff were in attendance to mark the final stage in years of hard work by residents to establish fire protection for their community. When the Meadowood Fire Hall is complete in late summer, the Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department will operate it as its #2 fire hall, serving approximately 445 properties in Meadowood. Two new fire trucks purchased for the Meadowood Fire Hall are temporarily stored on private property in the community.

The Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department began providing fire protection and emergency response in Meadowood on July 1, 2008. The department now serves approximately 110 square kilometers in Electoral Areas F (Meadowood), G ( Dashwood), and H (Dashwood). Dashwood's primary fire hall is on Hobbs Road, north of Qualicum Beach.

With fire protection officially available in Meadowood, the Fire Underwriters Survey has improved local fire protection ratings, which have resulted in lower home insurance premiums for property owners. Properties in the Meadowood strata development known as Little Qualicum River Village now have a Fire Underwriters Survey rating of 3A, which recognizes fire protection combined with fire hydrant access. Properties outside of the strata development, in the area known as Qualicum River Estates, are rated 3B, which recognizes fire protection in an area without hydrants or a community water system. More information on the Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department is available at www.Dashwoodvfd.org.

Parks Committee Opening

Residents interested in community parks management can apply for a position available this spring on the Area F Parks and Open Spaces Advisory Committee (POSAC). The successful applicant will have a twoyear term on the committee. Residents must submit an application to the RDN Administration Office by 4pm, April 17, 2009.

The Area F POSAC is one of six electoral area committees of appointed representatives that meet 3 times a year to discuss RDN community parks and trails and provide advice to the RDN Board. RDN Electoral Area F Director Lou Biggemann is a member of the local POSAC, along with six local residents.

All POSAC meetings are open to the public. More information on the committee and the application process is available at www.rdn.bc.ca.