Transit stations and recycling depots to receive a boost in new regional district budget
By Timothy Schafer
The regional district will be allocating almost $300,000 in its new financial plan for capital expenditures for recycling depot upgrades.
The board of directors for the Regional District of Central Kootenay elected to put $295,000 into Central Resource Recovery with the funds to be allocated from the capital reserves of the service.
The move comes on the heels of a board decision to turn down RecycleBC’s (RBC) offer to fund seven main recycling depots across the district, down from the current 26 recycling depots the RDCK now operates on its own.
One of the seven full-service depots was slated for Nelson.
Although the RBC’s deal included several depots in addition to themain seven, those facilities would be funded by the RDCK and would have to meet RBC requirements — effectively creating an increase in operating and staffing costs for the regional district.
An RBC deal is not a dead issue, however. The Central Resource Recovery committee requested that regional district staff continue negotiations with Recycle BC and, if required, the Ministry of Environment, to seek alternatives to providing funding directly to the RDCK.
Currently, the RDCK contracts with Waste Management for the recyclingprogram across the regional district, but the Waste Management contract expires in November 2018.
Central Resource Recovery committee
It won’t cost anything extra to dump trash in the regional district.
The minimum $2.50 per bag tipping fee will remain in effect for theCentral Subregion Resource Recovery facilities in order to harmonize with the East and West Subregions.
The 2018 Financial Plan for the Central Subregion Resource Recoverycalls for a reduction of $8,000 in disposal fee revenue but an increase of $4,000 for material handling costs to provide a free disposal of yard and garden waste at Central Subregion Resource Recovery Facilities in May 2018 to complement the RDCK’s wildfire mitigation efforts.
Taking public transportation to the next level
Transit riders in the city and the region around it will be thebeneficiary of almost $300,000 in transit infrastructure improvements this year.
A total of $277,500 in transit infrastructure improvements — with$188,000 from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and $89,500 from the regional district — will be used to construct bus shelters across the region.
New shelters are slated for Playmor junction (Hwy 3A and 6, PlaymorRoad), Highway 3A and Nelson Bridge, and in Ymir.
As well, there will be solar bus stop lights installed along routes inthe Slocan Valley and the route from Nelson to Castlegar and the North Shore.
Other improvements include bus stop signage installed throughout theregion, with improvements expected for the Winlaw Park and Ride site, Nelson Park and Ride site and existing pullouts.
Moving on in
Part of the regional district’s offices will be moving into KootenaiPlace in the city.
A 24-month contract for two office spaces in the building has beensigned — with an annual rent cost of around $73,000 — for the short-term solution to address the shortage of regional district space in the Nelson offices.
The new spaces are expected to accommodate the Emergency OperationsCentre and the fire and emergency management services staff, as well as the Community Services department.
According to a regional district report, the cost for technologyconnections, renovations and office furniture for the offices would be $87,000.
Stirring the pot
The regional district board will be sending a letter to Health Canadasupporting efforts by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Union of BC Municipalities to ensure that local governments are consulted in the development of cannabis regulations for the cultivation of cannabis.
The letter will request that Health Canada clarify their expectationsof the regional district in issuing building permits for cannabis cultivation facilities.
