Financial assistance
Powell River Regional District (PRRD) approved a number of financial assistance requests for community non-profits at its Thursday, February 25, meeting, including $20,000 to Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy, $11,000 to Texada Arts Culture and Tourism Society, $2,000 to Powell River Therapeutic Riding Association, $2,000 to Lasqueti Island Internet Access Society and $500 for Powell River Forestry Heritage Society to assist with the 2016 Santa Train at Paradise Exhibition Park.
Palm Beach bandstand
Organizers of Sunshine Music Festival, the province’s longest running music festival, are looking for money to aid in construction of a permanent, multi-use timber-frame structure at Palm Beach Regional Park near Lang Bay. Festival artistic director Clayton Brander made a presentation at PRRD committee of the whole meeting Thursday, February 11. He said the festival committee would like to build a permanent structure at Palm Beach where the temporary stage is located. Brander added it would help the festival and increase the amount of public use the park receives at other times of the year. He said the festival committee had raised up to $25,000 for its construction, but the project would cost about $85,000. The committee will also be applying to Powell River Community Forest for funds.
Online consultation hub
Janine Reimer, owner of a local communications and research firm, made a presentation to the PRRD committee of the whole on a shared online tool that would allow PRRD, City of Powell River and Tla’amin Nation to broaden their public consultation. Costs would be shared three ways. Reimer said she would operate the service on contract with the local governments for the first year and train staff on how to take over. The user-friendly website would serve as a complement to meetings and allow the public to comment on initiatives in a way that is useful to government, she said. PRRD committee of the whole will invite Reimer back to present on the results of her presentations to Tla’amin and city councils.
Invasive species
Regional district staff will be bringing back a report considering options for a five-year management plan for coastal invasive species and a possible collaboration with the City of Powell River. Rachelle McElroy from the Coastal Invasive Species Committee (CISC) presented an overview of the how the CISC can help the regional district create a service that would help improve its ability to remove invasive plants from private property. McElroy told the regional district directors that work is currently being done in the province on a priority list of plants to manage. She added that CISC has reviewed species of concern for the Powell River area and will be working with volunteers to remove holly from Paradise Exhibition Park.
