Savary Island issues were highlighted during the chair’s report at the qathet Regional District board meeting on September 30.
Chair Patrick Brabazon said Savary Island Volunteer Fire Department wanted to acknowledge the support of Lund Water Taxi in helping the fire department’s first responders in helping evacuate seriously ill patients off the island. Brabazon said they had a busy summer getting patients and delivering them to the waiting ambulance in Lund. He said the water taxi is on standby as soon as the 911 call is triggered.
“The fire department wants to give a well-deserved shout out to the water taxi staff for providing that critical support for the island, and I will second that,” said Brabazon.
He said sticking with Savary Island, he mentioned during a previous regional district meeting that there is a problem with garbage being left on the dock, on the regional district’s wharf.
“This is going to be an ongoing problem,” said Brabazon. “This highlights the necessity to pay some attention, sooner rather than later, to coming up with a well-defined, regulatory framework for our marine assets on Savary Island.
“The current situation is untenable with regard to the beaches and the wharf and I’ll be coming back to the board with some proposals.”
At the August 27 qathet Regional District board meeting, Brabazon said he had received photographs where one of the water taxi operators had decided to perform a public service and remove garbage from the island. Brabazon said the Savary marine advisory committee was distressed about the situation and he advised them that in his opinion, the wharf is not a garbage transfer station.
He also said the regional board was going to be hearing from the Savary community regarding access to the helipad on the west end of the island. He said the road access was in deplorable condition.
“They are going to be coming to our committee of the whole with a proposal and I think you are all going to find that interesting,” said Brabazon. “It’s local people taking some action but they can’t do it without the support of the regional district.”
Brabazon said a recent story in the Peak outlined that Northside Volunteer Fire Department had received full-service dedication.
“That’s our first fire department to get it,” said Brabazon. “I want to take a moment to congratulate them and remind us of when the office of the fire commissioner dropped the so-called playbook on the table at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities one year. It was not received with mutual acclaim. As a matter of fact, it’s a horrendous document that has caused great angst in volunteer fire departments across the province, which have been struggling to meet the terms and bring themselves up to standard.
“Our fire departments are no different and Northside has actually done it, so full marks to them.”
Brabazon offered his congratulations for the hard work and dedication by the firefighters who had brought the department up to standard.
During the following director reports, Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said the Island Discovery ferry has been a total disappointment for people of Texada Island.
“It has broken down so many times,” she said. “We have lost our faith in BC Ferries to provide service for people to get to work in the morning, medical appointments on Vancouver Island and kids getting to school. It has certainly been a frustration.”
She said BC Ferries had replaced the Island Discovery with the Island Aurora, which was doing a “bang-up” job, but islanders were “very frustrated.”
