The town of Lake Cowichan held their Sustainable Planning and Development committee meeting on Feb. 14.
On the agenda was business concerning the tax rate presentation to the Chamber of Commerce, which is now scheduled to happen Mar.24. Coun. Jayne Ingram will be present to provide information to the Chamber.
A grant application was made for Centennial Park trail connections and improvements as well as for the proposed new Renfrew Town Square. The status for both of these grants is unknown at this time. However, the Town would like to develop a focus group for these particular projects. Please contact Chief Administrative Officer, Joe Fernandez, at jfernandez@lakecowichan.ca if you are interested.
Fernandez is also the contact person for the ad hoc committee on climate change that is looking for members. As reported in last week’s Gazette, the committee is forming to deal with greenhouse gas reduction in our area. You must be a resident of Lake Cowichan to be on the committee, and together with council, the group hopes to achieve corporate and community reduction targets.
New business included reviewing Ladysmith’s Community Energy Plan, Nelson’s Greenhouse Gas Reductions Plan, and the Going Green in Lake Cowichan report.
The Sustainable Planning and Development committee wishes to use Ladysmith’s and Nelson’s plans as benchmarks for our own. Council would like to work with the ad hoc committee to create Lake Cowichan’s Community Energy Plan. Many items were looked at including geothermal, capital costs, improvements to educational centres and at what cost.
“We are dealing with two plans here. We have got to look at the benefits versus the cost,” says Fernandez, “but we will wait until a committee is formed before we come up with recommendations that will be applied.” he adds.
Last to be discussed was the proposed streetscape for South Shore and Cowichan Lake Roads.
Council is proposing a town revitalization project that will include new sidewalks and crosswalks alongside the new pavement that the Department of Highways is putting in through Lake Cowichan’s downtown core.
Council is looking for input from residents, business owners, and the Chamber before Mar. 2. After that date, council would like to do a walkabout of the town to gain perspective and vision for this project. Inquiries can be emailed to general@lakecowichan.ca.