Jan 12, 2021

Council Notebook for January 5, 2021

Ladysmith Council for its first meeting of the New Year on January 5, 2021 with a park naming request for Russell Road and a grant application for the a culvert replacement on Dogwood Drive among the agenda highlights.

The meeting opened with Mayor Stone making brief remarks regarding the Holland Creek crossing project.  Lamont Land LP started work on the project early last week.  More details on the Holland Creek Local Area Plan, including a list of Frequently Asked Questions can be found on our website.

Council then approved the Utility Bill due dates for the upcoming year.   The Town bills property owners quarterly for water, sewer and solid waste collection services.  Staff also try to accommodate the pension dates, where possible, set by senior levels of government.

The Utility Bill due dates are as follows:

  • February 26, 2021 for the period October to December 2020;
  • May 28, 2021 for the period January to March 2021;
  • August 27, 2021 for the period April to June 2021; and
  • November 26, 2021 for the period July to September 2021.

Next, Council directed staff to submit an application for a federal infrastructure grant to fund the replacement of the Dogwood Drive culvert.  The culvert is located upstream of the Ladysmith Golf Course, near the Davis Road intersection.

A specific stream of the infrastructure grant is for Adaptation, Resilience and Disaster Mitigation, which focuses on "structural and natural infrastructure projects to address the impacts of flooding and flood-related hazards."

The existing culvert is undersized and its replacement is important as the community continues to grow upstream of this location.

Moving on in the agenda, Council authorized the signing of a Fire Services Automatic Aid Agreement between the Town and the Cowichan Valley Regional District (North Oyster Volunteer Fire Department).

Under the agreement, fire departments will be simultaneously dispatched to all structure fires, regardless of the area of jurisdiction. 

Combining resources with neighboring departments and having them automatically dispatched increases response times and increases the probability of reducing the amount of damage due to fire and ensure the safety of victims.

Council approved a request to name the parkland on Russell Road as Rutti Park -honouring a pioneering family in the development of the Ladysmith community.

The park sits on a section of the former farm established by Hugo Rutti.   This farm was in the Rutti family for five generations until it was sold to the Town in 2003.  The park was dedicated through the subsequent subdivision process.

In May 2020, a resident applied to have the park named 'Rutti Park' in honour of the Rutti family.

Council meets as the Committee of the Whole later tonight, Tuesday, January 12, 2021, at 6:30 pm.  The next meeting of Council is scheduled for January 19, 2021 at 7 pm. 

As a reminder, you can now register through Zoom to participate in virtual Council meetings.  A registration link can be found at the top of all agendas. 

A brief explainer on this new registration process can be found here.

The new feature means you can still watch the meeting in the event of a technological issue connecting our livestream to YouTube.  Once you've joined the Zoom meeting, you can use the "Q&A" feature to participate in Question Period which occurs during Regular Council meetings.