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By Tom Croft, April 27, 2013 3:39 pm

 Late Spring/Early Summer Issue of The Oak Bay Connector

Production of the Wednesday, May 29, 2013 issue of the Oak Bay Connector is underway.

Articles highlighting you or your community group are welcomed.  Please send your advertisement or a submission of no more than 250 words about exciting things planned by your organization and email to me by Wednesday, May 22, 2013.

Suggestions Include:

• Article about your group activities
• What is happening on your street
• Upcoming events
• Pioneers inOakBay
• Please include photos

Send to:   Jill Croft  Editor, Oak Bay Connector  jillcroft@telus.net  250-595-6284

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By Tom Croft, April 25, 2013 5:53 pm

The GOMPS AGM will occur on Monday April 29 at the Cedar
Hill Recreation Centre, in the “Activity Room” at 7:00 pm.

Our keynote speaker will be author Maleea Acker who will
present an illustrated lecture on her newest book, “Gardens Aflame.”

http://maleeaacker.com

About Gardens Aflame

Accustomed to the dark, dripping stands of Douglas–fir, spruce and hemlock that blanketed the Hudson’s Bay Company outposts on the remote western coast of the “new World”, the first Europeans were surely startled to see the wide–open landscapes of the Garry oak meadows they encountered on Southern Vancouver Island ––– landscapes that might have reminded any explorers who had ventured into the African savannahs of what they had seen there. Though slow in comprehending what they had stumbled upon, the Europeans immediately recognized the deep, rich deposits of black soil that extended many feet below the surface, and James Douglas chose the site as the ideal location for the HBC’s new fort, and settlement. What the newcomers failed to appreciate is that these meadows were not the work of nature alone, but of the Coast Salish peoples who had been living in these parts for millennia. With the construction of the fort of Victoria began an encroachment on these Garry oak meadows, built up over centuries if not millennia, a process that continues today.

In Gardens Aflame, Victoria writer and environmentalist Maleea Acker tells us about this unique and vanishing ecosystem, and the people who have made it their life’s work to save the Garry oak and the environment ––– including the human environment ––– it depends on. Acker tells us about the Garry oak species and its unique habits and requirements, including its unusual summer dormancy period, when all the surrounding plants are coursing with life. We learn something about the scientists, arborists, and Garry oak–loving volunteers who have dedicated themselves to this tree; and about Theophrastus, Humboldt, and their other forebearers who are still reshaping our notions of nature and humans’ place in it.

And in the course of Acker’s story, we see her fall under the spell of the strange beauty woven by these magnificent trees, and the ecosystems they tower over ––– until, in the final act, she decides to turn her own front yard into her own version of a Garry oak meadow, defying City Hall and the neighbours, and bringing to a head in 2011 all the issues raised 150 years ago when Europeans first saw the open meadows of Southern Vancouver Island.

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By Tom Croft, April 12, 2013 7:31 am

Join CAOB at McNeil Bay on Saturday April 27 at 9 Am
for the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up!
Bring your own Gloves, Hat and Sunscreen.

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By Tom Croft, April 9, 2013 11:38 am

The Official Community Plan Project Charter was approved at council last night. It was agreed by Council that this is a living document and updates will be provided if required.

OCP Charter

If you have any comments or observations please send them to obcouncil@oakbay.ca

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By Tom Croft, March 31, 2013 10:37 am

                                              625 Fisgard Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1R7

Media Release
For Immediate Release
March 27, 2013

Capital Regional District Appoints Core Area Wastewater Treatment Commission Members

Victoria, BC– – The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board is pleased to announce the appointment of seven individuals to the newly-formed Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program Commission (Commission) which will administer the implementation of the Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program (Program).

“I am delighted with the calibre of applicants we received,” said CRD Board Chair Alastair Bryson. “The candidates we have chosen have diverse skills and experience that will be an asset to the Program. We are very fortunate to have their expertise to guide this important process.”

Established through CRD Bylaw 3851, the Commission is responsible for delivering the major components of the Program. The Commission will conduct the procurement processes to promote innovative design and approaches and ensure that the Program is completed within established budget and timeframes, is consistent with the CRD’s social, environmental and economic objectives and meets Program compliance with all applicable Provincial and Federal regulations and Contribution Agreements.

The CRD Board retains the responsibility to secure lands for the facilities, for rezoning of lands, to approve architectural design guidelines for facilities and has overall responsibility for the Program budget. 

Commission Members:

Brenda Eaton (Chair) – Corporate Director. Brenda Eaton is a corporate director serving on the Boards of Powertech, Fortis BC and Transelec.  She also serves on a number of foundation and not-for-profit boards.  She is immediate past Chair of BC Housing and has served on the Board of BC Hydro. Previously, Ms. Eaton held a variety of senior positions in the B.C. Public Service, most recently as Deputy Minister to the Premier and prior to that as Deputy Minister in Finance and Treasury Board; Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources; and Social Services. For four years she was Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations at the Capital Health Region.

Fred Cummings – President and General Manager, British Columbia Rapid Transit Company Ltd. (2010 – Present). Mr. Cummings is a registered professional engineer who holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Civil Engineering) from the University of Waterloo. Prior to his role at the British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, he held several senior management positions at South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink), including Vice President, Engineering and Implementation (2009 – 2010) and Vice President, Major Construction Projects (2006 – 2009). He currently serves as a Director for the Evergreen Line Project.

Pam Elardo – Director, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Wastewater Treatment Division (2010 – Present). Ms. Elardo is also the President and Co-Founder of the Living Earth Institute. Prior to these roles, she served as Water Quality Section Manager, Washington State Department of Ecology (1987 – 2001). She holds a Master of Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington.

Larry Hughes - Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, West Fraser (2011 – Present). Before taking on his current role, Mr. Hughes served as the Senior Vice-President, West Fraser (2007 – 2011) and was a partner at Lang Michener LLP, now McMillans LLP, (1985 – 2007), specializing in corporate, securities, resource and commercial law. Mr. Hughes has served as a director of a number of public companies including West Fraser.

Ivan Ing - President and Special Advisor, Rocklynn Capital Inc. (2010 – Present). Mr. Ing’s previous experience includes serving as the Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Finance, National Bank Financial (2006 – 2010) and Vice President, Investments, Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance Inc. (2005 – 2006). Mr. Ing has considerable experience in strategic initiatives, partnership and business case development, corporate/project financing, financial management and control, deal structuring and contract and loan negotiations. Mr. Ing is currently on the Edmonton LRT Governance Board for the SE to West expansion line. 

Hew McConnell – President, Consensus Infrastructure Solutions Ltd. (2001 – Present). Mr. McConnell has over 35 years of national and international experience in the planning, financing, design, and operations of infrastructure in both the public and private sectors. During the period of 1990-1998, he was an executive in charge of Greater Vancouver sewerage and drainage utility, including capital upgrading for wastewater treatment in a similar scale to the Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program. He has worked as a Vice President, Reid Crowther (1999-2001). Mr. McConnell has also served on several boards including Chair, Burrard Inlet Environmental Action Program Board and Vice Chair, Fraser River Estuary Management and Burrard Inlet Environmental Action Programs Board.

Colin Earl Smith - Management and Engineering Consultancy Practice (2007 – Present). Mr. Smith is a registered professional engineer who holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Mining Engineering) from the University of British Columbia. Prior to his current role, Mr. Smith held several senior public sector positions from 1990 – 2007 including: Corporate Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project and President and Project Director, Rapid Transit Project 2000 Ltd and Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of Rapid Transit Project 2000 Ltd. He has served on several Boards including President of Engineers Canada, President of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, and President of the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

In 2006, the CRD began the planning for wastewater treatment facilities at the request of the Minister of Environment for British Columbia. The core area includes the municipalities of Colwood, Esquimalt, Langford, Oak Bay, Saanich, Victoria and View Royal. All of the Program facilities are expected to be in operation by the spring of 2018.

­­­-30-

For further information, please contact:
Andy Orr, Senior Manager
CRD Corporate Communications
Tel: 250.360.3229
Cell: 250.216.5492

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By Tom Croft, March 28, 2013 7:42 am

1. Welcome by Mayor Nils Jensen
2. Call to Order
3. Introduction of Guests
4. Approval of Agenda
5. Approval of the 2012 Minutes of the AGM held Saturday March 31, 2012
6. Old Business Arising From the Minutes
7. New Business
8. Executive Reports
9. Election of Directors – Lynne Milnes
10. Adjournment
11. Presentation Kelly Gesner, RI, MCIP “What is an OCP – Anyway?”
12. Oak Bay OCP Engagement Plan – Councilor Cairine Green

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By Tom Croft, March 24, 2013 9:38 am

The Urban Forest – an oxymoron? Not really. It was a term coined in the 1960′s to refer to tree populations in our city centres. It’s also a field of study and endeavour dedicated to the protection of those trees, and a subject about which Canadians are becoming increasingly passionate and tenacious.

More than 80 percent of Canadians now live in urban centres, yet we still recognize the practical and poetic benefits of trees. Many of us may even have a favourite tree, one that serves as a marker in our life or the life of our community. Trees also help clean the air, help in energy conservation by providing shade, and contribute both to the beauty of a community, and yes, to the psychological well-being of people. But city trees face challenges too – not enough growing space, contaminated soils, traffic and insect infestations that can wipe out whole species.

These are all issues familiar to the four guests The Sunday Edition invited to talk on the topic of Urban Forests. Andy Kenney is a pioneer in the field, and was a long-time professor of Forestry with the University of Toronto. He’s now retired and living in Lanark, Ontario. He joined the discussion from Ottawa, along with Joanna Dean, a professor in the history faculty at Carleton who studies environmental history, Shelley Vescio, a forester with the city of Thunder Bay, and Martha Barwinsky, a forester for the city of Winnipeg.
Read and listen at: http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2013/03/24/urban-forests/
Oak Bay Council has recently referred to the Parks & Recreation Commission a request to work on developing an Urban Forest Strategy for Oak Bay. The Commission has set up a committee for this and is to report back to Council in June with a plan on how to proceed in developing the overall urban forest strategy by 2014. A key point is to ensure this proceeds consistent with the principles and process of the current work to review the Oak Bay Official Community Plan.
Saanich and Victoria have already developed such overall strategic plans to protect, maintain, and enhance their urban forests (see links below).

Saanich: http://www.saanich.ca/parkrec/parks/trees/urban.html
Victoria: http://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/departments/parks-rec-culture/parks/urban-forest/master-plan.html
See also this recent, related article from the Victoria Times-Colonist by Patricia Johnson:
http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op-ed/comment-urban-trees-deserve-more-value-than-buildings-1.63821

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By Tom Croft, March 20, 2013 6:11 pm

CONNECT.COMMUNICATE.COLLABORATE

Official Notice of 2013 Annual General Meeting

The Community Association of Oak Bay (COAB) is holding our Annual General Meeting at 1pm, Saturday, April 6th in the Rotary Room of Windsor Pavilion.

It is important that CAOB has a broad community wide membership as it is the mandate of the Association to represent the interests of ALL residents of Oak Bay. We perform a vital service to the community and have been involved with and hosted a wide variety of events, such as:

• All Candidates Meetings
• Co-Chair UVic Community Liaison Committee
• Harvest Pot Luck Dinners
• Annual Shore Clean-up
• Participate on Community Engagement Working Group
• Member of Active Transportation Committee – awareness of safe walking, cycling, and driving
• Member of OB Tourism Committee
• Earth Day Walk to Uplands Park with Friends of Uplands Park
• Bowker Creek Initiative – CAOB supported the $738,000 amount received for restoration
• Oak Bay High School Neighbourhood of Learning Forum
• Oak Bay Green Mapping Project – Now Available
• Published 11 issues of Oak Bay Connector – distributed in 7000 Oak Bay News

Our source of income this year will be from memberships, donations and sale of the Oak Bay Community Green Map. With a large community wide membership we will receive recognition by the Oak Bay Mayor and Municipal Council as a support organization for the community. The CAOB has received considerable recognition over the past four years, but only because of the size and broad representation of our Society.

We have purposely kept the membership fees as low as possible, just $10.00 (per individual). We sincerely hope you will renew/apply for membership at your earliest convenience to provide the CAOB with sufficient resources to carry out our mandate. We appreciate that most people are busy with work and family so we do not expect you to contribute your time to the CAOB unless you want to get involved and have fun. For more information about the CAOB please visit www.caob.ca .

To become a member mail or drop your Name, Address, Email & Phone # to: 2758 Dunlevy St., Victoria, V8R 5Z5 or use PayPal at the CAOB web site – (go to – Connect-Become a Member). If by cheque, please make payable to Community Association of Oak Bay. Thank you for taking the time to read this email and for your membership application or renewal.

Sincerely,
Tom Croft, President

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By Tom Croft, March 18, 2013 5:50 pm

UVic Biomass Feasibility Study Open House Poster 27-Mar-2013