Microsoft word - mayors report january 2012

Mayoor’s Report January, 20112
As 2011 ended with fluoride bein
ing discontinued in our water, we have jumped into
2012 with much optimism and many new projects on the horizon.
January has been an exciting month with th
he announcement of some new
businesses locating in Lake Cowichan, as well as, the possible sales of others. With the decline of the
forest industry in the past decade, stores and shops have been forced to close
e up or relocate. N
including your Town Council and Administration, likes to see this happen. Every time we lose a business it
becomes harder for
or existing ones to survive, plus with fewer options force people to shop elsewhere.
With increasing traffic throu
ugh our fair Town, we want commuters to stop and ennjoy what Lake Cowichan
has to offer. We are optimistic that new businesses, such as Tim Horton’s, will encouragee other investors
tto see the potential we see in our community. We have a newly renovated arena, and look forward to a
new library, improving the main street and ppossibly a
a traffic circle, and are confident we
e are building the
foundation for better thingss to come.
The announcement from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, is that it is gooing to pave the
main stretch of road through Town in 2012. So, we are done talking about downtown revitalization and
are now acting upon it. On January
y 16th approximately 45 citizens attended our public meeting and saw
plans for South Shore Road improvements. We are aware of safety concerns for vehicle and pedestrian
traffic through Town and felt it didn’t make sense to repave the road and not address these at the same
time. Is there goinng to be a cost for tthese improvements? Absolutely, but that is why we asked the public
tto assist us in identifying what they would like to see. Your comments and concerns have helped us focus
on some key points. Strateegic crosswalks and better
r sidewalks were a few of the improvements people
felt strongly about. Prelimiinary plans for South Shore
e Road are available at the Town office for anyone to
Also, the Vancouver Island Library Board and architects gave a presentation on what our new library is
going to look like. The majority of people seemed pleased with the desi
sign but there were a few concerns
raised and the Library Board will take these into consideration.
Another concern brought to our attention was the practice of cars and trucks idling in Town. The Town
adopted an anti-idling policy last year and si
signs were erected at a couple of locations and more will be
going up this year. Please respect
t this policy and your friends and neighbors as this involves our air
quality.
We appreciate the people who come out and engage with us during our pub
ublic meetings or Council
meetings. The dialogue we have with you is
s beneficial to how we govern our Town. We also appreciate
the fact that the majority of you can’t attend meetings or are
e not comfortable in a public setting. Your
opinions, however, are welcomed and there are other avenues for you to communicate with Council.
Phone calls and e-mails are two methods, plus the Town now has a Facebook paage, so if you want to see
what others are saying about Town issues, here’s the spot to
to check out. We post numerous different
subjects on a regular basis, so this can be a convenient tool. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and
we encourage you
u to comment. In addition, there are many great photos of our community on this page
and nothing would please us more than if you would
d share some of your own pictures for all to see the
beauty of the Cowichan Lake area. Please Facebook the “Town
n of Lake Cowichan” and participate.
Sharing information through social media also allows some of us the opportunity to view recent stories
relating to our community. That is how I became aware of a documentary on the Knowledge Network on
great Canadian Rivers which featured the Cowichan River. Also, there was an article in the Recreation
Facilities Associatio
ion of British Columbia magazine regarding the renovations of the Cowichan Lake Sports
Arena. It
t was a nicce read on our facility.
It’s always refreshing to read feel good stories relatin
r youth. Two students from Lake Cowichan
Secondary School have created a project called “Contagious Couponin
ng” where they not only purchase
products with coupons, but they donate these products to charities. Putting in the work on this pro
roject to
benefit others in need speaks very favorably to the character of Tana Molennar-Wilson and Britney Doney.
Our community should be proud of the generosity of these young women as I’m sure the Food Bank and
Cowichan Women A
Against Violence are.
Thank you staff, employees and families for all the assistance you provide us in our attempts to improve.
Ross Forrest, Mayor

Source: http://www.town.lakecowichan.bc.ca/Mayors%20Report%20January%202012.pdf