Early this year we learned that our good friend and board member, Bob Freeman passed away at an untimely age. He will be missed by many in our community. Bob was a member of the Community Hall Association. This meeting has been designated an affiliate association function in Bob’s memory. Thanks to the Association for this honour. Thanks also to Area C RDKB who have covered the balance of fees for this meeting.
2020-2021 was again a quiet year, primarily due to the impact of Covid-19 and its variants. As we moved into summer, some elements of the economy are slowly opening up, but overall, especially for cross-border traffic between Canada and the US, travel constraints remain tight. This situation has impacted many waterfront property owners here at Christina Lake.
The Kettle River Watershed Annual Report meeting evolved into a series of on-line webinars facilitated by the RDKB Area C and the Christina Lake Stewardship Society. Brief summaries of several of these on-line presentations were shared with members of the society during the year. I will note a couple of these later in this report. At the end of 2020, Brenda LaCroix announced her retirement from the lake Steward Society. This group developed into an important and effective organization under her leadership. The helm has passed onto Suzanne Adrain-Vincent. She is proving to be equally effective in leading this organization with the support of their board under Jeff Olsen.
A much improved milfoil treatment report is now available through the RDKB site for those interested. Thanks to both Phil Mackie, Dive Crew Supervisor and Janine Dougall, General Manager of Environmental Services, for their continued attention to this reporting function .
Important programs currently underway include designation of the Fragrant Water Lily as an invasive plant specie of importance. This designation is required prior to securing treatment funding program. Emergency planning has emerged as an increasingly important issue with the current hot and dry weather being experienced in our part of the country. The current smoke health-risk is a consequence of this situation. Fire Smart work on our properties and evacuation preparedness, the 5 P’s (persons, pets, prescriptions, papers and photos) are all part of this process
You will all be aware that the lake official community plan is currently under review. Proposed changes may impact waterfront property owners. The following link will keep you in the picture
‘https://jointheconversation.rdkb.com/christina-lake-official-community-plan-review‘
Other issues; taxes, foreshore improvements planning, buoys, docks, mobile phone coverage, Internet service, parking within BCParks (Texas Point boat launch) remain important concerns.
Two programs your board encourages our society to endorse are:
The Decibel Coalition – a program to limit noisy boats on recreational lakes (https://safequiet.ca/decibel-coalition/) and
The Love Your Lake – a program to enhance the enjoyment of our recreational lakes for all users (https://www.loveyourlake.ca) This program is in place at a number of recreational lakes in BC.
Endorsement of these programs is without cost to the Society. [Discussion at the 2021 Annual Meeting confirmed endorsement of the Decibel Coalition program and suggested a continued watching brief of the Love Your Lake program. – Please see posted draft minutes of the 2021 AGM Meeting]
Important contact information is:
Roly Russel – our MLA (roly.russell.MLA@leg.bc.ca)
Dick Cannings – our MP (Richard.Cannings@parl.gc.ca)
Grace McGregor- Area C RDKB representative (gem9293@outlook.com)
I would like to thank your board members, David Merry, Tres Dergousoff, Doug Sandner and Marvin Jeffery for their support over the past year.
