- Major changes coming to senior RDN management
- Does Qualicum Beach want to take over French Creek and Dashwood?
- Beach Creek Cottages (Nenzel Road) Public Hearing (again)
- Children’s book publisher at QB Farmers Market
Major changes coming to senior RDN management
The Regional District of Nanaimo, assisted by PFM Executive Search, are recruiting a replacement for Phyllis Carlyle whose five year contract as RDN Chief Administrative Officer ends in October 2021. PFM is also searching for a replacement for senior RDN executive Geoff Garbutt who was RDN’s General Manager, Strategic and Community Development until he returned to Courtenay in April to become the City’s new CAO, replacing the retired David Allen.
These are the two RDN management positions that have the most impact on our Town. If the new CAO gets to choose his/her new RDN General Manager, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, which is appropriate, then Garbutt’s replacement will probably not be in place until early 2022.
Does Qualicum Beach want to take over French Creek and Dashwood?
Area G Director Lehann Wallace may soon be accepting offers. On May 25, 2021, Ms. Wallace provided notice of motion to the RDN Board of Directors “that staff engage with the Governance and Structure Branch of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to conduct the preliminary exploration process for a Restructure and Service Delivery Study of Electoral Area G.” The motion has been placed on the Board’s Agenda for their June 8, 2021 meeting.
All sorts of potential outcomes. Qualicum Beach and Parksville could each expand to include their adjacent urban-like portions of Area G. Or Parksville could make a play to amalgamate (take over) the entire stretch from Craig Bay to Dashwood, eliminating our Town’s independent governance altogether. It would be naïve to rule out any options at this point.
Nice challenge to land on the desks of the two new RDN executive hires when they get here!
Beach Creek Cottages (Nenzel Road) Public Hearing (again)
A Public Hearing for the Dregers’ latest proposal is scheduled for June 16, 2021. Prior to the Public Hearing, Dean Dreger is hosting a Public Information Meeting on Zoom on June 10, 2021 at 3:30 pm. Pre-register by email request to Mr. Dreger at amplio@shaw.ca Our review of this latest proposal entitled Beach Creek Cottages flim-flam on Nenzel Road can be found at the end of a lengthy April 28, 2021 Breakers column.
Children’s book publisher at QB Farmers Market
Another new face at the QB Farmers Market is Lindsay Ford, a Vancouver Island author and illustrator of a line of delightful books for children. Lindsay says she has written most of her life, starting in childhood. After getting a degree in English Literature at UBC, she worked in the magazine industry and travelled around the world, producing a travel blog and teaching English. Lindsay counts her mother as the inspiration for her latest career venture. Before she died four years ago, one of her mother’s “last wishes” were that Lindsay would publish children’s books. Today, Lindsay is the proud owner of Bread + Clutter Books, an independent publishing house in Nanaimo. Her published works include the Awkward+Awesome reading series celebrating “everyday heroes and weirdos.” Lindsay’s latest book is Science Girl which celebrates girls and women in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
BREAD + CLUTTER BOOKS is at the QB Farmers Market every Saturday. Lindsay Ford’s children’s books are also available at The Qualicum Toy Shop, 5-211 West Second Avenue, and at Alcove Homegrown Living at 689 Memorial Avenue in Qualicum Beach.