A letter from the Communities in Bloom organization offering Port Alice the opportunity to take part in the 2011 event sparked some lively debate. Coun. Don Vye said in the interests of fiscal responsibility that Port Alice council should decline the offer citing increased work loads for public works, paper work for administration, and the money spent accommodating the visiting evaluators.
Coun. Ardie Bazinet spoke in favour of the project citing the value of objective outside evaluators looking for ways to improve the community and improvements made to the community that have flowed out of previous participations in the exercise.
Vye said he couldn’t support what he viewed as a “money grab” that paid for outsiders to “go on vacation” in his community while critiqueing it.
Coun. Dawn Martynyk suggested the village do their own version of Communities in Bloom thereby sparing the delegation expenses. Martynyk and Bazinet said they could organize local volunteer resources such as the Lions Club to address the issue of adding work to the villages public works and administration staff.
Council voted not to apply to Communities in Bloom for 2011 and to do their own version with the assistance of volunteers.
Doctor shortage
In a response to a letter from council, Rod Frechette, Executive Director of the Ministry of Health Services listed the number of hours of locum physician support Port Alice received in 2010.
That prompted Mayor Neely to comment that Frechette had “missed the point.” The council had written asking for help in securing permanent full-time physician coverage for the community.
Bazinet said by her estimate, Port Alice goes without a doctor’s services for about one third of the year.
Physician availability has been an issue in Port Alice for more than 20 years.
Council unanimously supported a motion to write another letter to the Ministry of Health Services asking once again that the shortage of physician services be remedied.
Crisis Line
Council voted in favour of sending three letters of support for the North Island Crisis and Counseling Centre’s endeavours have its Vancouver Island Health Authority, (VIHA), funding reinstated. Council said they would send letters to VIHA, MLA Trevena, and the crisis line.
Backhoe for RDMW
In reply to a request from the Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW), asking to contract the services of the village’s backhoe and operator to facilitate replacement of the gate that was vandalized at the Link River Campsite council passed a motion supporting the request “in the spirit of maintaining mutually beneficial working relations with local government agencies.”