Chilliwack River Valley – Director Patti MacAhonic – Newsletter February 2024
The opinions and beliefs expressed in this newsletter are mine and do not reflect opinions of the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD).
Greetings Chilliwack River Valley Neighbours,
With spring around the corner, it is nice to spend more time outdoors. Highlights this month are the Active Transportation Plan, upcoming public meetings, supporting cleanup activities in the Chilliwack River Valley with the CRV Clean Up grant funds for Area E (photos attached) and updated Red Cross information, also if you are interested in the budget for 2024 and taxation please visit https://haveyoursay.fvrd.ca/2024-budget
You can go into Area E and see the financial information for taxation for this year in an easy to read format, you can also look at other Areas for comparison.
Community Safety and Advocacy
Please see below information from the Red Cross regarding their Residential Mitigation Incentive Program and small business support programs for those affected by the 2021 atmospheric river events.
FVRD has the information available on our website as well: (Recovery – 2021 Flood Event) https://www.fvrd.ca/…/recovery/2021-flood-event.html
This is a link to the Canadian Red Cross project page: https://www.redcross.ca/…/2021-british-columbia-floods…
Prepared BC Emergency Guides and Resources
Please find below some additional information about Prepared BC’s emergency preparedness resources that you can share with family and friends:
• Guides and resources here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content…
o All the guides are in PDF so they are easily shareable.
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Have Your Say – a chance to weigh in and have your voice counted in community issues that impact you and the CRV
**Electoral Area E & H – Tuesday, February 27, 6 pm – 8 pm Cultus Lake Community School, 71 Sunnyside Blvd**
I am reaching out to let you know about the upcoming community engagement for the development of the FVRD Active Transportation Network Plan (ATNP). This stage of engagement will involve sharing the feedback received from the first round of community outreach. Additionally, the draft guiding principles, strategies and actions, and proposed network routes that will form central components of the plan will be presented. Community members will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the information presented and proposed network routes both at the community meeting and through the HaveYourSayFVRD online engagement site.
For this second round of engagement, ways to participate for community are:
• Information page: hosted on the HaveYourSayFVRD online engagement site
• Community poster: information poster showcasing the ATNP project and engagement opportunities. The poster (attached for your information)
• Community newsletter sent to subscribers through HaveYourSayFVRD and to community group email distribution list
• Social media campaigns: engaging social media posts to raise awareness and encourage participation in the online survey, community meetings, and interactive web map
• Four community meetings: providing an in-person opportunity where residents can provide feedback for the ATNP proposed draft strategies and network plan. The format of the community meeting will differ from round 1. At the start of the meeting, staff will give a short presentation on what we heard from round 1 engagement, the proposed draft guiding principles, strategies and actions that will form the basis of the ATNP These dates are:
Septage Waste – Status Quo with numbers for sewage hauling
The City of Chilliwack is no longer accepting septic waste from electoral areas. This has caused huge concerns for residents and I have been working with the FVRD board and staff to look at alternate solutions both short and long term. If you have a real emergency with sewage back up, you can call the City of Chilliwack and they may help on an individual basis. Another possible option is that you can apply for a permit with Metro Vancouver, on a case-by-case basis, those authorizations can be obtained, and they have a list of approved haulers. Here’s a link for more information: https://metrovancouver.org/…/liqui…/trucked-liquid-waste On this page, there is an email contact for out-of-region trucked liquid waste and the fee schedule.
New information for possible hauling Septic tank pumping services:
Out of Merritt is Mar-King, vac truck service (3-4 tanks at once)250-315-3055
Out of Lillooet is Bridge Water Septic, 250-2564061
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Out of Clinton is Aroma Vac Services, 778-207-8424
Electoral Area E Evacuation Guide Funding Obtained – Status Quo
The Fraser Valley Regional District is receiving $30,000 for its Electoral Area E Evacuation Guide which will help local governments and First Nations strengthen their plans for emergency evacuation and public notification planning. This was done last year for Area H, Cultus Lake and you can view their plan on the FVRD website
FireSmart Update and Information – still time to apply!
**The funding for FireSmart Homeowners grants has been extended. You can find more information through Andrew Schellenberg at FVRD. According to FireSmart, It is very important to understand that the homeowner has to take ownership of the preparations for their property. Provincial funding provided to local governments does allow for rebates for FireSmart work by property owners. Recently that amount was increased to up to $1,000 from $500, and in 2024 it’s being raised to $5,000.
Area E Grant in Aid
The Fraser Valley Regional District’s Grant-in-Aid programs support cultural, environmental, charitable, and recreational service activities as well as special events that benefit the community.
Chilliwack River Valley Clean Up Grant Funding – Area E
In 2023, the provincial government provided the FVRD with a one-time grant of $200,000. The money is designated for the future costs associated with the Chilliwack River Valley cleanup of abandoned encampments, including tipping fees for refuse, removal of destroyed vehicles, or rental of containers to remove debris. https://www.fvrd.ca/…/govern…/grant-in-aid-programs.html .
Rural Homelessness and Abandoned Camps in CRV Stakeholder Group
The CRV Rural Homeless Stakeholders Meetings are progressing with a multi-ministry group, RCMP, BC Housing, service providers plus many others at the table. I am heartened to see the level of collaboration in working on the complex issues we are facing. My primary objective is to work collaboratively with you, the residents, to provide a strong representation of your voices to stakeholders and all levels of government to create a community where all feel safe and are proud to call the Chilliwack River Valley home and as I attend meetings that is forefront in my mind. The problems are complex and have been ongoing for many years, it will take time and effort to make inroads, and I believe we are doing that one step at a time with the stakeholder’s group.
Wayne Furness with F.H. Forestry has been provided with funds from our Chilliwack River Valley Cleanup Grant Funding and been working with various volunteers to complete clean ups in various locations in the CRV, this is making a real difference with most large sites now cleaned. Also provided funding were Streams, for 4 clean up events, Chilliwack River Valley Residents Association, for the Ambassador program and long time CRV supporters Chilliwack Vedder Cleanup Society, funds for insurances for cleanup activities. Thank you to Wayne, the organizations and all who volunteer and work to keep our valley safe and clean. (photos provided by Wayne F.)
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In Conclusion
My role as Director is to represent your voice on Area E issues within FVRD guidelines, it is always a pleasure for me to meet my CRV Area E neighbours. I am happy to work with you, hear your concerns and to work towards solutions. I encourage you to have a look at some of the informative resources FVRD staff have put together such as our Regional Growth Strategy and the Budget preview which can be found online at https://www.fvrd.ca/…/have-your-say-on-the-2022-2026…
Any questions or comments regarding this report or any other community matters are always welcomed.
Please email me if you wish to be added to my electronic mailing list for informational Area E email updates and please share with other residents that may find this helpful. You may unsubscribe at any time by emailing me. I plan on having a hard copy newsletter for Area E in March delivered to all residents.
My contact information:
Cell: 604-819-8519
Email: pmacahonic@fvrd.ca
Sincerely,
Patti MacAhonic
FVRD Area E Director
