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Electric Vehicles 101
January 24, 2022: Thirteen Salt Springers came to ask their questions on a stormy Friday morning. Topics discussed included: The conversation began with an exploration of the creation of Salt Spring’s own “scrap-it” rebate program for those transitioning from fossil fuel-powered to electric vehicles. It was suggested that this program could be administered by Transition Salt Spring’s investment program, TSSEC (Transition Salt Spring Enterprise Co-op). Darryl Martin and Jim Standen will follow-up on this concept. The possibility of getting a Habitat for Humanity Restore shop on Salt Spring was briefly explored. With an organized system to give Salt Springers used and surplus building…
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Ferries, Parking and – Again! – Potholes and Pathways
. January 17, 2022: Ten guests attended this session. It came up in conversation that that there was no clock repairperson on SSI.Peter Grove corrected me and gave me a contact number for Mark’s Clock Works, 250-537-0957 Cars should park on an angle on Jackson Ave between the Coop gas and the auto parts. Angle parking rather than parallel parking would add several spaces One Brinkworthy resident complained that her property assessment values her home almost $100,000 higher than others in the community. She called the assessment authorities in Victoria and spoke to the person responsible for SSI. That person was unable…
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CRD’s Gary Holman: Dangerous Pedestrian Lanes, Safety, and the Need for Mental Health Services
December 13, 2019: Thirteen came to this session with Gary Holman. a good surprise as, originally, it had not even been scheduled (nor advertised) due to Thrifty’s need for the room for holiday preparations. Major topics of conversation included: Our first guest lives at the corner of two major roads and is concerned about her responsibility for some very large trees there. Is she responsible? What if they fall and take out power for all her neighbours? And, there is another row of large trees between her home and the neighboring property. She does not know if they belong to her…
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MLA Adam Olsen Addresses Live Aboards’ Fears and Safety Referendum Opposition
December 6, 2019: Adam Olsen came to answer question and the room was full most of the time, with standing- room-only for brief portions. A total of 26 Salt Springers came to ask him questions. Main topics of the day were a brief focus on roads, the suggestion that Islands Trust should be reformed, concerns expressed by live aboard boaters in the harbour fearful of being towed, daylight savings legislation, the scarcity of early childhood educators, and the soon-to-be available green burial cemetery on Salt Spring. Despite these many widely-different questions, the topic that many had come to discuss was the…
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Exploring Pathways, Painting, and Potholes with CRD’s Gary Holman
November 29, 2019: Eight guests came to ask questions of Gary Holman at this eight session of ASK Salt Spring. Unlike last week when the theme of the day seemed to be roads, this week, the conversation ranged widely from roads and safety to a January solution for the homeless, the proposed laundromat and possible renovations of the Visitors’ Centre. The discussion began again with too much fast-moving traffic on Leisure Lane. While signage still seems to be a reasonable, easier, initial option, lowering speed limits (and posting them as they are not currently posted) and possibly even speed bumps were discussed. At…
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Roads, Roads, and More Roads: Salt Springers Worry About Road Safety
November 22, 2019: Five individuals came to ask question at this, the seventh ASK Salt Spring session. Jessica Harkema, our Chamber’s Chief Executive Officer, was there the entire time, skillfully answering questions from her perspective as Executive Director of the Chamber as well as her life-long experience here as an involved resident. The theme for the day explored concerns about the safety of our roads. Initially, the conversation focused on Leisure Lane and frustration with the high number of fast-moving vehicles (even including semis and contractor vehicles) using this quiet, curvy lane as a shortcut. While this citizen was concerned now, he pointed…
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Logging, Development Permits, and Emergency Preparedness
November 8, 2019: Although only three came to ask questions, there were a total of six Salt Springers who came to ASK Salt Spring during this session, marking the one-month anniversary of this initiative. Those who did not have a question stayed quite a while (one even stayed for the entire three hours) to see what ASK Salt Spring was all about and to listen to the interesting conversations. The first who arrived was looking for a map of designated development permit areas. Although appreciating the aerial photograph of Salt Spring on the table, it was soon recognized that this would not answer his…
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Trustee Laura Patrick Discusses Logging and Environmentally-Conscious Development
November 15, 2019: Twelve came to ask questions during this session of ASK Salt Spring. While the record for this first six weeks of operation is 15 when Adam Olsen was there, 12 is a satisfying trend. As many stayed during much of the conversation, there was a period of over an hour when all seats around the table were taken. (Luckily there were extra seats stored along the walls had they been needed. Laura arrived at 10:00, and we spent the first half hour until our first guest arrived discussing what had been learned from Adam several weeks ago. We discussed…
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MLA Adam Olsen Talks About Early Childhood Education, Health, and Affordable Housing
November 1, 2019: Fifteen islanders came to ASK Salt Spring with a wide variety of questions. Some even came without questions, seeking only to see what ASK Salt Spring is all about and to listen to the questions of others. While at least five came specifically seeking to speak with Adam, most joined happily into the conversation while awaiting Adam’s late arrival at noon. (Two needed to leave before he arrived, but they asked me to follow-up and contact Adam on their behalf.) The questions covered a wide range of issues, and the resulting conversations explored many complex components of each subject. Volunteers were…
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Beaches in Need of Clean-Up, Laundromat Seeking Funds, and a Refugee Support Group
October 25, 2019: Six islanders came, but only four had questions. The other two came briefly to see what we were doing, saying that they would be back another Friday. The Legion is applying for a license to allow them to more easily welcome non-members. This application has taken some time to go through Islands Trust – surprisingly designated as the relevant body to handle this – with approval expected at the November meeting. Unfortunately, this is after the Liquor Board’s deadline, forcing the Legion to begin the process all over again. It was suggested that community groups, as well…