4 -— Sunday, September 19, 1999 — North Shore News wen Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reparter dangclo@nsnews.com BOWEN Island is becoming a municipality completely surrounded by water. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs announced on Friday that Bowen [sland will elect its first mayor and six zouncillors on Nov. 20. The island, with a population of 3,000, will officially become a municipality on Dee. 4. In June, residents voted 60% in favour of Bowen fshind becoming a municipality. The island has been governed on land use and development issues by Islands Trust. Islands ‘Trust was created in 1974 to preserve and pro- tect water and islands in the Strait of Georgia and Howe Sound. Two elected Bowen Island residents were on the [slands ‘Trust, which included representatives from areas such as Saltspring Island. The GVRD provided munici- pal services and the highways ministry looked after Bowen Island roads Richard Litthemore, the elected GVRD rep- resentative for Bowen, plans to ran for mayor. He said there may be two other candidates vying for the job. Litdemore said Bowen affairs have been governed by expensive bureaucracies slow to respond to the islanders’ needs. He said the Islands ‘Trusts decided develop- ment issues on the island in an ineflicient way and in apparent contlict te its preservation man- Council Meeting Agenda Summary Monday September 20, “1999, 7 p.m. [Saturday. 9a.m., Rogers Cable 4] ‘Delegation °Ms Susau Michsel, Trails Canada Relay - The Trans Canada Trail Relay 2000 ' §. Adaptable Housing Guidelines 6. Unkempt Property - - 1250 Coleman Close 7. Development Variance Permits island to become a municipality | date. Litdemare said there were three agencies (GVRD, highways and Islands Trust) involved in almost every Bowen Island decision. “We were paying an exorbitant amount of money for overhead for our municipal service (GVRD) staff thar live in Burnaby,” said Litdemore. He said the highways ministry “was a complete pain” as staif wanted to make straight roads and wide lanes on the island. Litlemore predicted taxes would not increase with the governance change. Council Matters. oe aL Dollarton Bridge Twinning Referendum Bylaw 1999... 2. Watet front Task Force Phase 2 Interim ‘ “Regort ‘Referendum Bylaw 1999 . ‘3 ‘ nese Bylaw - “Beverage C Container ed pe Facts ‘a Figures -, (An ongoing Dialogue series featuring different services pro- vided to residents by the District) ‘North Shore Recycling Recycling not only helns the environment, it can save you money as well. Here are some _ 1910 Peters Road Q 8. Award of Contract, Premier Street ” Landfill - Terrace Drainage Collectors 9. North Shore Area ‘Transit Plan © To. Police Services ; IL. Municipal Employees Financial _ Disclosure Bylaw: : ; 12. Free Access to Public Libraries , Note: for more. , information 1990-2211, a8 . ‘ refet to district InfoWeb at www. dav. OTB, can id blood epee we ICT SERVICES recycling statistics provided by the North Shore Recycling Program: , * Last year, almost 58,000 peo- ple visited the Recycling Drop-off Depot, located at the south foot of Riverside Drive. * District residents have the highest overall recycling rate in the GVRD - 172 kilograms per capita per year. *In 1998, District residents diverted 42.7% of their garbage by recycling and com- posting; recycled 5,937 tonnes of newspaper, glass, plastic, metals anid mixed paper; working and, most importantly, * Last year, District taxpayers saved $314,984 in garbage tipping fees by putting their recyclables out for weekly col- lection. For more information on recy- cling, please call North Shore Recycling at 984-9730. “Recycling - Making con- servation second nature". « together for Tips to avoid contact with bears The North Vancouver 17,000 hectares and much of that is next door to wilderness areas. District of covers . Because of our close proximity to nature, bear sightings are common. Black bears are the most common species in the area. Although the risk of harm from bears is low, precautions should be taken to ensure safety for you and the bear. Bears who pose a danger or become accus- tomed to human food or garbage may have to be destroyed. The following precautions will reduce the risk of encounters with bears around the home: Be alert (bears. may be active year-round); do not feed bears; garbage containers should be _Kept indoors until the day of dis- posal; dispose of garbage regu- lurly; keep your area free of food seraps and dog food; pick-up’ fallen tree fruit promptly. Bird feeders also attract bears. ~ a better ICES More information on bear saie- ty can he found on the follow- | ing web site: www.elp.gov.be.ca/wld/pub/_ bear_hm.htm: a _ Sept 1?- 19 is North Shore Heritage Weck. Photo: 192 5-Municipal Hall . You're Invited! . Mayor Don Bell and Coniscil of,’ the © District “of North ‘Vancouver cordially invite yo ‘and your farnily to share in the grand. opening . of. Parkgate _ Community Centre * “and Parkgate Family Day. There will be entertainment, demon. strations and hands-on activi- —_ ties for the whole family. ' Saturday ao September 25, 1939 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 3625 Banff Court North Varicouver “Parkgate A “whole new : . community centre! . The} pos sibilities are endless!".« ‘community