Renovations and upgrades at the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s boardroom at the district’s central offices on Ingram Street could cost in excess of $420,000.
The vast majority of the funding would be for upgrading and improving the pre-COVID technology in the board room, which is estimated to cost approximately $300,000.
Much of the rest would be used to pay for expanding and renovating the board room to allow for more representatives at the table as the population of the CVRD steadily increases requiring more directors, and for First Nation officials who could soon be sitting at the table.
CVRD communications manager Kris Schumacher said in other regional districts in the province, notably the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, treaty First Nations are provided voting rights and seats on their respective regional district boards.
“The plans for our future boardroom anticipate this outcome with First Nations in our jurisdiction in the future, which could significantly increase the number of directors around the table,” he said.
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The board gave the green light for staff to proceed with detailed quotes and planning for the renovation and upgrades at the committee of the whole meeting on April 10.
But the CVRD’s general manager of corporate affairs Barbra Mohan told the board that the planning for the boardroom’s renovations and technology upgrades are at the preliminary stage at this point.
“At this stage, staff are trying to determine if this is the direction you want to go in,” she said.
“If so, we’d continue down this road and get more detailed information for you to consider.”
The board resolved to allocate $100,000 of its Growing Community Funds grant from the province towards boardroom renovations and expansions last year, and staff are recommending that the rest of the funding come from reserves.
Shawnigan Lake director Sierra Acton said there is a definite need for upgraded technology in the boardroom, but the renovations feel to her like a “nice-to-have” scenario considering all the board’s other strategic priorities.
She said she understands the funding for the renovations would come from grant funding that the board has already earmarked for it, but the money could be used for something else.
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“When the time comes when we have to expand to have additional members, I think the province could step up,” she said.
“I’m really aware of how we just came out of a really tough budget season and I feel we need to be really careful of how much we continue to add on. I’ll support this [motion], but its a nice-to-have considering all we want to accomplish.”
Cobble Hill director Mike Wilson acknowledged that the board table is growing, but a lot of the growth is being mandated by senior levels of government who are saying the board must increasingly include local First Nations in its discussions.
“That’s all very well, but if they are going to ask us to do things like that, they should try to make some more funds available to help us to do that,” he said.
“Are there other grant opportunities available?”
Mohan replied that staff had not pursued other grant opportunities for the renovations at this time.
“But we certainly will,” she said.