Summer Newsletter (June 2010)

AGM

The North Cedar Improvement District held its annual general meeting on Wednesday April 28, 2010. Three trustee positions were up for election, Chad Willick was re-elected for a three year term along with new trustees Alec McPherson and Peter Johnson. Thank you to everyone that attended the meeting.

Watering Restrictions

Stage 2 Watering restrictions are in effect starting June 1, 2010

Please remember to watch the Watering Restriction signs at the Cedar Bridge, the NCID Office and online at www.ncid.bc.ca for changes.

Keeping Water Meters Clear

Water meters become overgrown with vegetation over time. Planting hedges, shrubs and plants next to a water meter box will require you to maintain access to the water meter in the future. Maintenance staff require your help in maintaining access to be able to read meters, perform maintenance and emergency shut offs. North Cedar reads your water meter every three months. With the rising costs of water, keeping the meter clear to avoid inaccurate meter reading becomes even more important. Often it is only by reading the meter that a leak is detected in the water system. For those of you who already keep the meter clear and accessible we thank you for your cooperation in helping us.

New Board of Trustees

New Water Rates

Budget

The North Cedar Improvement District's board of trustees is responsible for ensuring there is sufficient revenue to finance the costs of operating, administering and maintaining the public services for which it is responsible. A budget is an essential tool for estimating both the capital and operating revenues and expenditures for 2011 and the following four year period. Budget preparations will be undertaken during August and September 2010 for both the Waterworks and Fire Protection. A draft budget will be ready for discussion at the NCID Committee of the Whole meeting scheduled for September 23, 2010. The public is welcome to attend. NCID electors wishing to make comments on the draft budget should contact the NCID offices at least one week prior to September 23, 2010.

Report from the Fire Chief

Percy Tipping

Dear residents of the North Cedar Improvement District

It is great pleasure that I write to you by way of this newsletter. As some of you know, this past April I was appointed Fire Chief for our District, replacing long serving Chief, Brian Morgan. I want to take the opportunity on behalf of myself and the members or our Department, and thank Brian for his dedication to the Fire Department and the community. We look forward to his continued service within our organization.

It has been an exciting and busy first few months becoming familiar with, reviewing, and updating District Bylaws and Policies that relate to the Fire Department. Some significant achievements for the Department since April include the approval by the Board of Trustees, to purchase a new Rescue Truck. Our current truck has served us well but has been identified as being overweight as per provincial regulations, and as we grow, so must our equipment. We are expecting delivery of the new truck in early November. The Board of Trustees has also given approval for the Fire Department to create a Fire Prevention Officer position. This volunteer position will be filled from within the Department membership and the main duty of the successful candidate will be to coordinate all Fire Prevention and Public Education programs within our area. We will have the position filled by the middle of July so if you or your neighborhood group would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact us at the fire hall. We also hope to have updated contact information available on our web site as well.

The Department has also increased its service response capabilities by providing the necessary training and equipment for our members to respond to low slope rope rescues and non swift water rescues. We are currently in the process of arranging a training course in swift water rescue to further enhance our response capabilities.

On May 1st of this year, the Provincial Government amended the BC Fire Code to require all occupied buildings within the Province, regardless of age, have a working smoke detector. This change has been called for by the Fire Service for many years and it will be a useful tool in helping to prevent or reduce injury or death due to fire. Please ensure your home has working smoke detectors installed.

As summer fast approaches, the Fire Department is taking a proactive role in educating the residents within our service area about ways to reduce the risk of loss due to wild fire. I’m sure all residents watched the television last summer when the citizens of West Kelowna were faced with evacuation and the possible loss of their homes. Sections of our area have been identified as being at high to extreme risk of such loss. One method we are using is going door to door within these areas handing out FireSmart pamphlets. These pamphlets are very useful in helping to assess the risk level of your property, and ways to reduce it. Of significant note, we have found during this handout campaign that many properties have restricted access. We appreciate the rural setting of our area but landowners must be aware that fire trucks are generally large vehicles and a narrow, overgrown driveway could prevent a timely response during an emergency.

I want to remind all residents that a burning permit is required to have an open fire from April 15th to October 31st. Permits are free of charge and can be obtained from the District offices, 2100 Yellow Point Rd, during business hours. Also, please remember that should the fire danger move into the high category, permits are considered canceled until the fire danger is reduced.

In closing, I wish all residents a safe and enjoyable summer.

Thank you