Hi.
I’m
Kathy McTaggart, and I’m standing as a candidate in the Nov. 19
Gambier Island Local Trust election. I would appreciate your support
because I believe that I can do a good job to support Keats Island
interests within the Islands Trust as well as, on your behalf, with
other levels of government. I am currently the director’s alternate for Area F of the SCRD, helping Bernie Mulligan, your director (Area F includes Keats and Gambier). I served on the Gambier Local Trust Area advisory planning commission from 1995 to 2003. I also served on the Area F advisory planning commission from 1995 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2004 (I had to step down when appointed alternate). My experience working with the SCRD board and staff would be a definite asset to the Gambier/Keats Local Trust Committee. The Islands Trust looks after planning issues for the islands. The SCRD looks after services, which include Parks and Recreation; other Community Services, such as the Gibsons Library; Infrastructure, which includes water, transit, docks, and solid waste (garbage). During the last few years, there has been increased cooperation between the two “sister” levels of government. I like to think my presence at the board table has helped that happen. We all know the islands are under-supplied with access to services. I plan to work hard as a Trustee, alongside your SCRD director and staff, to improve that situation. Specifically, I would like to see more active discussion of a public gathering space on Keats, plus timely re-activation of your long-overdue recycling service, just for a start. I was a member of the SCRD’s Water Users’ Advisory Committee (now disbanded) in the late 90s, joining it to alert the SCRD that island water users had concerns, too, and those needed to be addressed. I suspect that having an islander on that committee helped smooth the way for the eventual transfer of the Eastbourne water system to regional district administration. Currently, I am taking an active role within the district’s new Public Wharves Advisory Committee. This group includes two representatives from Keats, plus other members from Gambier, Halfmoon Bay and North Thormanby. These volunteers support SCRD staff in maintaining the community docks along the coast and through the island region. We have had one introductory meeting so far. We will be meeting again just after election day—on Monday, Nov. 21 at Cardinall Hall in Langdale. Hopefully, this committee will help ensure that the island docks get consistent and timely repairs, plus modifications where changing local circumstances make them necessary. I believe that persuading the SCRD Infrastructure Committee to form this local advisors’ group was a real victory for our island communities. I lobbied strongly for the committee and as a Trustee, hope to follow this model as much as possible to involve local residents and property owners in Islands Trust planning initiatives. On Gambier, I volunteer as a director of the Gambier Island Community Association—I edit the semi-annual Gambier Islander newsletter and maintain the community phone directory. I am an active member of the Gambier Community Centre Society. Morgan (my partner) and I created a custom tile project for the hall that gave community members a chance to commemorate their island history, while raising significant funds towards hall amenities. I am a founding member of the Gambier Conservancy and am committed to a conservation-oriented approach to local planning. I plan to be an easy-to-reach trustee who works proactively with other levels of government to serve the islands, mindful of the Trust mandate to preserve and protect—both the natural environment and the character of our island communities. I would appreciate your support! --- As a Gambier/Keats Islands Trust candidate, I am planning to do a walkabout on Keats this coming Sunday, Nov. 13. I will be arriving at Keats Landing on the 10:50 Stormaway, and leaving from Eastbourne on the 5:45 Stormaway. I would be happy to meet with any interested islanders at some period within that timeframe, to answer questions about my candidacy and let you get to know me. You can call me at 604-886-0747 or email me at k_mctaggart@sunshine.net. I hope to see some of you this Sunday!
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